Alliant Techsystems [ATK], the prime contractor for the first stage of the Ares I launch vehicle, along with NASA, the Army, and United Space Alliance (USA), successfully conducted the third in a series of four Ares I main parachute drop-tests, ATK said Oct. 7.
“This is yet another successful milestone for the Ares I program, which has been steadily progressing over the past four years,” said Mike Kahn, executive vice president of ATK Space Systems. “We are looking forward to seeing this parachute system function in just a matter of weeks during the launch of Ares I-X.”
These tests aid the development of the deceleration system for the Ares I First Stage solid rocket motor. The test was conducted at the Army’s Yuma Proving Grounds.
The test consisted of extracting a 72,000 pound test payload from a C-17 aircraft flying at 25,000 feet, tying the record for largest single payload pulled from a C-17. Following the extraction, a 60,000 pound test article (jumbo dart) was separated from the pallet. The jumbo dart was then allowed to accelerate to the desired conditions before the 150-foot-diameter main parachute was deployed. The objective of this test was to develop and measure a load on the main parachute similar to that expected during Ares I flight.
The newly-developed Ares I parachute system is already packed and ready to be used operationally during the flight test of Ares I-X, a full scale launch vehicle with an inert upper stage. Ares I-X is one of many systems that will provide valuable flight data that will aid in finalizing the design of Ares I.
The Ares I launch vehicle, which is slated to replace the Space Shuttle, utilizes a five-segment reusable solid rocket developed from the twin four-segment boosters used to launch the Space Shuttle. Like the recovery system for the shuttle boosters, the Ares first stage recovery system will consist of pilot and drogue chutes that reorient and decelerate the used solid rocket motor prior to deploying a cluster of three main parachutes. Due to the added weight of the extra segment on Ares I and the higher apogee reached by the Ares first stage, the main parachutes for the Ares recovery system were designed to be 20% larger than the one currently used on the shuttle boosters. The parachutes were designed and manufactured by USA at the Kennedy Space Center under a subcontract to ATK.
To date, ATK and its partners have successfully conducted three pilot, two drogue, three single main, and one main cluster parachute drop tests. Four additional parachute drop tests are planned over the next two years. Ares I-X will be the next test of the entire system, followed by further testing next spring.