NASA: Experimental Ares 1-X rocket suffered damage
by Stevie Smith - Oct 30 2009, 15:00
Ares rocket suffers damage during test flight. Image: NASA.
Wednesday’s launch of the experimental Ares 1-X rocket may have been deemed a success insofar as it enabled NASA to gather valuable trajectory data, but physical damage sustained during the two-minute flight suggest the test wasn’t without incident.
The damage in question – a large impact dent – was found close to the base of the rocket’s ejected solid rocket booster section, which was recovered yesterday from the ocean by a team of specialist divers.
While NASA has said it cannot yet definitively state how the rocket was damaged, a spokesperson for the U.S. space administration has indicated that thorough examinations and assessments will be carried out when the booster is returned to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida this Friday.
That being said, a related CBS News report has noted that one of the booster section’s three giant parachutes failed to deploy properly during descent, meaning the separated section could have been damaged as it entered the ocean with excessive velocity.
The Tech Herald: Video: Ares 1-X test rocket finally beats the weather
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