Arnold Air Force Engineers Pleased with Ares Success

NASA’s successful two-minute test flight Wednesday pleased engineers at Arnold Air Force base in Tullahoma who’ve done wind testing on the Ares rocket. It could return astronauts to the moon one day.

Think of a multi-stage rocket as a stack of soda cans. When the bottom one empties, it’s released and parachutes back to Earth. That’s what Col. Jim Jolliffe of the 704th Test Group at Arnold was watching for on the launch video. He says the simple action becomes hazardous at MACH 4.

“The riskiest part is separating the burned out stage from the rest of the stage to make sure the air that comes over the front part of the rocket will catch the bottom of the first can, if you will, and push it away from everything else.”

Jolliffe says the separation of the fuel stages also changes the balance of the rocket mid-flight, which required stability testing in Arnold’s wind tunnels.

In addition to the unmanned rocket work, Arnold’s engineers have heat tested materials that will eventually protect the manned capsule during re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Arnold has played a role in testing all of NASA’s manned spacecraft since the 1950s.

Earlier: Gaylord Looking to Buy Hotels in Foreclosure
Later: VW Factory Flooded With Job Applications