NASA's Ares 1 Rocket in Trouble Again: Could Crash Into Launch Tower [Nasa]

NASA's Ares 1 rocket may be facing another large technological hurdle before it can take part in the future lunar missions: it's apparently in danger of banging into its own launch tower if the wind is up. Actually, the wind needs only be a gentle-sounding 12.7mph from the south-east to cause problems, and it's all to do with how the rocket's solid fuel motor causes it to "hop" on ignition, before it powers upwards. Computer models are reportedly showing that during this crucial moment, the wind could cause enough "liftoff drift" that the rocket could get dangerously close to the tower. And if it managed to avoid an impact, there's still the danger of the flaming rocket gas output badly damaging the tower's structures. NASA itself seems confident it can overcome this problem (if it ultimately proves to be a significant enough one) by positioning the tower differently or redesigning the launchpad: both requiring time and money that could impact the bigger program. After the earlier reports of "tuning-fork" problems with the manned missile, the calls for an alternative solution to the whole Constellation program begin to look interesting again: what's your opinion chaps? My take on this: this sort of hurdle comes up frequently when you're in a program of this scale and complexity—some sort of better workaround will surface eventually.

BALLS 17 Experimental Rocket Competition, In Photographs [Rockets]

                       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"BALLS 17 is a venue for projects that should NOT be flown publicly due to safety and legal restrictions. This may include, but is not limited to, LARGE rockets, complex staging or clustering, metal rockets, self designed and/or fabricated rocket motors and new technologies being developed or proven." That's the disclaimer on the BALLS Experimental Rocket Launch website. Their 17th annual meeting just concluded in Nevada's Black Rock Desert where at least one rocket cracked 70,000 feet. Many others had successful flights. And some just blew up. Photography by Erik Charlton. See more of his fantastic shots from the event here.

[ Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
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Giant Cold-War Era Russian Proton Rocket Successfully Launches Giant Satellite Into Space [Rockets]

The Inmarsat-4, or I4-F3 broadband satellite to its friends, is a big satellite. Almost as big as a double decker bus and with an unfurled solar wingspan as wide as a football field, it needed an appropriately big ride into space. And so it hitched onto a Proton Rocket, a 58m-high, 700-ton monster used for sat positioning since 1996, but before that, used in the 1960's to visit planets for scientific research and deliver parts of the International Space Station and Mir Space Station. The flight was perfect.
[ Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
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SpaceX's Falcon 1, Dreams of Space Conquest Begin in 10, 9, 8... [Rockets]

Like watching rocket launches? Then check out the live webcast of SpaceX's Falcon 1 launch from the Marshall Islands at 7pm EST. The Falcon 1 measures 90 feet, weighs roughly 103,000 pounds and uses a two stage, liquid oxygen and rocket grade kerosene vehicle to blast off. SpaceX, started up by Elon Musk of PayPal fame, is one of several new commercial companies trying to commercialize space travel, wrestling the mostly government-funded industry into the privatized world. Depending on how the launch goes, Falcon 1 will either prove itself to be a reliable way to transport satellites out to low Earth orbit or the project that turned Musk from billionaire to broke (read: millionaire). Update: looks like the launch keeps on being delayed, so check in and see if you've missed it yet. [SpaceX]

[ Via: Gizmodo, The Gadget Blog ]
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