Orbital ATK, NASA complete final test of Mars solid rocket booster with a boom


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PROMONTORY, Box Elder County — The command was given just after 9 a.m. Tuesday: Ignition!

Then came the moment hundreds of spectators had been waiting for since the wee hours of the morning — a loud boom and a giant stream of flames shooting from the engine created a towering plume of smoke billowing into the nearly cloudless blue sky high above northern Box Elder County.

It was the second and final test of the Orbital ATK solid rocket booster motor.

People lined the road leading up to the Orbital ATK test site at Promontory just outside of Corinne, some sitting in lawn chairs others standing just to get a glimpse of the spectacle. Then even more — mostly media, dignitaries and invited guests — were perched at a designated location on the ATK property. They were all transfixed with their eyes locked on the sight of the fiery booster engine roaring at a deafening level.

The event marked the latest demonstration of the QM-2 (qualification motor 2), the last full-scale ground test of the solid rocket booster motor. The test was delayed for an hour as engineers resolved a computer glitch that cropped up at the last moment.

“This final qualification test of the booster system shows real progress in the development of the Space Launch System,” said William Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. “Seeing this test today, and experiencing the sound and feel of approximately 3.6 million pounds of thrust, helps us appreciate the progress we’re making to advance human exploration and open new frontiers for science and technology missions in deep space.”

The objective of the test was to ensure that the engine’s chilled propellant burns as expected on launch day, explained Charlie Precourt, Orbital ATK vice president and general manager of propulsion. He is also a four-time space shuttle veteran.

People watch a ground test of the five-segment rocket motor that will be used for NASA’s heavy-lift Space Launch System at the Orbital ATK facility in Promontory on Tuesday, June 28, 2016. (Photo: Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
People watch a ground test of the five-segment rocket motor that will be used for NASA’s heavy-lift Space Launch System at the Orbital ATK facility in Promontory on Tuesday, June 28, 2016. (Photo: Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)

Scientists also tested a redesigned nozzle for steering, which controls the ejecting gasses. Engineers want to understand how the new, enhanced insulation protects parts of the motor, he said.

Tuesday's demonstration was the final test for the booster before the NASA Space Launch System’s first unmanned test flight with the Orion spacecraft in about two years — a key milestone on the agency’s journey to Mars, Precourt said.

“(Space Launch System) is America’s rocket, and it is very exciting to know Orbital ATK’s boosters will play a big part in launching our astronauts out of Earth’s gravity and on to deep space,” he said.

When completed, two five-segment boosters and four main engines will power rocket systems on deep space missions. The solid rocket boosters, built by Orbital ATK, operate in conjunction with the main engines for the first two minutes of flight and provide more than 75 percent of the thrust needed for the rocket and Orion spacecraft to escape Earth’s gravitational pull, Precourt explained.

Completion of the second test of the ATK solid rocket booster motor. pic.twitter.com/7ahr623ldm — Jasen Lee (@JasenLee1) June 28, 2016

Each booster burns about 6 tons per second — generating 20 percent greater average thrust than the space shuttle booster. Each unit produces 3.6 million pounds of maximum thrust — greater than 14 four-engine Boeing 747s at full takeoff power.

Thrust is the force a jet or rocket engine produces for takeoff.

The booster has a standing height of 177 feet — taller than the Statue of Liberty from base to torch. During operation, the temperature of the booster motor chamber gasses reach 5,600 degrees Fahrenheit, a temperature hot enough to boil steel. The flame exits the motor at Mach 3 and burns for a full 126 seconds, a news release states.

The five-segment rocket motor that will be used for NASA’s heavy-lift Space Launch System undergoes a ground test at the Orbital ATK facility in Promontory on Tuesday, June 28, 2016. (Photo: Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)
The five-segment rocket motor that will be used for NASA’s heavy-lift Space Launch System undergoes a ground test at the Orbital ATK facility in Promontory on Tuesday, June 28, 2016. (Photo: Spenser Heaps, Deseret News)

If the heat energy could be converted to electric power, the two boosters firing for two minutes would produce 2.3 million kilowatt hours of power, enough to supply power to over 92,000 homes for a full day, according to the release.

For the test, the propellant was chilled to about 40 degrees Fahrenheit so the engineers can better understand the effects of temperature on how the propellant burns.

The first test flight of Space Launch System and Orion together, called Exploration Mission-1 or EM-1, is scheduled for launch in late 2018. During the mission, the system will use two of Orbital ATK’s five-segment solid rocket boosters.

“The building blocks for NASA’s journey to Mars are in place and are gathering strong momentum,” Precourt said. “We’re just really proud in the Salt Lake Valley to be a big part of that with the boosters and the thrust that we provide to get (the spacecraft) off the planet.”

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