Ares 1 Thrust Oscillation Update

NASA Provides Update on Ares 1 Thrust Oscillation Studies

"NASA is looking at options that would place dampers either in parachute region (between the Orion and the Ares 1 first stage) or in the aft skirt of the Ares 1 first stage. These dampers would be tuned to dampen out (de-tune) problematical vibrations produced by the burning of propellant."

Editor's note: Much of these issues are contained in a 10 March 2008 internal presentation "Thrust Oscillation Focus Team Checkpoint Report" by Garry Lyles with all pages marked "SBU" (Sensitive But Unclassified). I asked if this presentation (which has been circulating widely) will be posted by NASA. NASA's response was to say that they would post "those that we can" and that "we'll certainly clean up" some charts. The entire SBU presentation is online at NASASpaceflight.com in their for-fee section.

Editor's update: NASA has released an edited and shortened version of the Thrust Oscillation Focus Team Checkpoint Report by Garry Lyles (14 March 2008, 26 page) of the longer (10 March 2008, 66 page), SBU-labelled presentation.