Ares 1-X Launched

the stick works...

now that was a launch...

congrats to the Ares I team...

now on to Ares 1 Y with a 5 segment SRB...

of course, an Ares V or Jupiter would will even more exciting.

there is a certain logic in making a simple stick to get to orbit.

That was impressive! I like how the top part of the stack veered to the side at separation, just like most other model rockets behave.

Just got back from US-1 near Space View Park...

One word....

FLAWLESS !

:)

Crowd was going crazy too!!

WAY TO GO NASA AND TEAM ARES !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Looked like a flawless launch. You'd think NASA would make sure the on-board cameras returned good video for something that's a PR event almost as much as an engineering test.

During countdown, they should have done as in 1950s sci-fi movies, "...3, 2, 1, blastoff!"

Would like to see how data compares with transonic wind tunnel tests.

It looked great on streaming video.
Congratulations to all involved!

Wow! NASA launched a solid rocket booster! Of course, we launch two solid rocket boosters every space shuttle flight.

The safety and expense of putting a manned Orion space craft on top of a 5 segment solid rocket booster is the big question.

Marcel F. Williams

It looked like a beautiful launch/flight. Did staging go as planned/expected. From the video it looks as if one stage may have hit the other when staging.

I don't know about the rest of you, but that little pitch (or yaw) the bird did to clear the tower was a bit unnerving.

That said, this was a great day for the Ares I-X team and for America.

Kinda shoved "it" back in the faces of the career naysayers out there. Press on with Ares I.

The launch of the Ares 1-X was awsome! Sigh. Glad to see NASA can still engineer good rockets despite all the naysayers.

Like him or not Steve Cook finally delivered, can't take that away from him or his team. AWESOME flight! Now go reduce the data and go for ARES I/V
Go LaRC!!!! Go KSC!!!!! MSFC!!!!

Congratulations to the Ares 1-X team!

"Of course, we launch two solid rocket boosters every space shuttle flight."

But without thrust vector control, roll control, integrated navigation, and closed loop guidance...all of these things had to be added to make the "go" of the SRB work without being strapped to a Shuttle.

Oh, and there was a payload on top of the four segments.

Great job Ares team!

From the video, it appeared to my admittedly non-expert eyes that the first stage post-separation pitch maneuver occurred before a total first/second stage separation and so the second stage received an unplanned counter pitch of its own.

I also understand that there was no provision for sending any second stage telemetry after staging. Was all the radio gear in the first stage?

Another point: given the cost of the flight, why wasn't enough cash available to have a camera in the top segment of the first stage pointing up? This would have given a good view of both separation and parachute deployment.

It looked pretty neat.

Unfortunately this one was engineered by and large 35 years ago, and most of the functioning parts were built many years ago.

Applicability to the future vehicle is still questionable.

How many times does it have to be told that Ares X has nothing to do with Ares1? This is a ridiculous contraption with a bunch of cheap made dummies on top of the OFF THE SHELF SBR that was just done for PR purposes. Years and dollars behind after the start of the ESAS for this crap rocket. Thank you NASA.

This would be funny if it weren't pathetic. Doesn't anyone remember what NASA once was?

Miles, you are dead on!
I think we all knew that a four-segment solid worked, and the Atlas 5 guidance delivered, huh? A full-up test of the actual Ares 1 vehicle would be a major milestone...

$445 Million for this? Huh. Does anyone want to know why I am not only NOT impressed, but extremely angry at the waste of taxpayer money? If you do, check out the costs for a ATLAS-V launch

http://www.spaceandtech.com/spacedata/elvs/atlas5_specs.shtml

And I am sure NASA has some great excuses for why this cost so damned much! So let's hear 'em!

@Miles and Frank

Yes the SRBs were designed and built 35 years ago for the space shuttle system as a booster. This is the first time that the SRB was used as the primary first stage in a rocket design. What is more, the Ares 1-X launcher followed the expected flight path including the intentional lean away from launch tower and correct direction. The first stage fell into the area where it was predicted to land. So, yes that is quite an engineering feat. Wernher Von Braun would have been proud.

The only people who haven't congratulated the Ares I-X team are Charlie Bolden and Keith

This is much ado about next to nothing...despite the time and money expended! Does anyone honestly think this lot can even re-do Apollo, pointless as that would be, no matter how long they take or how much money they spend? As for getting to Mars...!
It seems that 40 years is long enough for almost everyone to forget what a real space program is like. Well, it didn't take that long for people to forget what a real war is like...

It was good to see Marc "Moose" Lavigne doing telemetry. I hadn't seen him on Delta launches for awhile, and was wondering what had happened to him. If he's working Ares now, I might have to go back to wondering what he's doing.

Congratulations for the successful powered flight.

@ Gary Miles

Gary, we haven't been launching multi-stage solid rockets for decades? What about Polaris and Posiden with the complications of undersea launches, Minuteman and Peacemaker (parts of which were included in this kluge), Taurus and Pegasus from Orbital?

From
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition

kludge or kluge (klōōj)
n. Slang

1. A system, especially a computer system, that is constituted of poorly matched elements or of elements originally intended for other applications.

So the reason why this test was necessary is due to the fact that this design is a kluge.