Pad Abort 1 Test Successful

Go Constellation!

Congratulations on a successful test!

That's a beautiful looking test. Is the 180 deg tilt before capsule separation part of the planned trajectory? Or is that just a trick of the observation angle?

Woo Hooo!!!

Go Constellation!

That's to decelerate the Crew Module on the descent.

Part of the planned trajectory.

This was so good to watch.
The CGI is nice, but the real test was a beauty.
Go Constellation !

Were the parachutes part of the test? They looked like they worked well.

This device is going to be needed no matter what capsule goes into space next, so this is certainly a "good day" for everyone.

Chutes were a secondary objective.

Looks like it could be modified for the Dragon...might as well use whats available...Let's get the show on the road!!!!!!!!!

GO CONSTELLATION!!

Wow, what a thing of beauty. The flight looked absolutely perfect in every facet from the bits that I know about. Reorientation was perfect, and importantly, the drogue and main chutes deployed exactly as designed.

We created (second stage) LAS Abort DRM in SimCx, and from what I see, that might still be possible. Hey, I can hope can't I!

Congratulations LAS team.

Bill Mueller

I recently heard that the Orion abort system weighs more than the entire payload capacity of the Falcon 9. Was this just FUD?

The info I can find is:
Falcon 9: 10,450 kg to LEO
Apollo LES: 4,200 kg

Orion's LES would certainly be heavier than Apollo due to the increased size of the capsule. On the other hand the LES is jetisoned long before orbit, so its impact on the mission may be much less than one might imagine. It's too bad that they can't ignite the LES and let it burn ~70% of its fuel before separation (under the normal jettison scenario) so that it is given a chance to partially pay the stack back for the free ride it got.

That LAS should be useful for Orion on DIRECT.

Looked good. Glad we got something to show for our $12.6 billion.

I love the way people randomly pick numbers out of the air here. $12.6 billion really? Where did you come up with that number? The entire Constellation Program has not had that much money and contrary to what people here think it consists of a lot more than Orion and Ares 1!

P.S. - Keith, may I request that you move this story back to the top? It obviously was a busy day and this which was the biggest story of the day got buried really quickly.

Hey man you left out a few things in that number. For a start the engineering and construction for the modifications to LC-39B, MLP-1, O&C building, the VAB, test stands at Stennis, friction stir welding R&D with fixtures at Huntsville, fabrication equipment at various facilities, R&D and fabrication on Orion, the 5 segment SRB including test firing and analysis, parachute systems for Orion and Ares, the successful test firings of the J2-X gas generator, test flight of Ares 1-X including the software development for the vehicle and launch system as well as assembly and checkout, successful test firings of the methane/lox engine (deleted from Constellation but started with funding from it), space suit development, avionics R&D. Oh and don't forget all the salaries and overheads by the personel involved in the endeavor, and like I said that's justfor a start.

Not to say that the Constellation program to date couldn't have been done more cheaply or better but you left out a whole lot partner in that $12.6B snarky comment. Even Bill Harwood said that Pad Abort Test 1 cost $220M.

At least you didn't repeat the lie that we don't have anything to show for it.

12.6 was the number estimated through the contract close outs over the next year. The program was up to nearly $10b last year about this time.

You are right, there was supposed to be a lot more. We did get to see the launch of a Shuttle SRB. That was about 1/2 billion of the total. The most important thing was to get off to a good start and get the Orion flying in time to minimize the Shuttle gap.

A lot of money was spent on a lot of different things, but Orion just made it to PDR by the time the program was axed. It wasn't going to fly for another 7 to 9 years depending on whether you believe the program managers or the Augustine independent investigators.

The LAS cost was around $750 million.

"We did get to see the launch of a Shuttle SRB. That was about 1/2 billion of the total."

From which we got a lot of very useful/needed data on thrust oscillation in a lone SRB - a potentially major problem Constellation critics had been kvetching about for a long time. Now we know it isn't that bad - sounds like money usefully spent.

Nice try to redefine your original post.

That waaaasss Awesome! Man, I'd been waiting for the video on that after the SpaceFlightNow article came out saying it was successful. I have no doubt any future manned US rocket will have one very similar.

Anyone know how many g's the passengers would pull during such an abort, both at the beginning of the powered abort and at the end when the butt end of the capsule shocks against the ambient air?

You are running into the difference between price and cost. The successful outfeeds have to pay for everything else. For instance a completed launch pad only counts as successful if it launches things.

Huh? Your assertion doesn't change the fact that approximately $10B (if to be believed) has been spent so far. All of the things (not all by any stretch) that I've mentioned have been paid for out of that sum.

As to success vs price. The engineering and construction of any item can be deemed successful regardless of price and cost in the strictest sense EVEN THOUGH it was abandoned. Is the new MLP for Ares a successful system? Who knows. Was it successfully designed and successfully built? Yes and its costs were paid.

These government systems as well as the hoped for "government paid for commercial systems" will NOT turn a profit in the next two to three generations, therefore to say that the successful systems will have to pay for everything else in programs using government funding that is at best ALL "sunk costs" and to apply it to Constellation and other government run and sponsored space endeavors (i.e. Skylab, , Shuttle, ISS, Apollo, et.al.) is not valid here.