Upper Stage Engine (USE) Test Stand A-3 Preparing for New Test Series:

The A-3 test site has seen a great deal of activity during the
past week at Stennis Space Center (SSC). Figure 1 shows the
pre-fabricated steel components that will be assembled into the
tower arriving at the site on Monday, November 3. Figure 2
shows 16 truckloads of steel being delivered and staged for
installation which began on October 29. The tower is
scheduled for completion in April 2009.

Figure 1

During the arrival of the tower steel, sheet piling was being
driven for the Liquid Oxygen (LOX) barge dock, as shown
in Figure 3. Both the LOX and Liquid Hydrogen (LH2)
waterways have been partially dug and rock has been laid.
The docks and waterways are also scheduled for completion
in April 2009.
Figure 2

Subscale diffuser testing is continuing at the E-complex. The

current test series is generating data to mitigate risk associated
with nozzle delta-pressures during facility transients.

Figure 3

Upper Stage Manufacturing and Assembly (M&A)

Subsystem: A successful subscale Common Bulkhead demonstration
was recently performed using two Shuttle External Tank gore
sections (each 2’ x 4’) with Honeycomb in between. The core
Honeycomb Machining at MAF

October 31, 2008

1
machining and fit-up work was performed at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF). The composite
laminate skins were manufactured in Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) Building 4707.

Recent activities specific to the Elements include:

• Flight and Integrated Test Office (FITO) and Ares I-X

o Ares I-X Roll Control System (RoCS) Element: Activities specific to the RoCS Element
include:

¾ Flight propellant tanks were installed onto module A and B structures, and electrical
harnesses were installed on both modules.
¾ The final X-ray Non-Destructive Evaluation (NDE) was run on the flight tank vent valve
weld caps. One non-conformance was noted and it is to be decided at the Material
Review Board (MRB) to either disposition as-is or swap out the tank with the spare.
¾ A helium tube weld defect occurred on the first flight set of pressurant tubes, notably
after the cold flow unit helium tube set was successfully welded. An investigation is
underway to look at inert gas regulation. Meanwhile, flight propellant tubes are being
welded with no issues thus far.
¾ The RoCS Installation Drawing update was released through the Teledyne release desk.
¾ RoCS supported the Integrated Readiness Review at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) last
week.

• First Stage (FS)

o FS Avionics Design Technical Interchange Meeting (TIM): The FS avionics Line

Replacement Unit (LRU) subcontractor, L3-Cincinnati Electronics, held their first major
LRU design review at their plant in Cincinnati, OH, on October 21–24. Cincinnati
Electronics is a subcontractor to the FS prime contractor ATK. Representatives from the
Ares I FS and Upper Stage (US) elements along with ground operations and vehicle
integration participated in the design review with ATK. A follow-on TIM with Cincinnati
Electronics was conducted in Huntsville, AL, on October 27–28, with the representatives
from various NASA and ATK pyrotechnics and thrust vector control
communities. Comments to the design review will be worked over the next month as
Cincinnati Electronics proceeds with their LRU designs.

October 31, 2008

2
 • Project Integration (PI)

o Ares Outreach Activities : The Ares Projects outreach team supported the Louisiana
Aerospace Industry Day in New Orleans, LA, on October 15. Approximately 150 people
learned more about ways that small businesses can get involved with the prime contractors on
future Constellation Program contracts in the New Orleans area. The outreach team presented
the Constellation and Ares stories to 25 visually-impaired students from the Tennessee
School for the Blind, who visited MSFC on October 21. Students also visited the MSFC
Propulsion Research and Development Laboratory and center test stands to learn about
Marshall’s Ares work. Team members also prepared and coordinated presentations on Ares
Projects development, Ares I vehicle integration and testing, and Ares V at the American
Astronautical Society’s Von Braun Memorial Symposium on October 21–22 in Huntsville,
AL.

The Ares Projects look forward to the completion of the J-2X Critical Design Review (CDR) Pre-Board
which is currently underway and the J-2X CDR Board on November 13.

…and as of this Ares Projects Weekly Summary, there are only 253
days until the first Ares I test flight, Ares I-X!!!

October 31, 2008

3