阿瑞斯（战神）I-X 火箭发射记

10月28日，NASA在肯尼迪发射中心首次发射了原型的阿瑞斯（战神）I-X型运载火箭。土星号运载火箭是从阿波罗计划开始时就使用的运载工具，后来又用于航天飞机的发射，当土星号退役后，阿瑞斯I-X运载火箭就会承担起新一代的运载任务。该型号的运载火箭有327英尺高（99.7 m），升空时推力达296万磅（1344吨），发射8秒钟后速度可达到100mph（160.9 km/h）。在两分钟的亚轨道飞行试验后发现了一些问题，例如，发射平台轻微受损；其中一节的分离没有完全象原计划那样地进行；可能由于降落伞的故障，导致一段火箭出现了硬溅落。在最近的一项委员会调查报告中称星球计划花费太多，因此该计划承受了很大的压力。奥巴马政府在今后几个月内将就近期的空间政策的方向作出决定（共计28张照片）。
1. 当阿瑞斯I-X运载火箭从佛罗里达肯尼迪航天中心发射起飞时，39B发射台上布满了火箭发射所引起的烟雾，10月28日美东时间11:30.

2. 阿瑞斯一段的火箭发动机，尚未灌充燃料，2009年7月20日。阿瑞斯的一段有154英尺长（47.8m），最大可产生360万磅（1634.4吨）的推力，比航天飞机的两个固体助推火箭能提供的推力大24%。
3. 在持续5.5秒的发动机地面点火试验中，喷出的火焰高达100英尺（30.4m），2008年1月20日，犹他州普罗蒙特雷ATK试验场，由Orion工业公司成员主持的下一代航天飞机火箭发动机点火试验。
4. 在由美国军方提供的位于亚利桑那州峪麻（Yuma）的试验场内，NASA和ATK成功地进行了火箭发动机组的伞降试验，这次试验是在2009年5月9日进行的。有三个150英尺直径的降落伞将41,500磅(18841kg)的试验负载降落到沙漠的地面上。降落伞系统是用于阿瑞斯 I 型 运载火箭第一段的回收和重复使用的，也会在随后进行的试验发射中用于回收阿瑞斯I-X型的第一段。

5. 2009年9月10日，NASA和工业界的工程师们点亮了犹他州的天空，首次进行全尺寸、全周期的阿瑞斯 I 型运载火箭一段发动机点火试验。154英尺长的（46.82m）固体火箭产生的热量能使火焰温度达到2/3的太阳表面温度，12英尺（3.65m）直径的一段最大能提供360万磅（1,634.4吨）的推力。

6. 在航天飞机着落场，佛罗里达州NASA的肯尼迪航天中心，正从C5运输机上卸下阿瑞斯I-X运载火箭发射所用的各种设备，包括一个精密加工的、全尺寸的乘员舱模拟器以及最后会装在NASA的阿瑞斯运载 I-X 火箭顶端的发射失败逃逸系统。

7. NASA 在密西西比州汉库克县的斯坦尼斯空间中心建立了9号测试台架。九个用于储存储存水、异丙醇和液氧的粗犷已经运到现场，正进行安装。在以后的几周内计划还有五个储水罐会运到现场。照片左侧的两个灰色的储罐为异丙醇储罐。三个较矮的储罐为液氧储罐，每个可以储存35,000加仑（132.5立方米）的液氧。总部正在吊装的是四个水储罐，每个的容量为39,000加仑（167.6立方米）。这所有十四个储罐均被用于向装在A-3实验台架顶端的化学物质流发生器提供原料，用来模拟十万英尺高空的同温层环境。这样才可以用来验证装在新的阿瑞斯火箭最上面一段的J2-X火箭发动机的性能。

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In High Bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Ares I-X upper stage simulator service module/service adapter (left, center) has been installed on a stand. Other segments are placed and stacked on the floor around it. Ares I-X is the test vehicle for the Ares I, which is part of the Constellation Program to return men to the moon and beyond. (NASA/Kim Shiflett)

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In the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Ares I-X aft center booster segment is lowered for attachment to the aft booster and skirt. (NASA/Tim Jacobs)

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In High Bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, technicians maneuver a second roll control system module into place for installation in the Ares I-X segment. (NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis)

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The NASA Railroad hauls cars carrying the Ares I-X motor segments and nozzle exit cone over a river bridge to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The four reusable motor segments and the nozzle exit cone, manufactured by the Ares I first-stage prime contractor Alliant Techsystems Inc., or ATK, departed Utah March 12 on the seven-day, cross-country trip to Florida. (NASA/Kim Shiflett)

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The oxygen vent arm and hood removed from the fixed service structure at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39B is ready for transfer from the pad to a storage facility, after the pad was transferred from the Space Shuttle Program to the Constellation Program. The ground operations team is modifying pad B for the Ares I-X rocket launch. Modifications also include installing access platforms and a vehicle stabilization system. (NASA/Jack Pfaller)

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In the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician performs propellant grain inspection of the inside of the Ares I-X motor segment. It is one of four reusable motor segments and nozzle exit cone shipped by the Ares I first-stage prime contractor Alliant Techsystems Inc. for final processing and integration in the facility. The booster used for the Ares I-X launch is being modified by adding new forward structures and a fifth segment simulator. (NASA/Jim Grossmann)#

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In the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 4, assembly of the Ares I-X rocket nears completion. The yellow framework, nicknamed the "birdcage," lifts Super Stack 5 toward an opening at the 16th floor crossover into the transfer aisle. The stack will be positioned on top of the segments already in place on the mobile launcher platform in High Bay 3, completing assembly of the 327-foot-tall rocket. Five super stacks make up the rocket's upper stage that is integrated with the four-segment solid rocket booster first stage. (NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis)

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In the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3, a yellow framework, lifts Super Stack 5 atop Super Stack 4. Once in position, assembly of the Ares I-X rocket will be complete. The 327-foot-tall rocket is one of the largest processed in the bay, rivaling the height of the Apollo Program's 364-foot-tall Saturn V. (NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis)

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Work platforms surround the Ares I-X launch vehicle in the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 4 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rocket has undergone a sway test that simulated conditions the rocket could experience during rollout to Launch Pad 39B, wind conditions at the pad and first-stage ignition. During the test, vibrations are mechanically induced into the rocket by four hydraulic shakers and a sway is manually introduced for lateral motion to measure the vehicle's response. A total of 44 accelerometers are installed on the flight test vehicle that required more than 27,000 feet of cable. (NASA/Kim Shiflett)

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In the Vehicle Assembly Building's High Bay 3 at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a technician works on a platform mounted on the interior wall of the upper stage simulator of the 327-foot-tall Ares I-X rocket. (NASA/Jim Grossmann)

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The Ares I-X rocket, shown in in High Bay 3 of Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building is being prepared for this week's Launch Vehicle Readiness Test in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, Oct. 5, 2009. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

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The 327-foot-tall Ares I-X test rocket moves slowly to launch pad 39B from the Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Tuesday, Oct. 20, 2009. (AP Photo/John Raoux)

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The driver of the crawler-transporter slowly maneuvers the huge vehicle under the mobile launcher platform holding the 327-foot-tall Ares I-X rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The crawler-transporter will carry the rocket on the 4.2-mile journey to Launch Pad 39B. The transfer of the pad from the Space Shuttle Program to the Constellation Program took place May 31. Modifications made to the pad include the removal of shuttle unique subsystems, such as the orbiter access arm and a section of the gaseous oxygen vent arm, along with the installation of three 600-foot lightning towers, access platforms, environmental control systems and a vehicle stabilization system. (NASA/Jack Pfaller)

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NASA's Ares 1-X rocket rolls out to launch pad 39-B at the Kennedy Space Center October 20, 2009 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Matt Stroshane/Getty Images)

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NASA's Ares I-X rocket is seen on launch pad 39b at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla., Monday, Oct. 26, 2009. (AP Phgoto/NASA/BILL INGALLS) mandatory credit#

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The top section of NASA's new Ares 1-X test vehicle is reflected in a pond as an alligator lurks near launch pad 39-B at Kennedy Space Center, Florida on October 26, 2009. (BRUCE WEAVER/AFP/Getty Images)

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The Ares 1-X test rocket lifts off on a six-minute suborbital flight from launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, October 28, 2009. (REUTERS/Pierre Ducharme)

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NASA's Ares 1-X rocket lifts off from launch pad 39-b at the Kennedy Space Center October 28, 2009 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

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A cone of moisture surrounds part of the Ares I-X rocket during lift off Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2009, on a sub-orbital test flight from the Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39-B in Cape Canaveral, Fla. (AP Photo/Chris O'Meara)

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The Ares 1-X test rocket climbs into the sky on a six-minute suborbital flight from launch pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida October 28, 2009. (REUTERS/Scott Audette)#

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NASA's new Ares 1-X test vehicle goes through first stage/upper stage simulator seperation about two minutes after launch Kennedy Space Center's launch pad 39-B in Florida on October 28, 2009. After two and a half minutes, the main part of the 327-foot (100-meter) rocket splashed down as planned in the Atlantic Ocean as applause broke out in a relieved and excited NASA control room. (BRUCE WEAVER/AFP/Getty Images)#