March 2, 2009

Ashley Edwards/Grey Hautaluoma
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1756/0668
ashley.edwards-1{at}nasa.gov, grey.hautaluoma-1{at}nasa.gov

June Malone
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
june.e.malone{at}nasa.gov

RELEASE: 09-045

NASA SUCCESSFULLY TESTS PARACHUTE FOR ARES ROCKET

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. -- NASA and industry engineers successfully
completed
the second drop test of a drogue parachute for the Ares I rocket. The
test took place Feb. 28 at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground near
Yuma, Ariz.

The Ares I, the first launch vehicle in NASA's Constellation Program,
will send explorers to the International Space Station, the moon and
beyond in coming decades. The drogue parachute is a vital element of
the rocket's deceleration system; it is designed to slow the rapid
descent of the spent first-stage motor that will be jettisoned by the
Ares I during its climb to space. The parachute will permit recovery
of the reusable first-stage motor for use on future Ares I flights.
The first-stage solid rocket motor will power the Ares I rocket for
the first two minutes of launch.

This was the seventh in an ongoing series of flight tests supporting
development of the Ares I parachute recovery system, which includes a
pilot chute, drogue and three main parachutes. Researchers dropped
the 68-foot-diameter drogue parachute and its 50,000-pound load,
which simulates the rocket's spent first-stage motor, from a U.S. Air
Force C-17 aircraft flying at an altitude of 25,000 feet. The
parachute and all test hardware functioned properly and landed
safely.

The parachutes being developed for the Ares I recovery system are
similar to those used for the four-segment space shuttle boosters,
but they have been redesigned to accommodate new requirements of the
Ares I first stage. The Ares I will have a five-segment solid rocket
booster that will move faster and fall from a higher altitude than
the shuttle boosters.

Engineers from NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville,
Ala., manage the team that conducted the test. ATK Launch Systems
near Promontory, Utah, is the prime contractor for the first stage
booster. ATK's subcontractor, United Space Alliance of Houston, is
responsible for design, development and testing of the parachutes at
its facilities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston manages the Constellation
Program, which includes the Ares I rocket, the Ares V heavy-lift
launch vehicle, the Orion crew spacecraft and the Altair lunar
lander. Marshall manages the Ares Projects. The U.S. Army's Yuma
Proving Ground provides the test range, support facilities and
equipment to NASA for parachute testing.

When video from the test becomes available, it will air on NASA
Television's Video File. For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming
video information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/constellation

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