NASA shot back Wednesday at recent news reports
suggesting the Ares I rocket in development for the past
three years is doomed to failure.
Although NASA
officials did not mention any media outlet by name, they
took issue with an Oct. 26 story in the Orlando Sentinel
claiming that concerns that Ares I could crash into its
launch tower under certain wind conditions were the latest
setback threatening to undo the U.S. space agency's plans
for returning to the Moon.
Doug Cooke, NASA's deputy
associate administrator for exploration systems, was
up-front about the motive behind Wednesday's Constellation
program media teleconference.
"Some recent new
reports about Ares have been inaccurate and draw false
conclusions and could be avoided if we are given the
opportunity to give the facts of the case," Cooke said.
Steve Cook, manager of the Ares project at NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.,
acknowledged that the so-called launch vehicle drift
mentioned in the newspaper report was discussed during the
Ares I's preliminary design review that wrapped up in
September as something that would have to be addressed. But
Cook said that news reports had blown the issue out of
proportion.
"First of all, launch vehicles experience
lift-off drift primarily due to winds at the launch pad and
it's a manageable phenomenon," Cook said. "In the very heavy
wind conditions that we are designed to - 34 knots, which is
significantly higher than what shuttle uses today – Ares I
can use its built-in thrust vector controls to steer away
from the pad tower ... or fly within reduced wind
constraints more similar to those used today on the shuttle.
Either one of those by themselves will avoid the issues
we've got here."
The space shuttle is designed to
launch in winds up to 19 knots, or roughly 22 mph (35 kph).
