spacetoday.net: NASA tests five-segment solid rocket motor

Posted: Thu, Sep 2, 2010, 8:15 AM ET (1215 GMT)
DM-2 solid rocket motor test firing (NASA)

NASA and ATK successfully test-fired a five-segment solid rocket motor originally developed for the Ares 1 but whose current fate is uncertain. The test, designated DM-2, was the second for the five-segment motor after a successful initial test last year. This test involved chilling the motor down to about 4 degrees Celsius to ensure that resigned joints between segments would not allow hot gas to escape. The five-segment motor, a scaled-up version of the four-segment motor used on space shuttle launches, was originally designed to serve as the first stage of the Ares 1 launch vehicle. However, the administration has proposed canceling that launch vehicle in its budget proposal. NASA noted that the motor is "potentially transferable to future heavy-lift launch vehicle designs".