The Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) tested June 28 ran for two minutes and four seconds and reached temperatures of 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The public viewing area was 1.5 miles from the test stand, so there was a seven-second delay between firing and hearing the sound. The sound waves where still enough to vibrate clothing.
The Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) tested June 28 ran for two minutes and four seconds and reached temperatures of 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The public viewing area was 1.5 miles from the test stand, so there was a seven-second delay between firing and hearing the sound. The sound waves where still enough to vibrate clothing.
Seeley Lake Mark Melvin estimated that there were more than 300 people that attended the launch at the Orbital ATK Aerospace Systems just outside Promontory, Utah. Cars were streaming into the parking lots for the three and a half hours before the test and it took nearly an hour and a half to leave.
PROMONTORY, UTAH - Seeley Lake resident Mark Melvin took his interest in space exploration to a new level after attending his first solid rocket booster (SRB) test in Promontory, Utah June 28. After watching the 124-second test, Melvin left impressed and with hopes to attend an actual launch in the future.
"I find space exploration to be really exciting," said Melvin. "Satellite observation of our own earth and our own effects on it are really vital to how we continue to function as a species. I think discovering other planets around other stars and other solar systems in our galaxy are personally one of the most exciting things we could possibly discover."
Melvin follows NASA's YouTube channels. The rocket booster test was mentioned and Melvin decided since Promontory was only about six hours away this was a good opportunity to go watch. Also, since it was a ground test and not an actual launch, it didn't have the potential to be delayed for an extended period of time due to external factors such as weather.
"Usually when I hear about these things it's after they are over," said Melvin. "So, I thought, I don't have anything going on at the moment. I'm going to finally go and see one of these things."
This was the second and last test for the five segment booster for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. NASA will use the booster in 2018 for a test flight with their Orion spacecraft. The stress the booster experiences during a ground test is the same as it will experience during the launch.
Melvin arrived at the Orbital ATK's test facility in Promontory at 5:45 a.m. Tuesday morning, more than two hours before the test. The test was delayed an hour from the 8 a.m. start time.
Although the cause of the delay was unknown, Melvin said, "When you are firing off a booster that can provide 3.6 million pounds of thrust, you want to make sure everything is exactly right before you light it off, especially when it can't be stopped."
By the time the test started, Melvin said the temperatures had climbed into the 80s. Hundreds of people were in attendance and most were in the observation area a mile and a half from the rocket with exception of an area designated for media that was slightly closer to the booster.
"It was impressive," said Melvin. "Even though the test was so far away, you could feel the vibrations from the test vibrating your clothing. The booster itself was aimed away from the audience so we didn't get the full effect of the sound waves. It was still really powerful, especially since it took seven seconds for the sound of the firing to arrive."
Melvin said the audience's excitement when the rocket fired and the cheering when it ended impressed him as well.
The booster reached temperatures of almost 6,000 degrees during the two-minute test. NASA scientists will evaluate data gathered from 530 different instrumentation channels on the booster. NASA said the test was successful and they are one step closer to launching the SLS on its journey to Mars.
"It is always fun to point out that NASA's entire budget [$20 billion] is about one-third of what American's spend on soft drinks [including soda and energy drinks for a total of $77 billion] every year," said Melvin. "It's an impressive thing that we are doing all these satellite things, have two rovers on Mars and it's all for less than what we are spending for soda."
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