WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:01.000 00:00:01.000 --> 00:00:05.000 Hi, I'm Jon Cowart at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. 00:00:05.000 --> 00:00:08.000 I am the deputy mission manager for the Ares I-X flight test. 00:00:08.000 --> 00:00:13.000 Ares I-X, or simply I-X as we call it, is like a midterm exam for us. 00:00:13.000 --> 00:00:16.000 The flight test is designed to show us whether we are on the right track 00:00:16.000 --> 00:00:19.000 in building the next system to lift astronauts into space. 00:00:19.000 --> 00:00:22.000 Now, there won't be any astronauts on board the I-X when it lifts off from 00:00:22.000 --> 00:00:27.000 Launch Pad 39B here at Kennedy, but our attention to every detail will be intense. 00:00:27.000 --> 00:00:33.000 The Ares I-X is 327-feet tall and uses a solid rocket booster as a first stage. 00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:38.000 But where later rockets will have an operational upper stage and Apollo-style spacecraft 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:42.000 atop the booster, the Ares I-X uses weight simulators instead. 00:00:42.000 --> 00:00:47.000 The idea is to test the ability of the booster rocket to lift the upper stage and spacecraft. 00:00:47.000 --> 00:00:51.000 The flight also will show us whether it will separate safely. 00:00:51.000 --> 00:00:55.000 So where does I-X fit? Basically, it's the most detailed test we have attempted 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:57.000 in the program to this point. 00:00:57.000 --> 00:01:01.000 There are of thousands of engineers, technicians and others working at NASA centers 00:01:01.000 --> 00:01:04.000 around the United States on the effort. 00:01:04.000 --> 00:01:09.000 So we know there are a lot of challenges with this Ares I-X flight test. That's alright, 00:01:09.000 --> 00:01:11.000 NASA's launched plenty of firsts. 00:01:11.000 --> 00:01:15.000 Although NASA has been launching astronauts into space since 1961, 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:19.000 the space agency started with rockets that did not carry anyone. 00:01:19.000 --> 00:01:23.000 After all, there were no sophisticated computers that could accurately predict exactly 00:01:23.000 --> 00:01:25.000 what would happen after engines were ignited. 00:01:25.000 --> 00:01:29.000 So engineers tested rockets often to see how they'd work. 00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:32.000 Sometimes the designs worked well. 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:33.000 Sometimes they didn't. 00:01:33.000 --> 00:01:37.000 But each launch was a learning experience, and researchers quickly learned 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:41.000 from the problems and advanced each design until they were comfortable enough 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:43.000 to start putting payloads aboard. 00:01:43.000 --> 00:01:49.000 NASA sent its first satellite into orbit, Explorer 1, in 1958. 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:52.000 They rockets weren't perfect yet, but they made progress. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:58.000 Alan Shepard became the first American in space in 1961, riding in a Mercury capsule 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:00.000 perched on a Redstone rocket. 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:04.000 More successes followed, including the launch of the first American to orbit the Earth, 00:02:04.000 --> 00:02:07.000 John Glenn, in February, 1962. 00:02:07.000 --> 00:02:11.000 Each launch added to the record of achievement and soon it was time for NASA 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:15.000 to test its largest rocket ever, the Saturn V. 00:02:15.000 --> 00:02:20.000 Confident of the design, engineers took the unusual step for the time of testing the rocket 00:02:20.000 --> 00:02:23.000 and its three stages all at once the first time up. 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:26.000 The test launches were loaded with instruments and cameras. 00:02:26.000 --> 00:02:29.000 That was in case something unexpected happened, 00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:31.000 engineers could have something to evaluate the problem. 00:02:31.000 --> 00:02:35.000 For the Saturn V, the cameras returned some of the most spectacular images 00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:38.000 of the historic Apollo Program. 00:02:38.000 --> 00:02:42.000 Saturn's successes were still being recorded as NASA engineers set about developing 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:46.000 its replacement a reusable craft that glided back to Earth. 00:02:46.000 --> 00:02:49.000 That design would become the space shuttle. 00:02:49.000 --> 00:02:53.000 Just like with the previous rockets, the shuttle underwent extensive testing. 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:57.000 The glide back to Earth had to be evaluated firsthand. 00:02:57.000 --> 00:03:01.000 In a break with previous crewed spacecraft, though, the first complete 00:03:01.000 --> 00:03:04.000 shuttle stack was launched with astronauts on board. 00:03:04.000 --> 00:03:08.000 John Young and Robert Crippen put the shuttle design through its first 00:03:08.000 --> 00:03:13.000 paces in space during STS-1 in April, 1981. 00:03:13.000 --> 00:03:18.000 Now, with those experiences of the past as a guide, the stage has been set 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:20.000 for the Ares I-X flight test. 00:03:20.000 --> 00:03:24.000 We've stacked the experimental rocket carefully and already have run a number of tests 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:28.000 on it as it stood high inside Kennedy's Vehicle Assembly Building. 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:33.000 And we've modified one of the launch pads that used to host shuttles and Apollo rockets. 00:03:33.000 --> 00:03:36.000 Just like we've done since the first Saturn V launch, 00:03:36.000 --> 00:03:40.000 we used a crawler-transporter to carefully move I-X out to the launch pad. 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:45.000 In short, we at NASA know we have a big test coming up, and we are ready for it. 00:03:45.000 --> 00:03:50.000 This is an exciting time for us, because it is an early payoff for a significant amount of 00:03:50.000 --> 00:03:52.000 work we have already carried out on this program. 00:03:52.000 --> 00:03:56.000 It's also an exciting time for the nation because this new rocket will give us a fresh look 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:59.000 at possible ways to reach beyond Earth orbit. 00:03:59.000 --> 00:04:01.000 Thanks for joining us today. 00:04:01.000 --> 00:04:03.000 From NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, I'm Jon Cowart. 00:04:03.000 --> 00:04:08.000