jgln
Well-Known Member
Athenas? Which one? The first two were essentially failures (the curse!!), third one had no issues.
Ares I-X
- Thread starter jgln
- Start date
Help Support Homebrew Talk - Beer, Wine, Mead, & Cider Brewing Discussion Forum:
Athenas? Which one? The first two were essentially failures (the curse!!), third one had no issues.
jgln
Well-Known Member
Another interesting fact about SLC 6 is that it was going to be the launch complex for the space shuttle and was retrofitted for it too. Read the article, pretty cool. When I would walk up to the door to get in the building where I was working there was a rusty old plaque on the door saying Space Shuttle Launch Complex (or similar words) on the door. I got to work in one of their 3 high bays, each the shape and size as the shuttle cargo bay. Man, they were big. What they were designed to do was you prep your payload in there, then they roll the shuttle to the processing building and you mate to its bay and then back to the pad. Pad was cool to check out too. Blast tunnels were huge. One of the roads on the base had the rock cut out on both sides so they could transport the shuttle from the airport to the pad about 30 miles away or so. I drove that road to work every day. I took a ton of pictures but unfortunately back then I had a film camera. I have pictures of Atlas and Titan complexes too. Got to see old ICBMs up close too being refabed as satellite launch vehicles, they had the star on the side and were all dusty. Sorry, I just love talking about this stuff. 
SpanishCastleAle
Well-Known Member
Ares chase plane video
Follows it up to separation then follows it back down to chute deployment and splash-down. Nothing happens after ~6:20.
Follows it up to separation then follows it back down to chute deployment and splash-down. Nothing happens after ~6:20.
jgln
Well-Known Member
I was thinking a fast jet as the chase plane but I guess it was really a plane and what appears to be a slow one since the final scenes of splashdown almost appeared to come from a helicopter. What do I know though, I am not a pilot.
kaiser423
Well-Known Member
They did the shaman thing on the third one (the one that launched successfully).
kaiser423
Well-Known Member
Probably an old prop-job like a P-3. They just pre-stage to the area with a big honkin' camera and wait for it to show up.
No plane would be fast enough to chase a rocket like this, even if this one didn't go orbital.
SpanishCastleAle
Well-Known Member
I was disappointed at the beginning of that video because I was thinking; "Crap, they're far away and they def aren't gonna get any closer." It's more for the descent/chute/splashdown.
I don't know what they were in, it was sent to me via e-mail as 'ARES Chase plane video' so I googled that and posted one of the links.
jgln
Well-Known Member
Still looks like a still camera shot, not saying it is not. The plane appears to follow pretty much the assent and decent with great accuracry and not a hickup or apparent change in angle form where it was taken except for focusing. I am sure the camera had tracking on it though so I am sure it is possible. I still expect to see some movement of the plane once it hits the water but I saw none.
jgln
Well-Known Member
Ok, I was there when they had it on the pad but was not there for the launch.
