Pop! Goes the rocket

It was 6:13 p.m. on Nov. 16, and to anyone who was driving by Promontory Point, it looked like the sun was rising. Two minutes later the sky was black.

Had the speakers in the car been turned down, the roar filling the air would have let the driver know it was not the end of the world, but instead an enormous rocket engine was being fired.

ATK Launch Systems, a rocket company located about 15 miles north of Brigham City, conducted a night test of its reusable solid rocket motor that helps propel the space shuttle out of earth’s gravity. One of only two night tests ever conducted, the firing attracted researchers from around the nation and hundreds of local residents whose curiosity brought them to the viewing point.

The 149-foot long rocket was going through a static, or unmoving, test and was held in place by a foot thick steel wall, metal cage and cables anchored into cement blocks. For 15 minutes, it seemed like the test wasn’t going to happen as the countdown clock stopped at nine minutes while the scientists waited for the wind to die down.

“A lot of things have to go right to pull that trigger,” said Ronald Dittemore, president of ATK Launch Systems.

Finally, the clock hit 30 seconds. The crowd quieted down. The silence was broken by one woman at the front of the crowd. “This is like a rock concert for engineering nerds,” she said laughing.

And then the rocket went off. The sky lit up and the crowd squinted at the silent spectacle. Then the sound caught up with the light and an enormous roar hit the crowd.

Even from the closest viewing point a mile away, orange flames shot from the back of the rocket, lighting the sky and turning it from black to light blue, sending a plume of smoke thousands of feet in the air and exerting 2.6 million pounds of thrust.

Two short minutes later, it was over.

The test was done in preparation for the Dec. 7 shuttle launch. The launch will happen at night, so NASA Director of Exploration Launch Steve Cook said NASA requested to have the test at night to calibrate the 20 cameras NASA will use for the actual launch.

Cook said even though the specific motor tested is not going to be in use on shuttles for much longer, the data NASA gathered will help them design the new motor for the shuttle that will go to the moon in 2010. The scientists looked at the torque the rocket went through, the durability of a new environmentally friendly insulation and the vibration of the motor, he said.

“This is truly a milestone in NASA,” Cook said. “We now have a focus – to explore. This coming mission will really wrap up a 30-year program.”

Robert Behnken, NASA astronaut, agreed that NASA’s renewed dedication to returning to space is good and said it’s exciting to see a new shuttle being designed.

“When I was a 10 years old, I saw shuttles being shipped and it was the same vehicle we’re using now,” Behnken said. “I’m looking forward to being part of the future of NASA.”

The future of NASA is being driven by ATK Launch Systems, said Charlie Precount, four-time shuttle passenger and vice president for strategy and business development for ATK. He said with $1 billion in sales per year and 4,000 employees in Utah alone, many USU graduates and Utah residents are helping create the future of space exploration and missile defense.

“Folks in Utah ought to be pretty proud to be part of this,” he said. “This is a big deal for NASA and the nation. Utah plays a key role.”

Not only is space exploration going to be benefited, Precount said, but the technology developed will help balance resources on earth. Precount said the research allows nations to “become more efficient with the use of resources.” He said eventually the technology from space research will spill over and the world will get better at conserving energy and keeping the environment clean.

“NASA’s vision keeps us out in front of the world,” Precount said. “Space research is something that attracts other nations as a means to collaborate in a positive way, but it can be challenging with the complexities of the international landscape.”

The current project ATK and NASA are working on is Ares 1, a new type of space shuttle that will be more cost and fuel efficient.

“Utah is basically embarking on the next journey to the moon, Mars and beyond,” said Trina Paskett, manager of media relations for ATK.

-dilewis@cc.usu.edu