Ares I Will Require A Redesigned Tower And Mobile Platform

By Wes Oleszewski

As the stacking of the Ares I-X test vehicle proceeds in High-bay 4 of the VAB at the Kennedy Space Center, an almost inconspicuous group of structures are growing outside in the Mobile Launch Platform parking area. These primer-gray structures appear to be little more than a jumble of huge pipes and giant steel walls, but they are actually the launchers of tomorrow. Hidden in plain site, they are the beginnings of the new lightweight Launch Umbilical Tower (LUT) and Mobile Launch Platform (MLP) for the Ares I, NASA's proposed next manned launch vehicle.

Many of the first pieces that would make up the new launchers arrived at KSC by barge beginning in February, and by late spring the new MLP was taking shape and the base and lower levels of the LUT were formed.  Although both components will occupy nearly the same space as their predecessors used on the Saturn V, the new structures will weigh about two and a half million pounds less. That's necessary because while the Ares I looks slender, it's actually a heavyweight coming out of the VAB.

LUT Photo Credit NASA

Standing more than 340 feet tall, the Ares I will require a 345 foot tall tower to service its liquid fueled second stage as well as for crew access to the Orion spacecraft. The problem is that the launch vehicle's first stage, a five segment Shuttle derived SRB, will be enormously heavy. As a result, the Ares I's projected roll-out weight will be about 1.6 million pounds. Add the weight of a current shuttle MLP of 8.8 million pounds plus a Saturn V era style LUT weighing approximately 4 million pounds and the Ares I would be rolling out  1.4 million pounds heavier than the current crawler-transporters can lift. Although the Saturn V configuration looked huge in comparison to the Ares I, the Saturn V was transported to the pad empty. The gigantic moon rocket actually tipped the scale in at just over one third of the Ares I's projected roll-out weight. However, the launch weight for the Ares I will only be about 2.2 million pounds, while the Saturn V lifted off the pad at over 6.5 million pounds.

MLP Photo Credit NASA

Solving the Ares I roll-out weight problem required the construction of a new lightweight MLP and LUT combination. The MLP consists of a platform core mounted on tubular trusses. These trusses stretch out to legs that connect to the hard points at Launch Complex 39. The structure's tubular framework allows for pad stability at a lesser weight while using the current crawler-transporters. Likewise, the new LUT departs from the steel girders used in the Apollo era tower and instead is constructed of tubular steel. This tubular construction allows for girder-like strength and stability at a far lower weight.

Basic construction on the lightweight MLP and LUT combination is supposed to be done in the summer of 2010 with equipment installation and testing going on for the next two years. The new launcher is scheduled to be "Go" for use in 2012.

FMI: www.nasa.gov