October 9, 2023: Scott Bartel

October 9, 2023
4:00 p.m.
Room: 2150 Torgersen Hall
Scott Bartel, KBR/NASA
Faculty Host:  Dr. Pat Artis 

"Ares I-X, A Lost Opportunity"

Abstract:  The Constellation System was started in 2005 to replace the retiring Space Transportation System (STS) and Ares I-X was a demonstration flight to put "iron in the air". The Constellation system was composed of the Ares I Man Rated launch vehicle for the Orion Spacecraft and the Ares V, now the Artemis Space Launch System (SLS). In 2007 Ares I-X was proposed to use an “off-the-shelf” STS Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) and a dummy structure representing the upper stage of the booster. The flight in October 2009 proved the viability of Ares I and eliminated speculation regarding thrust oscillation, lack of roll control and flight safety. The presentation will provide information regarding the development, flight and post-flight assessment of Ares I-X. Even though the flight was successful, the Constellation program was cancelled in 2010. Why Constellation was cancelled will be discussed and the current Artemis program will be shown to be derivative of the Constellation Program.

Bio:  Scott Bartel has been engaged in aviation and aerospace for over 50 years. Enlistment in the United States Air Force (USAF) and training as an avionics technician provided the base skills for his career. Upon leaving the USAF in 1976, he worked for Martin-Marietta, Ball Aerospace, and Hughes Aircraft on spacecraft components and experiments.  He joined a small “beltway bandit” company, the SKW Corporation in 1986 to work for the nascent Strategic Defense Initiative Organization (SDIO), was Test Conductor for the STS-39 Infrared Background Signature Survey (IBSS) and provided technical services for other SDIO experiments and spacecraft. He founded the Blacksky Corporation in 1996 to provide rockets for “recreation, education and industry”. Returning to big aerospace in 2006, he was hired by Andrews Space to work at Alliant Techsystems (ATK) and was an integrated product team (IPT) lead for the Ares I-X program. Recruited by Aerojet in 2012, he worked on the thrust divert and attitude control system (TDACS) for the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Standard Missile 3 (SM-3). He is now semi-retired and supports supplier assessments and the Roman Space Telescope at the Goddard Space Flight Center. He has been married for over 40 years, spent 10 years away from home and has two children, both in the USAF. He has just returned home from hiking Hadrian's Wall in England and a tour of Scotland.