Fwd: Orion spacecraft passes critical test at KSC

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From: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Date: June 7, 2013 8:44:58 AM GMT-06:00
To: "Gary Johnson" <gjohnson144@comcast.net>
Subject: FW: Orion spacecraft passes critical test at KSC

 

 

      Jun. 6, 2013   

Orion spacecraft passes critical test at KSC

In the Operations and Checkout Building O&C at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Orion spacecraft is seen in its test stand preparing for a Static Loads test. / NASA

Written by
Todd Halvorson
FLORIDA TODAY

CAPE CANAVERAL – NASA's first space-bound Orion crew capsule passed critical tests at Kennedy Space Center this month, clearing key milestones along the way toward launch next year on an inaugural test flight.

Ensconced in a 20-foot-tall fixture inside Lockheed Martin's on-site production facility, the Orion capsule was hydraulically pushed and pulled, and also pressurized, to simulate conditions it will encounter in flight.

The campaign was carried out to "verify what works on paper will work in space," Charles Lundquist, a NASA manager with the Orion project, said in a statement. "This is how we validate our design."

The Orion spacecraft, which is scheduled to launch aboard a Delta IV Heavy rocket in September 2014, was instrumented with 1,600 strain gauges that recorded vehicle responses to structural loads from as little as 14,000 pounds to 240,000 pounds. The spacecraft was subjected to 110 percent of eight different types of stresses will experience during flight.

Pressure testing also verified that repairs to superficial cracks in the vehicle's rear bulkhead have been properly repaired. The cracks were detected after pressure tests in November.

The Orion spacecraft was successfully pressurized to 110 percent of conditions it will be subjected to in flight.

Next year's $375 million flight test will blast off from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket will propel it on a two-orbit mission that will reach an altitude of 3,600 miles. Then the spacecraft will renter the atmosphere at a speed topping 20,000 miles per hour – or about 84 percent of the velocity of a crew capsule returning from a mission beyond Earth orbit.

NASA officials say the test will give engineers early data on the performance of 10 of 16 of the spacecraft systems most critical to crew safety. The flight test also will enable designers to identify required changes early in crew capsule development.

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Contact Halvorson at thalvorson@floridatoday.com

 

 

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