Working in outerspace to benefit planet Earth
Orion Scale Model Tested in Water
A 1/4th-scale model of the Orion spacecraft is lowered into the 6.2-million-gallon Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory at NASA's Johnson Space Center. Engineers used the test to gather data on how the model behaved and reacted in the water. Photo Credit: NASA
Scale models of the Orion crew exploration vehicle recently were tested at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, or NBL, at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and at a wave tank at Texas A&M University in College Station.
NASA conducted a series of buoyancy and flotation characteristics tests using the NBL and a 1/4-scale model of the Orion crew capsule. The model was lowered into the NBL’s 6.2-million-gallon pool and was floated in a series of positions. This testing will allow the engineers and the NBL team to develop their full-scale crew training mock-up that will be used for mission training and for creating the crew safety procedures for water-based landings of the Orion crew capsule.
The team also performed a series of tests to validate a new seal design and updated wireless communications. Engineers also evaluated a prototype floatation collar for the spacecraft, which was provided by NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“It is rewarding to see an actual scale model of Orion finally being tested in the water,” said Alan Rhodes, a NASA engineer who was observing the testing. “The NBL is a one-of-a-kind testing facility for NASA, and the team helped us gather a tremendous amount of critical data that we will use to refine the design of Orion.”
A smaller scale model of the Orion crew capsule also was tested at a wave tank at Texas A&M University. The goal of the test was to determine how the spacecraft reacts to strong waves while it floats in the water. Engineers simulated gale force winds and large waves to ensure the spacecraft would remain upright.
The next step for the team will be to partner with a team of naval architects from the United States Navy to conduct a series of flotation characteristics and towing tests to help further understand how the Orion crew capsule will act in different sea states and to help generate recovery procedures. The next round of testing will be held in October at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Carderock, Md., and at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Md.
Along with the scaled testing, NASA and the United States Navy began fabrication of a full-scale test article that will allow search and rescue divers from the Human Space Flight Support team at the Kennedy Space Center to begin working with an Orion mock-up in the water. These tests will allow the team to review current recovery procedures and to understand how changing sea states will affect the overall recovery operation. Full-scale testing will take place off the coast of Florida, near the Kennedy Space Center, in January 2009.
Courtesy of Nasa.gov
Scale models of the Orion crew exploration vehicle recently were tested at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, or NBL, at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and at a wave tank at Texas A&M University in College Station.
NASA conducted a series of buoyancy and flotation characteristics tests using the NBL and a 1/4-scale model of the Orion crew capsule. The model was lowered into the NBL’s 6.2-million-gallon pool and was floated in a series of positions. This testing will allow the engineers and the NBL team to develop their full-scale crew training mock-up that will be used for mission training and for creating the crew safety procedures for water-based landings of the Orion crew capsule.
The team also performed a series of tests to validate a new seal design and updated wireless communications. Engineers also evaluated a prototype floatation collar for the spacecraft, which was provided by NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“It is rewarding to see an actual scale model of Orion finally being tested in the water,” said Alan Rhodes, a NASA engineer who was observing the testing. “The NBL is a one-of-a-kind testing facility for NASA, and the team helped us gather a tremendous amount of critical data that we will use to refine the design of Orion.”
A smaller scale model of the Orion crew capsule also was tested at a wave tank at Texas A&M University. The goal of the test was to determine how the spacecraft reacts to strong waves while it floats in the water. Engineers simulated gale force winds and large waves to ensure the spacecraft would remain upright.
The next step for the team will be to partner with a team of naval architects from the United States Navy to conduct a series of flotation characteristics and towing tests to help further understand how the Orion crew capsule will act in different sea states and to help generate recovery procedures. The next round of testing will be held in October at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in Carderock, Md., and at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Aberdeen, Md.
Along with the scaled testing, NASA and the United States Navy began fabrication of a full-scale test article that will allow search and rescue divers from the Human Space Flight Support team at the Kennedy Space Center to begin working with an Orion mock-up in the water. These tests will allow the team to review current recovery procedures and to understand how changing sea states will affect the overall recovery operation. Full-scale testing will take place off the coast of Florida, near the Kennedy Space Center, in January 2009.
Courtesy of Nasa.gov
NASA to Realign Constellation Program Milestones
Aug. 11, 2008
WASHINGTON -- In a news conference Monday, NASA managers discussed how the agency will be adjusting the budget, schedule and technical performance milestones for its Constellation Program to ensure the first crewed flight of the Ares I rocket and Orion crew capsule in March 2015.
The Constellation Program is developing the spacecraft and systems, including the Ares I and Ares V rockets, the Orion crew exploration vehicle, and the Altair lunar lander, that will take astronauts to the International Space Station after the retirement of the space shuttle, and eventually return humans to the moon.
"Since the program's inception, NASA has been working an aggressive plan to achieve flight capability before our March 2015 target," said Rick Gilbrech, associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "We are still confident the Constellation Program will make its first flight to the International Space Station on or before that date. Our new path forward better aligns our project schedules with our existing funds to ensure we can address the unplanned challenges that always arise when developing a complex flight system."
NASA will retire the space shuttles in 2010 and had established a goal of achieving flight capability for the Constellation Program before 2015 to narrow the gap in America's human spaceflight capability. As such, NASA aligned Constellation contracts and internal milestones against a date much earlier than March 2015 to incentivize an earlier flight capability.
As part of an annual budget process that evaluates the program's budget, schedule and technical performance milestones, NASA will be working with its contractors to discuss how program plans and internal milestones should be adjusted -- a process that will take several months and require contract modifications and associated milestone realignments. Such adjustments are not unusual for a complex development program as work matures and schedules and resources are aligned.
For more information about the Constellation Program, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/constellation
- end -
Courtesy of www.nasa.gov
WASHINGTON -- In a news conference Monday, NASA managers discussed how the agency will be adjusting the budget, schedule and technical performance milestones for its Constellation Program to ensure the first crewed flight of the Ares I rocket and Orion crew capsule in March 2015.
The Constellation Program is developing the spacecraft and systems, including the Ares I and Ares V rockets, the Orion crew exploration vehicle, and the Altair lunar lander, that will take astronauts to the International Space Station after the retirement of the space shuttle, and eventually return humans to the moon.
"Since the program's inception, NASA has been working an aggressive plan to achieve flight capability before our March 2015 target," said Rick Gilbrech, associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "We are still confident the Constellation Program will make its first flight to the International Space Station on or before that date. Our new path forward better aligns our project schedules with our existing funds to ensure we can address the unplanned challenges that always arise when developing a complex flight system."
NASA will retire the space shuttles in 2010 and had established a goal of achieving flight capability for the Constellation Program before 2015 to narrow the gap in America's human spaceflight capability. As such, NASA aligned Constellation contracts and internal milestones against a date much earlier than March 2015 to incentivize an earlier flight capability.
As part of an annual budget process that evaluates the program's budget, schedule and technical performance milestones, NASA will be working with its contractors to discuss how program plans and internal milestones should be adjusted -- a process that will take several months and require contract modifications and associated milestone realignments. Such adjustments are not unusual for a complex development program as work matures and schedules and resources are aligned.
For more information about the Constellation Program, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/constellation
- end -
Courtesy of www.nasa.gov
Work on Ares and Launch Pad Continue at Kennedy Space Center
August 8, 2008
On Launch Pad 39B, workers are installing a lightning protection system. Each of the three new lightning towers will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire centenary system. This improved lightning protection system also allows for the taller height of the Ares I compared to the space shuttle.
The pad, previously used for Apollo and shuttle launches, is being modified to support future launches of Ares and Orion spacecraft.
Ares I is a two-stage rocket that will transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle to low Earth orbit. The first stage will consist of a single reusable solid propellant rocket booster, similar to those used on space shuttles, with an additional fifth segment. The second, or upper, stage will consist of a J-2X liquid oxygen- and liquid hydrogen-fueled main engine and a new upper stage fuel tank.
The first Ares test launch is scheduled for April 2009.
(Courtesy of www.nasa.gov)
On Launch Pad 39B, workers are installing a lightning protection system. Each of the three new lightning towers will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire centenary system. This improved lightning protection system also allows for the taller height of the Ares I compared to the space shuttle.
The pad, previously used for Apollo and shuttle launches, is being modified to support future launches of Ares and Orion spacecraft.
Ares I is a two-stage rocket that will transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle to low Earth orbit. The first stage will consist of a single reusable solid propellant rocket booster, similar to those used on space shuttles, with an additional fifth segment. The second, or upper, stage will consist of a J-2X liquid oxygen- and liquid hydrogen-fueled main engine and a new upper stage fuel tank.
The first Ares test launch is scheduled for April 2009.
(Courtesy of www.nasa.gov)
August 1, 2008 Weekly Summary
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