posted 11-08-2011 12:42 PM               

NASA Proposes Orion Spacecraft Test Flight In 2014

Agency Moves to Implement Deep Space Exploration Plan

NASA plans to add an unmanned flight test of the Orion spacecraft in early 2014 to its contract with Lockheed Martin Space Systems for the multi-purpose crew vehicle's (MPCV) design, development, test and evaluation. This test supports the new Space Launch System (SLS) that will take astronauts farther into space than ever before, create U.S. jobs, and provide the cornerstone for America's future human spaceflight efforts.

"President Obama and Congress have laid out an ambitious space exploration plan, and NASA is moving out quickly to implement it," NASA Associate Administrator for Communications David Weaver said. "This flight test will provide invaluable data to support the deep space exploration missions this nation is embarking upon."

This Exploration Flight Test, or EFT-1, will fly two orbits to a high apogee, with a high energy re-entry through Earth's atmosphere. Orion will make a water landing and be recovered using operations planned for future human exploration missions. The test mission will be launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., to acquire critical re-entry flight performance data and demonstrate early integration capabilities that benefit the Orion, SLS, and 21st Century Ground Systems programs. The agency has posted a synopsis explaining its intention on NASA's procurement website.

"The entry part of the test will produce data needed to develop a spacecraft capable of surviving speeds greater than 20,000 mph and safely return astronauts from beyond Earth orbit," NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) William Gerstenmaier said. "This test is very important to the detailed design process in terms of the data we expect to receive."

NASA also intends to release several competitive solicitations to industry in the near future. One solicitation will request proposals for the design, development, test and evaluation of a new advanced liquid or solid booster capability for the SLS. Another future contract NASA intends to compete will be for the development of spacecraft, and payload adaptors and fairings for crew and cargo missions. The competition and award dates for these will be determined as missions are identified.

NASA is developing the Orion spacecraft to launch astronauts to asteroids, the moon, Mars and other destinations atop SLS, the agency's new heavy launch vehicle. An early orbital flight test such as EFT-1 will provide data needed to influence design decisions and serve as a pathfinder to validate innovative new approaches to space systems development. The goal is to reduce the cost and schedule risks of exploration missions.

posted 02-29-2012 10:03 AM               

ATK to Prepare Orion Abort Motor for 2014 Test Flight of NASA's Orion Capsule

ATK today (Feb. 28) began conversion of the main abort motor for NASA's first Exploration Flight Test of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle slated for 2014 from Kennedy Space Center.

The inert system was recently returned to ATK's facility in Salt Lake City, Utah from Lockheed Martin's Waterton facility in Denver where the system successfully completed a series of rigorous acoustic and modal tests.

The abort motor is part of Orion's Launch Abort System, which is designed to safely lift the Orion crew module away from the launch vehicle in the event of an emergency on the launch pad or during initial ascent phase of NASA's Space Launch System.

Standing more than 17 feet tall and measuring three feet in diameter, the abort motor was manufactured in 2008. The motor is an early prototype that was used to better understand the design and to aid in the build-up and acoustic testing of the Orion capsule.

"In new developmental programs, we reduce risk by building an inert prototype to better understand the design and manufacturing processes," said Charlie Precourt, ATK General Manager and Vice President of Space Launch Systems. "In the case of the abort motor, it will now be reconfigured to support the first orbital test flight of the Orion crew vehicle."

A few modifications will be incorporated into the abort motor, including replacing the manifold with a flight design, performing structural tests, adding case brackets for raceway and attachment points for Orion's shroud, and adding flight instrumentation to collect environmental and flight data during the test launch.

"This test flight is an extremely important milestone as we move forward with America's new human exploration spacecraft and heavy lift launch system, enabling our human space flight program to conduct missions beyond Earth's orbit," said Precourt.

The Orion, with its abort system, will fly aboard NASA's Space Launch System, the rocket currently being developed to expand America's capability in space exploration. The launch system will be powerful enough to take crew and cargo into an orbit that enables missions to the Moon, asteroids and eventually to Mars.

In addition to the main abort motor, ATK also makes the Attitude Control Motor for the abort system at its Elkton, Md. facility. The control motor provides steering for the launch abort vehicle during an abort sequence. The control motor to be used on EFT-1 is an inert motor also delivered in 2008, but requires no modifications for the flight test.

The launch abort system sits at atop the Orion spacecraft and was successfully tested during Orion's Pad Abort-1 flight test in 2010. The abort motor operational design utilizes a composite case and titanium manifold exhaust turn-flow technology, resulting in weight savings and improved performance. The control motor design includes eight proportional-valve thrusters with a redundant control system, which provide unparalleled control and safety.

posted 03-15-2012 01:32 PM               

Orion Exploration Flight Test 1 - 2014

This animation depicts the proposed test flight of the Orion spacecraft in 2014.

During the test, which is called Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1), Orion will launch from Cape Canaveral, Florida, perform two orbits, reaching an altitude higher than any achieved by a spacecraft intended for human use since 1973, and then will re-enter and land in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of the United States.

Narration by Jay Estes, Deputy for flight test integration in the Orion program.

posted 07-02-2012 02:08 PM               

First space-bound Orion crew capsule arrives at NASA's launch site

Without its heat shield or wiring installed and only welded metal panels to see, NASA's new spacecraft designed to take astronauts out beyond the Earth and into the solar system doesn't look like much, yet.

But according to NASA, industry and congressional leaders, who on Monday (July 2) marked the arrival of the first space-bound Orion crew module at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the capsule's olive-green aluminum-lithium pressure shell is an exciting sight to behold.

posted 12-21-2012 03:48 PM               

NASA Progressing Toward First Launch of Orion Spacecraft

Recent engineering advances by NASA and its industry partners across the country show important progress toward Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1), the next step to launching humans to deep space. The uncrewed EFT-1 mission, launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 2014, will test the re-entry performance of the agency's Orion capsule, the most advanced spacecraft ever designed, which will carry astronauts farther into space than ever before.

"These recent milestones are laying the foundation for our first flight test of Orion in 2014," said Dan Dumbacher, deputy associate administrator for exploration systems development at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The work being done to prepare for the flight test is really a nationwide effort and we have a dedicated team committed to our goal of expanding the frontier of space."

A tool that will allow the titanium skeleton of the Orion heat shield to be bolted to its carbon fiber skin is at the Denver facility of the spacecraft's prime contractor Lockheed Martin. This will enable workers to begin assembling the two pieces of the heat shield. Almost 3,000 bolts are needed to hold the skeleton to the skin. A special stand was built to align the skin on the skeleton as holes for the bolts are drilled. Work to bolt the skeleton to the skin will be completed in January. The heat shield then will be shipped to Textron Defense Systems near Boston where the final layer, an ablative material very similar to that used on the Apollo spacecraft, will be added. The completed heat shield is scheduled to be ready for installation onto the Orion crew module at Kennedy next summer.

To test the heat shield during EFT-1's re-entry, Orion will travel more than 3,600 miles above Earth's surface, 15 times farther than the International Space Station's orbital position. This is farther than any spacecraft designed to carry humans has gone in more than 40 years. Orion will return home at a speed almost 5,000 mph faster than any current human spacecraft.

Recently, engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., received materials to begin manufacturing the adapter that will connect the Orion capsule to a United Launch Alliance Delta IV heavy-lift rocket for EFT-1. Two forward and two aft rings will be welded to barrel panels to form two adapters. This adapter design will be tested during EFT-1 for use during the first launch of NASA's next heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), in 2017. SLS will launch NASA's Orion spacecraft and other payloads beyond low Earth orbit, providing an entirely new capability for human exploration.

Data from the adapter on the flight test will provide Marshall engineers with invaluable experience developing hardware early in the design process. Designing the adapter once for multiple flights also provides a cost savings.

Of the two adapters welded at Marshall, one will attach Orion to the Delta IV heavy-lift rocket used for EFT-1. The other adapter will be a structural test article to gain knowledge on the design.

NASA's Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program also has passed a major agency review that lays the groundwork at Kennedy to support future Orion and SLS launches. The GSDO Program completed a combined system requirements review and system definition review, in which an independent board of technical experts from across NASA evaluated the program's infrastructure specifications, budget and schedule. The board confirmed GSDO is ready to move from concept development to preliminary design. The combination of the two assessments represents a fundamentally different way of conducting NASA program reviews. The team is streamlining processes to provide the nation with a safe, affordable and sustainable launch facility.

The GSDO program earlier this month also led the third Stationary Recovery Test Working Group session in Norfolk, Va. The team presented to the U.S. Navy detachment that will recover the capsule during EFT-1 a complete list of tasks required to accomplish stationary recovery test objectives. The working group outlined the plan for roles and responsibilities to accomplish required test procedures. Included in these presentations were the commanding officer of the USS Mesa Verde and the fleet forces command director of operations, who both expressed complete support for the test.

posted 02-22-2013 05:27 AM               

ATK Delivers Inert Launch Abort Motor for Orion Spacecraft Exploration Flight Test 1

ATK successfully delivered a launch abort motor to Kennedy Space Center, Fla., for Exploration Flight Test (EFT-1) of NASA's Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, scheduled to fly next year. The test flight abort motor is configured with inert propellant, since the EFT-1 mission will have no crew on board, but otherwise replicates the launch abort system that will ensure astronaut safety on future crewed Orion exploration missions using the new Space Launch System (SLS).

ATK's abort motor is part of Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS), which is designed to safely pull the Orion crew module away from the launch vehicle in the event of an emergency on the launch pad or during the initial ascent of NASA's SLS. Although an abort event is not necessary for the un-crewed mission, having an inert abort motor in the LAS stack for EFT-1 helps NASA achieve its goals simulating the same weight, structure and aerodynamics of the live motor configuration.

"Our launch abort motor is critical to ensuring safety, allowing for a greater reduction in risks for crewed flights," said Charlie Precourt, ATK vice president and general manager of the Space Launch Division. "ATK is proud to be a part of the Orion EFT-1 team. This is an important milestone for America's new human exploration program, which includes Orion and the Space Launch System, with a heavy-lift capability to take crew and cargo on missions to the moon, asteroids and eventually Mars."

Successfully ground-tested in 2008 and flight-tested during Orion's Pad Abort test in 2010, the launch abort motor is more than 17 feet tall, measures three feet in diameter, and includes a revolutionary turn-flow rocket manifold technology. Two additional flight tests are scheduled for SLS, prior to the manned flight planned for 2020.

The launch abort motor was manufactured in 2008 as an inert pathfinder and has been modified at ATK's Bacchus, Promontory, and Clearfield, Utah, facilities to meet the needs of EFT-1. It was also instrumented to collect environmental and flight data during the test launch.

ATK also makes the Attitude Control Motor for the abort system at its Elkton, Md., facility. The control motor provides steering for the launch abort vehicle during an abort sequence.

The primary objective of EFT-1 is to test the Orion crew module, which will have the LAS attached during ascent. Orion will travel more than 3,600 miles above Earth's surface--more than 15 times farther away than the International Space Station's orbital position. This is farther than any spacecraft designed to carry humans has gone in more than 40 years. Orion will return to Earth at a speed over 20,000 mph, faster than any current human spacecraft.

ATK is on contract to Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT), who is the prime contractor for building the Orion spacecraft. The industry team includes major subcontractors, such as ATK, and a nationwide network of minor subcontractors, small businesses and suppliers across the United States.