NASA completes Orion spacecraft jettison parachute test over Arizona
NASA conducted parachute tests of its Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle on Jan. 16, 2013 at the U.S. Army's Yuma Test Grounds in Arizona. Photo Credit: NASA
On Thursday, January 16, engineers completed another crucial test on NASA’s Orion spacecraft with its parachute system at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Grounds in Arizona. This highly-complex test included the jettison of certain hardware which works to keep the spacecraft safe during flight.
“The test was the first to give engineers in-air data on the performance of the system that jettisons Orion’s forward bay cover. The cover is a shell that fits over Orion’s crew module to protect the spacecraft during launch, orbital flight and re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. When Orion returns from space, the cover must come off before the spacecraft’s parachutes can deploy. It must be jettisoned high above the ground in order for the parachutes to unfurl,” a NASA release stated.
The first test flight of Orion is currently scheduled to take place in September of this year. Photo Credit: NASA
This was the first test involving the bay cover, although the parachutes have been tested at the Yuma Proving Grounds before without it. A thruster separation system built by Systima Technologies Inc. jettisons the forward bay cover that was used in Thursday’s test. The addition of the cover makes it one of the more complex and extensive tests that will be performed on this spacecraft to date.
Lockheed Martin, who is the primary contractor for the spacecraft, completed the first systems test on the ground this past December.
“Two more ground tests will simulate different types of stresses on the cover, such as a potential parachute failure or loads on the spacecraft. NASA also plans a second airborne test with the forward bay cover to evaluate its performance with a failed parachute,” NASA stated.
A test version of NASA’s Orion spacecraft being prepared for the trip from NASA’s Langley Research Center to Naval Base San Diego back in December. Photo Credit: NASA / David C. Bowman
Orion’s first test flight, dubbed Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1), is currently scheduled for September of this year. The flight test article will ride a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV Heavy to orbit. Later flights are scheduled to use the space agency’s new heavy-lift booster, the Space Launch System or “SLS.” Although Orion’s first flight will be unmanned, it is planned to be the next generation of spacecraft to launch astronauts into space and is reminiscent of Apollo-era capsules that took astronauts to the Moon.
According to the official Orion website, “NASA is committed to human spaceflight beyond low-Earth orbit and the continued development of its next generation spacecraft—Orion. The Orion spacecraft will take astronauts beyond low-Earth-orbit (LEO) to deep space. It will provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space.”
During EFT-1, Orion will be sent to an orbit 3,600 miles above Earth, which is about 15 times farther than where the International Space Station (ISS) currently orbits. Once there, Orion will circle the Earth twice before re-entering into the atmosphere at speeds estimated to reach some 20,000 mph. Then, according to the NASA release, the parachute system used in Thursday’s test will slow it down for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean in a similar manner as during the Apollo Program.
Video courtesy of NASA
Please check back with The Spaceflight Group regarding updates and progress on the Orion spacecraft and the EFT-1 mission.
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Britt Rawcliffe
Britt Rawcliffe is a professional freelance aerospace and aviation photographer based out of Pennsylvania with over six years of professional photographic experience. Her creative imagery has spanned into all areas relating to space, including launches, photojournalism, architecture, and portraiture. Britt’s passion for history has been a common thread in much of her work, including having photographed many Moonwalkers such as Buzz Aldrin and Gene Cernan.
I know that EFT-1 scheduled for launch in September is to be unmanned, but if NASA ever changed it’s mind and needed a volunteer . . . (hey, how much more dangerous could it be than a stroll down 8 mile after dark here in Detroit?).
A significant milestone in the Orion development. It is exciting to witness the “re-birth” of American manned spaceflight. Let’s hope our future astronauts are watching and anticipating new adventures that await us.