Alpha Centauri 2

Community => Recreation Commons => Destination: Alpha Centauri => Topic started by: Buster's Uncle on November 26, 2014, 07:49:16 pm

Title: NASA Clears Orion Spacecraft for 1st Test Flight Next Week
Post by: Buster's Uncle on November 26, 2014, 07:49:16 pm

NASA Clears Orion Spacecraft for 1st Test Flight Next Week
SPACE.com
By Miriam Kramer  7 hours ago


(http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/s6SQk.nihs6lnikH0_D0yw--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTQxNDtweG9mZj01MDtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz03MzY-/http://media.zenfs.com/en-US/video/video.reutersnews.com/2014-11-20T070323Z_1_LOVEAAJ0JLM6U_RTRMADP_BASEIMAGE-960X540_SPACE-NASA-ORION-FOOTAGE-O.JPG)



NASA's newest deep space capsule Orion, is getting ready for its first uncrewed test flight, launching next week.

The space agency and Lockheed Martin — the company that manufactured Orion for NASA — have given the "go" to proceed with the capsule's robotic test on Dec. 4. The company and agency finished their "Flight Readiness Review" on Nov. 20, clearing the way for Orion's first test flight.

"The FRR [Flight Readiness Review] is a rigorous assessment of the spacecraft, its systems, mission operations and support functions needed to successfully complete Orion’s first voyage to space," NASA officials said in a statement.

NASA officials hope that Orion will eventually be able to take humans to deep space destinations like Mars, but first, the capsule's systems need to get through a series of flight tests starting with the first one next week.

Orion is scheduled to launch to space atop a United Launch Alliance Delta 4 Heavy rocket from Florida. The spacecraft is outfitted with more than 1,000 sensors to gather data about how the capsule performs under the harsh conditions in space and during re-entry.


(http://l.yimg.com/bt/api/res/1.2/5T9tpCobejH5ZQUZ_Ge.ZQ--/YXBwaWQ9eW5ld3M7Zmk9ZmlsbDtoPTMyNDtweW9mZj0wO3E9NzU7dz01NzU-/http://media.zenfs.com/en_US/News/SPACE.com/NASA_Clears_Orion_Spacecraft_for-5691a2cb179d41d97fa741488b870c60)
An artist's illustration of a portion of Orion's first test flight just after launch.


In total, the test flight should last about 4.5 hours. Orion will make two orbits of Earth with one of them taking it as high as 3,600 miles (5,793 kilometers) from the planet. The spacecraft will gain speed as it comes back down from its position in orbit, before re-entering the atmosphere. Orion's heat shield is the largest of its kind ever manufactured, and the test will help scientists see if it can efficiently protect the capsule during re-entry.

The test — called Exploration Flight Test-1 — will also help officials check out Orion's parachute system, designed to slow down the spacecraft before its expected splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Officials will be on hand to fish Orion out of the ocean after it returns to Earth.

NASA, U.S. Navy and Lockheed Martin officials have started to prepare for activities after splashdown.

"At Naval Base San Diego, two Navy ships, the USS Anchorage and the USNS Salvor, have been outfitted with the necessary tools and equipment needed to return Orion to land after the flight test," NASA officials said in the same statement.

You can download the press kit for the Orion test flight to learn more about it here: http://1.usa.gov/11KfbD0 (http://1.usa.gov/11KfbD0)


http://news.yahoo.com/nasa-clears-orion-spacecraft-1st-test-flight-next-122108355.html (http://news.yahoo.com/nasa-clears-orion-spacecraft-1st-test-flight-next-122108355.html)

Title: Re: NASA Clears Orion Spacecraft for 1st Test Flight Next Week
Post by: Unorthodox on November 27, 2014, 02:51:28 am

Bold prediction:  this capsule hauls astronauts before SpaceX

Title: Re: NASA Clears Orion Spacecraft for 1st Test Flight Next Week
Post by: Buster's Uncle on November 27, 2014, 03:04:59 am

Not necessarily because it's a better capsule.

Title: Re: NASA Clears Orion Spacecraft for 1st Test Flight Next Week
Post by: Unorthodox on November 27, 2014, 04:20:10 am

Quote from: BUncle on November 27, 2014, 03:04:59 am

Not necessarily because it's a better capsule.

Yet to be seen.  It SHOULD be a better capsule, it's designed for a much more robust set of mission parameters.  Dragon is strictly a ferry, but it's lagging in it's developement recently

Title: Re: NASA Clears Orion Spacecraft for 1st Test Flight Next Week
Post by: Buster's Uncle on November 27, 2014, 04:35:12 am

I'd always tend to bet against NASA's inherent post-60s half-assedness.

Title: Re: NASA Clears Orion Spacecraft for 1st Test Flight Next Week
Post by: Unorthodox on November 27, 2014, 10:28:55 am

But neither are NASA, or rather, they are both the same amount of NASA.  Both built off the same NASA contract. 

They were given a set of capabilities to go after:  Supply missions, astronaut transfers, and deep space missions. 

Dragon chose to design various variants to meet these capabilities.  The unmanned cheap supply hauler, a manned astronaut ferry, and eventually a deep space variant.  There's a lot of sense to this tiered approach,  especially for such a new company building from the ground up. 

They've had several 'minor' issues with the unmanned hauler, delaying work on the other 2.  Some of the corners cut to save money (as was their mission to do it as cheaply as possible for the unmanned hauler, so not totally their fault) are proving rather important and back to the drawing board type things when it comes to the manned variant.  The manned version is scheduled for demonstration late 2015 now, iirc, back from the initial 2013 time-frame.

Lockheed instead is designing Orion to go after the manned and deep space targets with a craft that can do both from the get go and have more experience to draw on.  They won't face the same challenges, but might run into entirely new ones.     

Title: Re: NASA Clears Orion Spacecraft for 1st Test Flight Next Week
Post by: Buster's Uncle on November 27, 2014, 03:37:56 pm

Congress WILL find a way to ruin everything.