A Mars Odyssey

NASA has recently outlined its most recent evaluation criteria and design ideas for the Launch Abort System (LAS). Briefly, this is the system that ejects the crew in the event of an Ares I catastrophic failure during launch. After launch, it is cast off with the first stage where they can all be retrieved and refurbished for another mission.

Just in case the astronauts aren’t aware of the problem in time, a rudimentary artificial intelligence currently being designed by computer science and engineering researchers at Texas Tech University. The Onboard Abort Executive (OAE) is a nifty and ambitious piece of prototype software that will use the declarative programming language SequenceL, created by Dr. Daniel Cooke, to determine if it’s time to abort the mission or not. If tests show the language works well in this module of the larger Constellation-class launch vehicle, it may be used elsewhere by NASA programmers.

Just like the eject modules seen in science fiction movies, the LAS is a series of rockets that are strapped to the Orion module. Should the pilots or OAE sense a disastrous failure, they will fire and lift the crew off and safely away from the rocket. In current design diagrams it is the long pole-like structure sticking out the top of the assembled launch vehicle.

Had the Space Shuttle Challenger had such a system aboard, the crew may very well have survived the 1986 disaster. The Constellation Program’s stated commitment to safety is embodied in the LAS.

There has even been some talk of using it to enhance booster capabilities if needed. Whether this would negatively impact the primary use of the LAS has yet to be determined.

Should disaster occur before liftoff, a design for an emergency roller coaster (yes, you read that right), called the Emergency Egress System (EES), was approved in November. Of course, it’s no laughing matter if you need one. It will be built at what is now shuttle launch pad 39B, soon to be renamed when handed over to the Constellation project in April 2007, at the Kennedy Space Center. The contractor to build this has yet to be selected.

Whee!

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 1st, 2007 at 1:40 am and is filed under Technical Concerns, The Gear to Get There. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.