Successful Propulsion Test for the NASA Constellation Program
“This was a major success for the Orion Launch Abort System team,” said Mark Cooper, NASA’s integrated product team lead for LAS Propulsion at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. “The test provided valuable data on motor performance that will allow design and analytical refinements by our contactor team. The test is the culmination of intense and focused work by the entire jettison motor team.”
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The first full-scale propulsion test of the Launch Abort System jettison motor for the NASA Constellation Program’s Orion crew exploration vehicle has been recently completed. Conducted by two major companies—Aerojet, a GenCorp company and Orbital Sciences Corporation—the static firing of the jettison motor was a major success for the team. NASA has partnered with Lockheed Martin Corporation, Orbital Sciences Corporation, and Aerojet Corporation to supply the jettison motor.
Key point in the crew exploration vehicle, the jettison motor is designed to separate the Launch Abort System from the crew module, made as a solid rocket motor to safely propel the abort system during an emergency from the crew module. With the motor critical to the crew module’s launch abort system as a safe emergency safe escape, the test was the first of a series of flight tests of the system currently scheduled for late 2008.
The launch abort system is managed by NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, consisting of its design and development, while the partners and team members were from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama. This abort system is considered a NASA key element in their efforts to improve their safety with this new generation of spacecraft which is being used for returning humans to the moon.
LUNAR Mission:
• Orion and Lunar Landar boosed to lunar orbit – up to 4 crew onboard
• Landar descends to lunar surface for up to 7-day sortie
• Orion is uninhabited during lunar surface operations
• Lander upper stage returns to Orion in lunar orbit
• Orion returns crew to Earth
Capable of ISS Missions:
• Transport up to 6 crew members on Orion for crew rotations
• 210 day stay time
• Emergency lifeboat for entire ISS crew
• Deliver pressurized cargo for ISS resupply
• Orion returns crew to Earth
This entry was posted on Sunday, April 13th, 2008 at 11:22 am and is filed under Space Agency News. 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.
