posted 11-08-2011 12:47 PM               

Editor's note: In an effort to keep the topic NASA's Orion Exploration Flight Test (EFT-1) focused on status updates, readers' feedback and opinions are directed to this thread.

Please use this topic to discuss NASA's 2014 test flight of the Orion multi-purpose crew vehicle (MPCV).

posted 11-08-2011 09:01 PM               

To accomplish the EFT-1 objectives, NASA plans to expand the scope of the existing Orion contract.

The EFT-1 flight test utilizes an early production variant of the Orion spacecraft which is comprised of four elements: the Orion launch abort system, crew module, service module, and spacecraft adapter and fairings. The Orion contractor is currently developing these four elements under the existing contract.

The additional scope required is to integrate the spacecraft with the launch system, along with other unique integration efforts between this integrated stack and the ground and operations systems. The contractor also will be responsible for providing the launch service, including a launch vehicle capable of lifting the spacecraft into a highly lofted orbit to achieve the high energy reentry requirement.

The primary deliverable for this effort will be the flight test data and engineering evaluation of the test results against the formal flight test objectives established by NASA.

NASA/JSC intends to procure this additional scope for the integrated flight test on a sole-source basis from LMSSC, Denver Colorado, via a modification of the Orion contract.

posted 11-13-2011 09:05 PM               

Many would say that it is a waste of money and that there are more important things. Gene Kranz said it best in the Discovery Channel series, When We Left Earth, "To stop in space is to surrender."

posted 05-14-2012 09:07 PM               

Further, Marshall Space Flight Center has been testing parts of the service module for EFT-1.

posted 11-22-2012 08:04 AM               

The cracks were discovered during a proof pressure test the week of Nov. 5. Proof testing, in which a pressure vessel is subject to stresses greater than those it is expected to encounter during routine use, is one of the many preflight tests NASA is performing on Orion to certify the craft is safe for astronauts, agency spokeswoman Rachel Kraft said.

"The cracks are in three adjacent, radial ribs of this integrally machined, aluminum bulkhead," Kraft wrote in an email. "This hardware will be repaired and will not need to be remanufactured."

It took Orion prime contractor Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Denver about a year to make the vehicle that was damaged. Kraft did not say how long it would take to repair the capsule, built as part of a program intended to take astronauts to destinations beyond low Earth orbit.

Cracking occurred when the pressure inside the Orion module reached about 149 kilopascals, or 21.6 pounds per square inch, Kraft said. To pass the proof test, the Orion pressure module has to withstand about 164 kilopascals, which is roughly 1.5 times the maximum stress the capsule is expected to encounter during missions, she said. Increasing the pressure inside the craft in an ambient environment of 1 atmosphere -- air pressure at sea level -- effectively simulates the conditions Orion would encounter in a vacuum.

posted 03-15-2014 06:18 PM               

"Completing the [Orion] according to the original schedule will allow many engineers and technicians to continue...to work on the Orion spacecraft that will fly atop the agency's Space Launch System," NASA said. "It will also ensure that NASA's partners are fully ready for the launch of EFT-1 at the earliest opportunity on the manifest."

Though not stated by NASA, reports suggest that the slip to December was made to allow two recently declassified space surveillance satellites to launch before EFT-1. The Air Force's Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSAP) satellites will track satellites orbiting high above the Earth.

posted 06-10-2014 04:59 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by apolloprojeckt:
That last photo, that shiny shield is that a protection cover over the the real heatshield?

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posted 06-10-2014 05:05 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by p51:
Does anyone know of the timeframe for getting the capsule ready?

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Should the Air Force get its GSAP satellites off on time, then ULA may be able to complete the necessary pad modifications for EFT-1 such that the launch could move up a few weeks earlier.

posted 06-10-2014 05:08 PM               

• The backshell tiles and forward bay cover will be installed onto the crew module (end of June)
  
• The crew module and service module will mate to the Delta IV Heavy second stage adapter (July)
  
• The spacecraft will be fueled and serviced at the Kennedy Space Center Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility (August)
  
• The launch abort system will be stacked on top of the spacecraft (August)
  
• The spacecraft will be prepped and transported to Launch Pad 37 where Lockheed Martin and United Launch Alliance will perform pad integration and launch operations (September)

posted 08-04-2014 05:22 PM               

The vehicle itself will be ready for an earlier launch but alterations to Complex 37 need to be completed by United Launch Alliance first.

posted 09-03-2014 01:34 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by Lunar Module 5:
Are they still on schedule for a December 4th launch?

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posted 09-08-2014 10:51 AM            

The crew and service module will be transferred together on Thursday (Sept. 11) to another facility for fueling, before moving again for the installation of the launch abort system.

posted 09-08-2014 11:14 AM               

For example, NASA's Mars-bound MAVEN spacecraft was fueled in the PHSF on Oct. 25, 2013, prior to it being rolled out to the pad for stacking and its launch almost a month later.

Similarly, Dragon and Cygnus are both fueled prior to stacking onto their respective rockets.

quote:

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Originally posted by dabolton:
Are the fuels they are using not going to degrade the tanks/lines by sitting for two months?

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posted 09-29-2014 08:57 PM               

Orion in Final Integration Steps Before Exploration Flight Test-1

posted 10-03-2014 12:19 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by dabolton:
Are the fuels they are using not going to degrade the tanks/lines by sitting for two months?

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posted 10-05-2014 01:24 PM            

1. Was it considered unnecessary, or was it just impracticable, to test the heat-shield at deep-space return speeds of approx. 24,000 mph?

2. Will the Orion spacecraft really fly with a flattened nose (as shown in the final illustration of the Fact Sheet? Why no conical tip as in Apollo?

posted 10-05-2014 03:34 PM               

1. Impracticable. The velocity is determined by spacecraft mass and launch vehicle capability.

2. What conical tip? Apollo was flat when the probe was jettisoned. See all landing photos. The spacecraft is covered by an aeroshell during ascent.

posted 10-08-2014 01:39 PM               

Trial By Fire

As the flight test of NASA's Orion spacecraft nears, the agency released Oct. 8 a video detailing the spacecraft's test and the critical systems engineers will evaluate during the Dec. 4 flight.

Orion is in the final stages of preparation for the uncrewed flight test that will take it 3,600 miles above Earth on a 4.5-hour mission to test many of the systems necessary for future human missions into deep space. After two orbits, Orion will reenter Earth’s atmosphere at almost 20,000 miles per hour, and reach temperatures near 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit, before its parachute system deploys to slow the spacecraft for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

On future missions, the Orion spacecraft will carry astronauts farther into the solar system than ever before, including to an asteroid and Mars.