Was the ESA given the whole OMS pod, or just the engine from it?
NASA has now confirmed it has provided ESA one of the OMS pods from the Shuttle era, which sports an engine that had previously flew on 19 space shuttle missions and performed 89 burns.
Surprised to hear about a whole shuttle pod being given. It seems NASA was being more literal than expected about reusing space shuttle technology; good for a short fix. And, obviously, letting ESA look over the whole system the Orion's future engine is tied to would help them accommodate their ATV knowledge with older STS setups.Although not 100% perfect for this topic, I can't help but wonder will NASA eventually build totally new engines for both Orion and SLS? There are only so many STS leftovers in storage after all, and the supply for SSME is just enough for 4 or 5 SLSs for example. Again not specific to Orion alone, but I just wonder about the need for fresh engines eventually.
The OMS main engine will be used for injection burns just the Apollo SM SPS. One improvement is the SM auxiliary thrusters if fired together will be able to provide a backup capability to the main engine.
Once they run out of OMS they will seek to acquire a new but similar engine. The original LM SM was to have a slightly upgraded version.
I asked the same earlier, but now that I think about it frankly they need to design a whole new SM when the opportunity arises. I say that because, when I did calculations for Mars missions using Orion, the Orion's SM is too weak to offer much assist. The 1.4 km/s it provides in delta-v is just sufficient for Cislunar missions, but hardly enough to tackle a one-way trip to Mars not to mention the six+ months to get there would heavily tax its life support.Orion could perform a lunar mission or shuttling service to Martian craft, but until they beef up the SM considerably I know the talk of "Orion taking us to Mars" is spoken by somebody with fingers crossed behind their back.
How much delta-V do you need from that propulsion system to rendezvous, coming back from Mars, with a platform at, say, L2 or a high lunar orbit?You'd be talking about maneuvering the Orion/SM and the transit hab (or that part of it you'd like to refurbish and re-use) to a stable platform where samples can be processed (planetary quarantine and all that), where the transit hab can be replenished, refurbished, and generally fixed up, etc.You'd need enough delta-V left to drop the Orion back towards Earth from your high platform when you're ready to come all the way home, of course. But this way, the only piece of the entire returning transit stack you lose is the Orion SM.{snip}
Does the Orion have refuelling capability?
Quote from: Nibb31 on 06/23/2015 07:25 amDoes the Orion have refuelling capability?You mean in-space refueling capability? The answer to that question is NO.
Quote from: woods170 on 06/23/2015 09:26 amQuote from: Nibb31 on 06/23/2015 07:25 amDoes the Orion have refuelling capability?You mean in-space refueling capability? The answer to that question is NO.That is the current situation. Orion has something like 20 years to gain it.