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#20 by AnalogMan on 24 Jun, 2015 18:24
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Crew Module Adapter Simulator Arrives to NASA Glenn’s Plum Brook Station for Testing
Posted on June 24, 2015 at 1:51 pm by Rachel Kraft
Orion’s crew module adapter (CMA) simulator arrived at NASA Glenn’s Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio on June 22. The simulator was built at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida and moved to Plum Brook for Orion service module testing scheduled to begin later this year. At Plum Brook’s Space Power Facility, the CMA and the service module provided by ESA (European Space Agency) will be integrated and then undergo acoustics and mechanical vibration tests that simulate the noise and shaking the service module will endure when the spacecraft heads to space atop the Space Launch System rocket. The service module is a critical part of Orion and houses all the air, nitrogen and water for crews, in-space propulsion, and batteries and solar arrays to generate power.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/orion/2015/06/24/crew-module-adapter-simulator-arrives-to-nasa-glenns-plum-brook-station-for-testing/
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#21 by AnalogMan on 24 Jul, 2015 19:51
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Engineers Begin Testing Elements for Orion Service Module
July 24, 2015 at 2:15 pm - Mark Garcia
Engineers at NASA’s Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, began the first of a series of modal tests on a structural representation of the crew module adapter (CMA) for Orion. The CMA will connect the capsule to the ESA (European Space Agency)-provided service module for the spacecraft’s next mission, Exploration Mission-1. The service module is designed to be the powerhouse that fuels and propels Orion in space.
The tests at Plum Brook Station shake structural elements at various frequencies to simulate how launch vibrations and acoustics will affect the spacecraft during its trip to space atop NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. They are being conducted ahead of the arrival of a structural representation of the ESA service module to the facility this fall for additional testing.
Engineers are using a “building block” approach to testing in which they evaluate each piece as the elements composing the service module are stacked atop each other to validate it before flight hardware begins arriving in 2017.
https://blogs.nasa.gov/orion/2015/07/24/engineers-begin-testing-elements-for-orion-service-module
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#22 by AnalogMan on 11 Oct, 2015 17:42
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NASA Prepares to Test Orion Service Module
Oct. 6, 2015 Kelly Heidman
Lockheed Martin technicians lift the Orion Crew Module Adapter Structural Test Article at NASA Glenn Research Center’s Plum Brook Station. The adapter will connect Orion’s crew module to a service module provided by ESA (European Space Agency).
NASA is preparing for a series of tests that will check out the Orion European Service Module, a critical part of the spacecraft that will be launched on future missions to an asteroid and on toward Mars.
Test engineers will use a large vibration table and acoustic chamber at Plum Brook’s Space Power Facility to mimic the shaking and noise the service module will experience during it’s powerful ascent into space. The testing allows engineers to make sure flight hardware is properly built and will perform to NASA’s crew safety and flight requirements. Engineers are using a “building block” approach to testing in which they evaluate each piece as the elements composing the service module are stacked atop each other to validate the module.
Photo Credit: NASA/Bridget R. Caswell (Alcyon Technical Services JV, LLC)
http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/nasa-prepares-to-test-orion-service-module
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#23 by AnalogMan on 07 Nov, 2015 02:36
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Orion Service Module Stacking Assembly Secured For Flight
November 6, 2015 Editor: Sarah Loff
The Orion spacecraft service module stacking assembly interface ring and stack holding stand are secured on a special transportation platform and are being loaded into NASA's Super Guppy aircraft at the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. On Nov. 3, the Guppy flew from Kennedy to NASA Glenn Research Center's Plum Brook Station facility in Sandusky, Ohio.
A full-size test version of the Orion service module, provided by ESA (European Space Agency), for Orion will arrive at Plum Brook Station this month, where it will be evaluated in the Space Power Facility during a multi-month test campaign to ensure it can withstand the trip to space. The service module is a critical piece of Orion and provides air, water, in-space propulsion and power for the spacecraft. Testing on the crew module adapter test article for the service module began in July 2015. Engineers are using a “building block” approach to testing, in which they evaluate each piece as the elements composing the service module are stacked atop each other to validate the module.
Orion is the spacecraft that will launch atop NASA's Space Launch System rocket on Exploration Mission-1 in 2018. ESA, along with its contractor Airbus, is providing the service module for Orion’s next mission, a partnership that will bring international cooperation to the journey to Mars.
Image Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
http://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/orion-service-module-stacking-assembly-secured-for-flight
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#24 by AnalogMan on 10 Nov, 2015 00:37
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Test Version of European Powerhouse for Orion Arrives Stateside
November 9, 2015 Kelly Heidman
A critical component that will enable humans to explore deep space in NASA’s Orion spacecraft arrived to Cleveland, Ohio, on Monday on one of the world’s largest aircraft. A full-size test version of Orion’s service module, provided by ESA (European Space Agency), was delivered to Cleveland Hopkins Airport on an Antonov AN-124.
The service module provides in-space propulsion, power, air and water for astronauts. It will facilitate continued international cooperation on the journey to Mars.
“ESA and their prime contractor Airbus are providing an essential part of Orion that will help us conduct our next mission in the lunar proving ground,” said Mark Kirasich, Orion Program manager. “The service module is Orion’s powerhouse, and our work with the Europeans builds on an already strong relationship as we explore farther into the solar system than a spacecraft built for humans has ever traveled.”
The test article will be transported by truck this week to NASA Glenn Research Center’s Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, where it will undergo testing to ensure the service module can withstand the trip to space.
“We were thrilled to see the European test article arrive in Cleveland today, and we’re looking forward to putting it through the paces at Plum Brook Station,” said Glenn Center Director Jim Free. “This test campaign is an important step in ensuring Orion’s success as it moves toward its first mission.”
Over the next several months, test engineers will use a large vibration table and acoustic chamber at Plum Brook’s Space Power Facility to mimic the shaking and noise the service module will experience during its ascent into space. They also will conduct a solar array deployment test and use pyrotechnics to simulate the shock the service module will experience during separation from the Space Launch System rocket, which will send Orion on its mission. The testing allows engineers to validate engineering analysis and make sure flight hardware will perform to NASA’s safety and flight requirements.
The Orion spacecraft is being developed to send astronauts to deep space destinations, such as an asteroid placed in lunar orbit and Mars, and will launch on the agency’s SLS rocket from a modernized spaceport at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Plum Brook Station is home to some of the largest testing structures in the world, including the powerful space environment simulation facilities and vacuum chamber. Also at Plum Brook is the world's most powerful spacecraft acoustic test chamber, and the world's highest capacity and most powerful spacecraft vibration table.
http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/test-version-of-european-powerhouse-for-orion-arrives-stateside
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#25 by Jim on 10 Nov, 2015 00:57
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That is the current situation. Orion has something like 20 years to gain it.
No, that isn't true either. Orion may not last 20 years much less get refueling capability -
#26 by Flying Beaver on 10 Nov, 2015 01:13
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Shiny
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#27 by Targeteer on 10 Nov, 2015 02:23
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https://www.facebook.com/NASAGlenn/photos/pcb.10153610488355943/10153610488235943/?type=3&theater
The unloading is complete and the cargo from the Antonov delivery today is ready to go to Plum Brook Station in Sandusky for NASA’s Orion Spacecraft hardware testing.
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#28 by Jim on 10 Nov, 2015 10:07
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Didn't Apollo's quad RCS system provide the same function?
Orion has a main propulsion system, an auxiliary propulsion as backup, and the RCS as a backup for the backup, but all of those engines are fed by the same tanks connected in series.
What is the point of all that redundancy in the engines, when there isn't the same redundancy on the tankage and propellant lines? If one tank has a problem, then all those engines are dead. And in the end, if the RCS system fails, you won't be able to orient the spacecraft to do any sort of burn, so why add the extra weight of the Auxiliary thruster system?
Only for deorbit and not lunar return. RCS is not a backup for the backup. And ,no propellant lines are not shared The tanks are interconnected. The RCS has multiple backup thrusters. -
#29 by Nibb31 on 10 Nov, 2015 12:50
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So couldn't the Orion RCS thrusters be used as a backup for the OMS for return and deorbit like Apollo? Why the need for the 8 auxiliary thrusters?
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#30 by woods170 on 10 Nov, 2015 13:04
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So couldn't the Orion RCS thrusters be used as a backup for the OMS for return and deorbit like Apollo? Why the need for the 8 auxiliary thrusters?
The Orion (ESM) RCS thrusters are NOT suitable as backup for the OMS engine.Quote from: David ToddThe eight auxilliary thrusters have three functions:
- to provide a small translational delta V velocity increment during cruise
- to act as a back-up to the main OMS engine in case of its failure
- to provide additional thrust during a launch abort to orbit. -
#31 by Jim on 10 Nov, 2015 13:49
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So couldn't the Orion RCS thrusters be used as a backup for the OMS for return and deorbit like Apollo? Why the need for the 8 auxiliary thrusters?
You asked this on another thread. Why are you repeating it? The answer is not going to be different -
#32 by Jim on 10 Nov, 2015 13:50
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The Orion RCS thrusters are smaller. They are also not parallel to any vehicle axis due to redundancy modes and plume management.
And again, Apollo did not have RCS backup capability from the moon. -
#33 by woods170 on 10 Nov, 2015 21:27
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The Orion RCS thrusters are smaller. They are also not parallel to any vehicle axis due to redundancy modes and plume management.
If the SPS engine failed to ignite for TEI then it was LOC/LOM. There was no way to get the crew out of lunar orbit. The RCS was not going to cut it given that the SM RCS quads fired from panel-mounted independent propellant supplies. They did not tap into the big tanks that supplied propellants to the SPS engines. The propellant supplies for the four SM-mounted RCS quads were nowhere near adequate to serve as back-ups to the SPS engine.
And again, Apollo did not have RCS backup capability from the moon.