Category: Orion Flight Test

Some of the key players in the Orion flight test will discuss the goals of the first spaceflight for NASA’s newest spacecraft along with the elements of the mission itself during a televised briefing today from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The briefing will begin at 11 a.m. EST and can be seen on NASA TV and on the NASA TV stream on the web at www.nasa.gov/ntv.

The briefing participants are:

• William Hill, deputy associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development
• Mark Geyer, Orion Program manager
• Bryan Austin, Lockheed Martin mission manager
• Mike Sarafin, Orion flight director
• Jeremy Graeber, recovery director
• Ron Fortson, United Launch Alliance director of mission management

Orion will not carry a crew during this first flight test, but will be sent into orbit atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket. It will make two orbits of the Earth reaching out about 3,600 miles, 15 times farther than the International Space Station. In a critical element of the test mission, the spacecraft will head into Earth’s atmosphere at high speed to evaluate Orion’s heat shield. That is important because the Orion is designed to take astronauts into deep space on missions to asteroids and eventually Mars. Returning to Earth on such missions means the spacecraft will reenter the atmosphere much faster than previous spacecraft, so the Orion will encounter more heat and thus its shielding will need to be strong enough to handle it.

The launch teams that will work together Dec. 4 to launch the Orion spacecraft practiced the countdown today that will included fueling the core stages of the Delta IV Heavy rocket that will lift Orion on its unmanned flight test. Working in control rooms at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, countdown operators followed the same steps they will take on launch day. The simulation also allowed controllers to evaluate the fuel loading and draining systems on the complex rocket before the Orion spacecraft is placed atop the launcher next week.

The Delta IV Heavy – seen on the left as it was when rolled to the pad – is made up of three core stages, each powered by cryogenic liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, some of the coldest materials known. The second stage of the rocket also uses the same cryogenic propellants. During the actual flight test, Orion will be launched on a two-orbit mission that will reach 3,600 miles above Earth and take the spacecraft more than 60,000 miles before Orion’s heat shield is tested with a high-speed reentry through the atmosphere. That portion of the test will give engineers what they need to make sure the heat shield can withstand the searing conditions of bringing back astronauts from missions into deep space destinations including, eventually, Mars.

Graphics by Aimee Crane, words by Sarah Schlieder

Orion is launching December 4 on its first test flight. This launch involves more than just a rocket that goes WOOSH! Orion will reach a height of 3,600 miles—15 times higher than the International Space Station—and orbit the Earth twice during the 4.5 hour mission. Want a closer look at what will take place during flight? Here are the eight things you can expect to see on Orion’s first flight.

 

 

Launch

It’s going to be loud. It’s going to be bright. It’s going to be smoky. Engines are fired, the countdown ends and Orion lifts off into space atop the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from the launch pad at Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Exposure

It’s time to fly! The protective panels surrounding the service module are jettisoned and the launch abort system separates from the spacecraft.

Re-ignition

Orbit 1 is complete! The upper stage will now fire up again to propel Orion to an altitude of 3,600 miles during its second trip around Earth.

Separation

It’s now time to prepare for reentry. The service module and upper stage separate so that only the crew module will return to Earth.

Orientation

Orion’s first flight will be uncrewed, but that doesn’t mean we can allow Orion to return to Earth upside down. This test flight will help us test the control jets to ensure that they can orient the capsule in the correct reentry position.

Heating
Things are heating up as Orion slams into the atmosphere at almost 20,000 mph and encounters temperatures near 4,000 degrees F.  

Deploy

After initial air friction slows the capsule from 20,000 mph, Orion will still be descending at 300 mph—too fast for a safe splashdown. A sequence of parachute deployments will create drag to further slow the spacecraft to a comfortable 20 mph.

Landing

Orion will splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of Baja California, where it will be recovered with help from the United States Navy.

Orion’s first flight has been successfully completed. Next step: deep space.

See this graphic as one page.

NASA’s new Orion spacecraft received finishing touches Thursday, marking the conclusion of construction on the first spacecraft designed to send humans into deep space beyond the moon, including a journey to Mars that begins with its first test flight Dec. 4.

The assembled Orion crew module, service module, launch abort system and adapter will reside in Kennedy’s Launch Abort System Facility until its scheduled rollout to the launch pad, set for Nov. 10. At the launch pad, it will be lifted onto the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket that will carry it into space for its uncrewed flight test.

“This is just the first of what will be a long line of exploration missions beyond low earth orbit, and in a few years we will be sending our astronauts to destinations humans have never experienced,” said Bill Hill, deputy associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development “It’s thrilling to be a part of the journey now, at the beginning.”

The December flight test will send Orion 3,600 miles from Earth on a two-orbit flight intended to ensure the spacecraft’s critical systems are ready for the challenges of deep space missions.

During the 4.5-hour flight, called Exploration Flight Test-1, Orion will travel farther than any crewed spacecraft has gone in more than 40 years, before returning to Earth at speeds near 20,000 mph and generating temperatures up to 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit.

Engineers installed a four-piece fairing over Orion during the weekend as the spacecraft continues its steady march toward launch in December. The panels will smooth the airflow over the conical spacecraft to limit sound and vibration, which will make for a much smoother ride for the astronauts will ride inside Orion in the future. The work marked the final major assembly steps for the spacecraft before it is taken to the launch pad in November and hoisted to the top of  a Delta IV Heavy rocket that will launch it on a four-hour, two-orbit flight test. Orion will fly without a crew on this flight test, but is being designed to take astronauts beyond Earth orbit on missions to deep space to explore an asteroid and eventually Mars.