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New Procedures Developed for Orion Recovery Operations
www.nasa.gov said:
Image above: In this artist's concept,
U.S. Navy boat teams have attached a
line from inside the well deck of the
landing platform-dock ship (LPD)to start
pulling in the Orion crew module. Lines
from small boats will also be attached
to bring the capsule inside the stern
of the LPD.
Image credit: NASA
View large image
All of Orion's subsystems and components created around the country come together in the Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy. The unique benefit of this complete on-site operation enables the tem to efficiently build the spacecraft, move it directly onto the launch vehicle and then out to the launch pad. Conducting all these operations in one location saves the government transportation costs associated with tests and checkout prior to launch.
The Orion spacecraft is designed to meet the evolving needs of our nation's space program for decades to come. It will to take crews of up to four astronauts on missions to deep space, including to asteroids and, eventually, to Mars. Orion has already passed rigorous human rating reviews and has met critical milestones for safe, successful human space flight. The spacecraft incorporates major advances over capsules of decades past and capabilities beyond those of the space shuttle.
The first key Orion recovery test, scheduled for August 2013, will take place at Naval Station Norfolk, in Virginia. The second major test is planned for January 2014 at Navy Base San Diego. The tests are part of preparations the first flight of Orion, Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1), in September 2014.
"The overall testing strategy uses a building block approach that we call a 'crawl-walk-run' strategy," said Jim Hamblin, landing and recovery operations manager for NASA Ground Systems Development and Operations.
Image above: The Orion parachutes have
been through a series of tests at the
U.S. Army Yuma Army Proving Grounds in
southwestern Arizona. In July, a C-17
plane dropped a test version of the
spacecraft from an altitude of 25,000
feet using an Orion craft that mimics
the full size and shape of the crew
module.
Image credit: NASA
View large image
"In December of 2011, we placed an Orion mockup in the Trident Turn Basin at Port Canaveral (in Florida)," he said. "That allowed us to check out basic procedures such as attaching the stabilization collar."
During tests in Yuma, Ariz., earlier this year, a boilerplate crew module was dropped from an aircraft successfully verifying the parachute system. At Johnson’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, U.S. Navy dive teams also have received training in the newly-developed recovery procedures.
"During the simulations next August, we'll be conducting a two-day stationary recovery test to evaluate hardware and recovery processes in a controlled, benign environment," Hamblin said. "That's what we're calling the 'crawl phase.' In this test we'll utilize the Navy's USS Mesa Verde, a landing platform-dock, or LPD, ship."
The LPD is an amphibious ship that has both a flight deck and a well deck. The well deck is in the lower portion of the ship and has a large door on the stern of the ship that can be opened to support the coming and going of landing craft or other amphibious vehicles. Use of a Navy LPD, instead of an aircraft carrier, is one of the most obvious differences in the recovery of Orion compared to the retrieval of the Mercury, Gemini and Apollo spacecraft.
"This is a new approach and is preferred due to the LPD's low cost, highly capable tracking radar and ability to launch helicopters from its flight deck," Hamblin said.
Image above: Members of the U.S. Air
Force 920th Rescue Wing secure a
flotation collar around the mockup Orion
crew module at the Trident Basin at Port
Canaveral, Fla. during testing in 2009.
The post-landing Orion Recovery Test helped
determine what kind of motion astronauts
will experience after landing, as well as
what recovery teams should expect.
Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
View large image
Small boat teams, staffed by U. S. Navy divers, will conduct a hazard assessment of the crew module to verify it is safe to approach without personal protection equipment.
"The Navy dive teams are crucial to the recovery operation," Hamblin said. "After the crew module is stabilized, boat teams will attach a winch line from inside the well deck of the ship and start pulling it in. Lines from small boats will also be attached to the spacecraft to bring it to the stern of the Navy ship."
When the crew module is inside the stern gate, the winching operation is temporarily halted. The small boat teams connect tending lines to Orion, and ship line handlers guide the spacecraft over the recovery cradle on the well deck.
"Before approaching the recovery cradle, the ship's stern gate is raised 45 degrees to calm the waters inside the well deck," said Hamblin. "The crew module is then positioned over the cradle, and the well deck is drained to seat the spacecraft into the cradle."
The second major test, scheduled for January 2014, is a four-day Underway Recovery Test.
"This will be the 'walk, then run phase' conducted on the LPD USS San Diego at sea on the west coast near San Diego," said Hamblin. "Its purpose is to evaluate hardware and recovery processes in progressively more challenging environments to determine capability limits."
Image above: An Orion crew module has
been positioned on a GSDO-provided stand,
called a recovery cradle, in the LPD well
deck. In this artist’s concept, the NASA
recovery team is positioning the stand
to allow access and assist the crew in
getting out of the spacecraft.
Photo credit: NASA
View large image
"The testing in Norfolk and off the coast of San Diego will ensure we're ready for EFT-1," Hamblin said.
Bob Granath
NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center
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