{"id":39485,"date":"2014-10-14T23:27:58","date_gmt":"2014-10-14T15:27:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/eft-1-to-boost-atk-launch-abort-system-test-path\/"},"modified":"2014-10-14T23:27:58","modified_gmt":"2014-10-14T15:27:58","slug":"eft-1-to-boost-atk-launch-abort-system-test-path","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/eft-1-to-boost-atk-launch-abort-system-test-path\/","title":{"rendered":"EFT-1 to boost ATK Launch Abort System test path"},"content":{"rendered":"

ATK\u2019s Launch Abort System (LAS) \u2013 a key element for crew safety during the ride uphill on the Space Launch System and Orion \u2013 continues to make good progress during its test schedule. With the Exploration Flight Test -1 (EFT-1) flight set to provide key data ahead of the Ascent Abort (AA-2) test in 2019, the LAS is on schedule to be ready for its crucial role on crewed SLS missions in the 2020s.<\/p>\n

LAS:<\/p>\n

The Launch Abort Systems (LAS) \u2013 or Launch Escape System (LES) \u2013 is traditionally a tower system, attached on top of the crew capsule, ready to \u201cpull\u201d the capsule \u2013 and its crew \u2013 away from a failing vehicle, be it at the launch pad, or during early ascent.<\/p>\n

These LAS towers can be seen on the early crewed launch vehicles, having first been tested in 1960 \u2013 when the \u201cBeach Abort\u201d practised the abort technique on the first production Mercury capsule at NASA\u2019s test facility at Wallops Island.<\/p>\n

\"\"While Gemini used ejection seats, the towers became part of the Mercury and Apollo programs, even earning a place in Hollywood movies, such as when Tom Hanks \u2013 playing Commander Jim Lovell in the movie Apollo 13 \u2013 reached forward to manually jettison the tower during second stage flight during the film\u2019s launch scene.<\/p>\n

The early flights of the Space Shuttle only employed ejection seat capability, as much as it was hinted using such a system \u2013 only available for a limited time during first stage ascent \u2013 would have provided the escaping astronauts very little chance of survival. The Shuttle mainly relied on abort scenarios involving the return of the crew with the orbiter.<\/p>\n

Thanks to the strict safety record of crewed launch vehicles, the use of the LAS has only been called for once during an actual emergency, with the Russians.<\/p>\n

\"\"Another abort \u2013 Soyuz 18A \u2013 aborted in flight, resulting in the crew landing safely near the Chinese border \u2013 however, it is believed this event came after LAS jettison, with the abort carried out by the Soyuz engines.<\/p>\n

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n

The clear use of the LAS during an abort event is a famous one \u2013 mainly due to the footage finding a large audience on youtube \u2013 as the crew of Soyuz T-10-1 underwent a pad abort, just seconds before their failing vehicle exploded on the launch pad.<\/p>\n

It was reported that the crew landed safely, just four miles away.<\/p>\n

LAS For Orion:<\/p>\n

For the defunct Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) \u2013 a direct fallout of the Columbia disaster \u2013 crew abort safety for the next human launch system was paramount, as NASA reverted back to a capsule design, with a full Launch Abort System.<\/p>\n

\"\"In 2007, a major trade of several LAS concepts were evaluated by NASA managers, namely the Multiple External (x4) Service Module (SM) Abort Motor concept, the Crew Module Strap On Motors (x4) concept, and the In-Line Tandem Tractor (Tower) concept \u2013 the latter of which was baselined into Ares I\/Orion design.<\/p>\n

The trades requested the preferred design should ensure the risk of losing the crew in an abort scenario would be no greater than 1:10, noting such a system is no guarantee for crew survival during an emergency.<\/p>\n

The winning concept \u2013 the Tandem Tractor (Tower) LAS design \u2013 comprised of a Nose Cone, Attitude Control Motor (Eight Nozzles), Canard Section (Stowed Configuration), Jettison Motor (Four Aft, Scarfed Nozzles), Interstage, Abort Motor (Four Exposed, Reverse Flow Nozzles), Adapter Cone, and Boost Protective Cover (BPC). (L2 Link to Document).<\/p>\n

\"\"The primary role of such a system is to save the crew during the \u2018three stages\u2019 of an abort, the first involving the firing of the spacecraft \u2013 in this case Orion \u2013 away from a failing vehicle on the launch pad to a safe distance, before deploying the parachutes on the Orion, for a landing in the Atlantic ocean within a 3450 ft radius due east of the launch pad.<\/p>\n

The second stage of an abort is noted as \u201cmid altitude\u201d \u2013 which has a different characteristic when compared to pad abort. This stage of abort works for up to 150,000 ft, involving the LAS remaining on the vehicle after firing the Orion safely away from the failing vehicle until the point of drogue chute deployment, which becomes necessary at that altitude.<\/p>\n

The final stage of abort, which would still require the LAS, is at an altitude of between 150,000 ft and 300,000 ft \u2013 the latter being the point the LAS would be jettisoned on a nominal flight. After being pulled away from the launch vehicle, Orion would revert to a flight profile similar to that used during the end of a normal mission.<\/p>\n

Test Schedule:<\/p>\n

This LAS design has enjoyed one test launch, lofting a boilerplate Orion into the skies of White Sands, New Mexico, during the successful PA-1 (Pad Abort -1) test in 2010.<\/p>\n

That was during the since-cancelled Constellation Program (CxP). However, the system has been re-purposed for continued use with Orion, this time to provide crew abort capability during SLS launches.<\/p>\n

Orion\u2019s first launch into space isn\u2019t on the SLS, but instead atop of a Delta IV-Heavy during EFT-1 at the end of this year. <\/p>\n

\"2014-10-14An inert LAS has been provided by ATK, which was recently mated with the EFT-1 Orion ahead of the mating of the stack with the United Launch Alliance rocket.<\/p>\n

Despite being an inert motor, the LAS will provide vital data to the engineering teams.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe abort motor for EFT-1 is inert but must meet the flight environment requirements and provide the same structural performance as a live motor,\u201d noted ATK to NASASpaceFlight.com<\/p>\n

See Also<\/h4>\n