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Because Orion\u2019s launch vehicle of choice \u2013 the Space Launch System (SLS) \u2013 won\u2019t be available for the EFT-1 mission, a Delta IV-H was purchased for the role of lofting Orion into space, with the EELV\u2019s Upper Stage providing the second leg of sending the spacecraft into an orbital path that will mimic the vehicle\u2019s return from a deep space mission. That launch vehicle is scheduled to arrive at KSC in the March, 2014 timeframe.<\/p>\n
The mission \u2013 involving two orbits to a high-apogee, with a high-energy re-entry through Earth\u2019s atmosphere on what is a multi-hour test \u2013 will provide critical re-entry flight performance data and demonstrate early integration capabilities of the spacecraft.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/Z93.jpg\")
Unlike the Space Shuttle orbiters, the main business end of the heatshield = the blunt end of Orion \u2013 won#t be covered in tiles. Instead it will use an ablative material, which was also used on the Apollo capsules.<\/p>\nSpace Technology
<\/path>Technology News <\/path>NASA mission updates <\/path>\n (adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});<\/p>\n
NASA\u2019s Orion Thermal Protection System Advanced Development Project considered eight different candidate materials, before downselecting to an Avcoat and Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator \u2013 with a technical name of AVCO 5026-39 HCG (Filled Epoxy Novalac in Fiberglass-Phenolic Honeycomb).<\/p>\n
Following its design review, the heat shield began to take shape via the mating of the \u201cskin\u201d onto the titanium support skeleton at Lockheed Martin\u2019s Waterton Facility near Denver \u2013 which was also the site for a large amount of Orion testing on the Ground Test Article (GTA).<\/p>\n
![\"EFT-1](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/Z34.jpg\")
The heat shield was then shipped to Textron in Wilmington for the installation of its ablative protective coating.<\/p>\nThe skin and skeleton will help give the spacecraft the strength to withstand its impact with the water\u2019s surface upon landing in the Pacific Ocean, and provide the structure for the AVCOAT coating that will protect the vehicle and its crew from the nearly 5,000-degree Fahrenheit temperatures that they would experience during a 27,000-mph return from Mars.<\/p>\n
Before and during its manufacture, the heat shield material was subjected to arc-jet testing NASA\u2019s Ames Research Center in California and NASA\u2019s Johnson Space Center (JSC).<\/p>\n
![\"Z8\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Z81.jpg\")
Following its completion, the heat shield \u2013 the largest ever constructed \u2013 was then loaded on to a Super Guppy aircraft, prior to Wednesday\u2019s journey to the Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF) at KSC.<\/p>\n\u201cThe heat shield completion and delivery to Kennedy, where Orion is being prepared, is a major step toward Exploration Flight Test-1 next year,\u201d noted Dan Dumbacher, NASA\u2019s deputy associate administrator for exploration systems development in Washington.<\/p>\n
Click here for more Orion news articles: http:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/tag\/orion\/<\/p>\n
\u201cSending Orion into space for the first time is going to give us crucial data to improve our design decisions and develop Orion to send humans on future missions to an asteroid and Mars.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Z9\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Z91.jpg\")
The Heat Shield is scheduled to be unloaded and transported to the Operations & Checkout (O&C) building on Thursday, where it will greet the EFT-1 Orion that is deep into its outfitting processing ahead of its launch next summer.<\/p>\nAnother element that will heading uphill on EFT-1 will be an inert Launch Abort System (LAS).<\/p>\n
Most of the LAS won\u2019t be active for the flight \u2013 not least because there will be no humans on board the Orion.<\/p>\n
![\"Z11\"](\"https:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/Z11.jpg\")
However, the jettison motor will be active, allowing for a separation testing during the ascent phase. As such, this will be a nominal detachment of the LAS when it is no longer required during the flight into space, as opposed to an actual abort test.<\/p>\n\u201cThe LAS will be the first actively controlled launch escape system ever flown, and it incorporates a throttleable solid-rocket motor for attitude control, a novel reverse-thrust abort motor, advanced solid propellants, and lightweight composite materials in the abort motor case and fairing,\u201d noted LAS project manager for NASA, Kevin Rivers.<\/p>\n
The first ascent abort test of the LAS is scheduled for around 2019, after the uncrewed Exploration Mission -1 (EM-1), but in plenty of time ahead of the first crewed mission where it will be required, namely Exploration Mission -2 (EM-2).<\/p>\n
(Images: Via NASA, Lockheed Martin and L2 via Jacques van Oene\/Spacepatches.nl)<\/p>\n
(NSF and L2 are providing full exploration roadmap level coverage, available no where else on the internet, from Orion and SLS to ISS and COTS\/CRS\/CCDEV, to European and Russian vehicles.)<\/p>\n
(Click here to join L2: http:\/\/www.nasaspaceflight.com\/l2\/ )<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The processing flow is heating up for the first Orion set to launch into space, as key elements of the Exploration Flight Test -1 (EFT-1) mission arrive for integration at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). With the inert Launch Abort System (LAS) now pieced together, Wednesday saw the arrival of Orion\u2019s Heat Shield, flown in […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":30297,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[3688,7856,640,7935],"class_list":["post-39697","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-eft-1","tag-heat-shield","tag-orion","tag-tps"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39697"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/30297"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}