Orion

[Salo]

Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  2 ч.2 часа назад
Hill: have "some challenges" with avionics boxes for European Service Module for Orion; could be 3-4 months late.
 
  Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  2 ч.2 часа назад  
NASA's Bill Hill, giving Exploration Systems update: preliminary analysis shows we can still meet Nov 2018 window for EM-1 launch.

[Salo]

Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  14 мин.14 минут назад  
Notional schedule of future missions, through EM-10 in 2030. One set aside for ARM crewed mission, rest simply "proving ground" cislunar.
 
 
  Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  17 мин.17 минут назад  
Gerst: large co-manifest cargo capability on EM-2, on the order of 7 metric tons. Looking to see what is best use of it.
 
  Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  19 мин.19 минут назад  
Gerst shows this chart of the proposed EM-2 mission plan. Only 8 days, lunar flyby/free return only, not DRO.
 
 
  Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  21 мин.21 минуту назад  
NASA's Bill Gerstenmaier: while EM-1 will go to distant retrograde lunar orbit, EM-2 (1st crewed mission) on free return lunar traj instead.

[Salo]

Peter B. de Selding ‏@pbdes  52 мин.52 минуты назад  
Europe-built service module (5mx4m, 13,500kg) for NASA Orion crew vehicle ends 1 yr's tests at NASA Plum Brook & is handed over to NASA.
 

[Salo]

Chris B - NSF ‏@NASASpaceflight  52 мин.52 минуты назад  
 Chris B - NSF Ретвитнул(а) Peter B. de Selding
Milestone, but need to get that EM-1 SM out of Germany. Meanwhile, SLS making decent progress, two articles in work on that (MAF and KSC).

[Salo]

11 часов назад  
Shuttle orbital maneuvering system engine delivered to Germany for integration with Orion service module. http://spaceflightnow.com/2017/01/02/shuttle-engine-delivered-to-orion-service-module-assembly-site/ ...
 

[Salo]

http://spaceflightnow.com/2017/01/02/shuttle-engine-delivered-to-orion-service-module-assembly-site/

Shuttle engine delivered to Orion service module assembly site             
 January 2, 2017 Stephen Clark
 
Orion's service module engine undergoes vibration testing at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Credit: NASA

A former space shuttle orbital maneuvering system engine has been delivered to Germany for attachment to the European-built service module destined to steer NASA's next Orion spacecraft on a course around the moon on an uncrewed test flight in late 2018.
The engine was refurbished and reassembled at NASA's White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico, then shipped to Johnson Space Center in Houston for shake testing and returned to White Sands for leak tests, according to a European Space Agency blog post.
It flew from Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport to Frankfurt last month, and then continued its journey by truck to Airbus Defense and Space's spacecraft assembly facility in Bremen, Germany, ESA said.
ESA is providing the service modules for at least the next two Orion missions — an unpiloted shakedown cruise in lunar orbit scheduled to lift off in November 2018, and the first Orion flight with astronauts on-board in the early 2020s.
European governments agreed to pay for the service module for the 2018 flight, named Exploration Mission-1, at a meeting of government ministers in December 2012. ESA member states last month committed funding for a second service module for Exploration Mission-2, which will carry up to four astronauts farther than the moon's orbit as soon as 2021.
Airbus Defense and Space is in charge of building the service modules at its Bremen plant. Lockheed Martin is prime contractor for the Orion crew module, which will house the astronauts, their living quarters and the cockpit.
The service modules provide propulsion, propellants, electricity, water, oxygen, nitrogen and thermal control for the Orion spacecraft.
 
The shuttle Atlantis touches down at KSC's Shuttle Landing Facility runway on Oct. 18, 2002. One of the OMS engines mounted on each side of the tail will fly on Orion's first mission beyond Earth orbit late next year. Credit: NASA

The service module has 33 engines and thrusters to control the Orion capsule's orientation and adjust its trajectory after launch. The main engine for EM-1 is a refurbished Orbital Maneuvering System engine that flew on 19 space shuttle missions.
The OMS engines were mounted on pods on each side of the shuttle's vertical tail, used to change the craft's orbit and begin the spaceship's trip back to Earth with a de-orbit burn.
The engines burn hydrazine and nitrogen tetroxide propellants, and were each designed for 100 missions and rated for multiple restarts on each flight.
Aerojet Rocketdyne built the OMS engines, which provide around 6,000 pounds of thrust in vacuum.
The OMS engine slated to launch on EM-1 flew on the shuttle Challenger, Discovery and Atlantis in its career. Its first launch was on the STS-41G mission in October 1984, and its last shuttle mission was STS-112 in October 2002, according to Rachel Kraft, a NASA spokesperson.
The EM-1 mission will last more than three weeks, sending the Orion spacecraft into a high-altitude retrograde orbit around the moon before heading back to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.
The European-built service module is in the "critical path" for EM-1 to remain on track for its launch readiness window, which runs from September through November of 2018. The service module is due for delivery to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in April — after engineers in Germany add the OMS engine and propellant tanks to the already-finished primary structure.
 
Artist's illustration of the Orion spacecraft with the European-built service module. Credit: NASA

An on-time delivery of the service module is critical to maintain EM-1's target launch date, unless engineers find a way to make up time once the power and propulsion segment is in the United States.
At KSC, ground crews will connect the service module with the Orion crew module, then ship the spacecraft to NASA's Plum Brook Station in Ohio by the end of 2017 to subject it to the extreme temperatures and vacuum conditions it will encounter in space.
The craft will return to KSC in early 2018 for final assembly steps, including the spacecraft's fueling and the addition of the Orion launch abort system before the stack is mounted on top of NASA's Space Launch System inside the Vehicle Assembly Building for rollout to launch pad 39B.
The agreement last month for ESA to supply a second service module came after European governments extended their support of the International Space Station through 2024. ESA is providing the two service modules for EM-1 and EM-2 as part of a barter agreement to pay NASA for its share of the space station's operating costs.
"We are excited to be a part of this historic mission and appreciate NASA's trust in us to help extend humanity's exploration farther afield into our solar system," said David Parker, ESA's director of human spaceflight, after the ministerial meeting in Switzerland last month.

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http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/technology/article/Astronauts-seek-the-right-vibe-in-Orion-tests-10872884.php
Astronauts seek the right vibe in Orion tests
Astronauts are seeking the right vibe in their tests of some Orion technology
By Andrea Rumbaugh, Houston Chronicle
January 20, 2017 


....
It was the first time an astronaut tested the visibility of the Orion spacecraft display screens under the vibration of a simulated launch.
...
Beyond visibility, the test was also the first time an astronaut interacted with the Orion display and used the controllers while strapped in a mockup seat and spacesuit undergoing the launch-simulating vibration. The crew impact attenuation system, which reduces loads on the body during landing, was also part of the test to make sure launch and ascent vibrations wouldn't cause it to malfunction.
...
As the tests continue through Jan. 30, Baldwin will be analyzing the data with NASA and incorporating it into designs. Lockheed is currently building three Orion spacecraft: the first for an uncrewed Orion that will travel more than 40,000 miles beyond the moon, the second for a test to ensure that Orion's design can withstand extreme temperatures and flight loads, and the third for Orion's first mission with astronauts onboard.
...
Hopkins was one of six astronauts who will participate in the vibration tests. These crew members are of varying weights and eyesight.
...
Many years ago, touchscreens were briefly considered for the display units on Orion. But they were quickly decided against.

Boyer said acceleration makes it difficult for astronauts to lift their arms, so it'd be hard to reach up and touch the screen during the launch. They instead opted for controllers near the astronauts' arms.
...

там еще и видео с вибрационного испытания

[triage]

из видео с They instead opted for controllers near the astronauts' arms.

[Salo]

Airbus Defence&Space ‏@AirbusDS 28 мин.28 минут назад
.@airbusds delivers propulsion test module for the @nasa_orion programme to @NASA. @esa #orionesm http://bit.ly/2jN8KZZ 
Orion ESM Propulsion Qualification Model integration

[Salo]

https://airbusdefenceandspace.com/newsroom/news-and-features/airbus-defence-and-space-delivers-propulsion-test-module-for-the-orion-programme-to-nasa/

January 24, 2017 - Press release  

Bremen, 24/01/2017 - Mid-January 2017 Airbus Defence and Space delivered to NASA a propulsion test module for the Orion programme. The Propulsion Qualification Test Model (PQM) will be used to check that the Orion European Service Module (ESM) spacecraft's propulsion subsystem functions correctly.
On behalf of the European Space Agency, Airbus Defence and Space is prime contractor for the ESM, a key element of NASA's next generation Orion spacecraft.
Although the PQM will never see space, this is an important step in the development of the Orion programme. Complex systems for human spaceflight must first be tested and qualified on Earth before being used as flight hardware in space. The engineers want to determine how the system behaves in different environments, to ensure that it functions properly.
The test module is travelling via Bremerhaven and Houston / USA to its final destination at NASA's White Sands Test Facility (WSTF) near Las Cruces in New Mexico / USA. Arrival is expected mid-February. The tests will take place later in the year at WSTF for the qualification of Orion ESM's propulsion subsystem.

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Из обсуждений Ангары. Первым пуском Ангары с Восточного возможно будет Федерация. По заключенному госконтракту кажется спускаемый модуль Федерации будет один и тот же в трех пусках(а может и нет т.к. корабль состоит из многих вещей).
А известно сколько Орионов изготавливаются для полетов в 2018 и первом пилотируемом. Один и тот же или разные спускаемые аппараты?

[triage]

Можно сказать и ответ

https://twitter.com/MarkKirasich/status/826937816865263617
Mark Kirasich ‏@MarkKirasich
2 февр. 2017 г.
A huge day! We started machining the crew module for our first flight with humans!

Mark Kirasich ‏@MarkKirasich  14 часов назад
@hybridwebtech @NASA_Orion ORION has a 5m diameter.

(Mark Kirasich @MarkKirasich - NASA Flight Director and @NASA_Orion Program Manager....)

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http://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/features/2017/orion-year-in-review.html
Year In Review: What You Should Know About Orion

Orion will carry intrepid explorers on bold, new missions into deep space – and eventually, Mars. But before NASA can take the Next Giant Leapand send astronauts to the Red Planet, there's much work to be done right here on Earth.

2016 was an intense year, with a flurry of activity throughout every corner of the Orion program. Across the country, NASA, Lockheed Martin, hundreds of suppliers and small businesses have been simultaneously designing, building and testing four different spacecraft.
 
EFT-1: Propulsion components flown on Orion during Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1), a high-orbital test flight in 2014, have been removed from the crew module for testing in extreme environments.
"We're identifying opportunities to reuse parts flown on the interior of the spacecraft to lower overall costs," said Jim Bray, Lockheed Martin Orion crew module director. "Extreme testing of used parts will help us determine what we'd consider safe to reuse and fly on crewed flights."
Once engineers completed the removal of all necessary parts, the EFT-1 crew module was relocated to NASA's Kennedy Space Center Visitor Center for millions of people to see.

EM-1: The pressure vessel for Orion's first integrated flight with the Space Launch System, Exploration Mission-1, is currently inside a clean room at the Operations & Checkout (O&C) Facility in Florida. Teams are outfitting the structure with fluid systems for propulsion and environmental controls. Once those systems are fully integrated and tested, teams will install electronic systems like avionics, wiring and computers.

STA: The Structural Test Article (STA) is a ground test article used to prove Orion's design against extreme temperatures and flight loads.
"Nothing can fly a crew in space without first being tested to its limits," said Bray. "Qualification tests put Orion through very severe flight conditions and help us confirm the design's margin of safety."
The STA is currently being built inside the O&C.
 
EM-2: The Orion team is also stocking the shelves with hardware needed for Exploration Mission-2, Orion's first crewed flight. The Avionics, Power and Wiring team has already received mission components, and test hardware for the Environmental Control and Life Support System designs are due to begin ground based testing in early 2017.  

Look Ahead
What's to come in 2017, you ask? Be on the lookout for some exciting milestones next year:

[/li]
• The structural test article will undergo proof testing at the O&C in Florida before its shipment to Lockheed Martin's Colorado facility for mechanical testing.
• In order to verify the spacecraft can route power and send commands, the team will power on the EM-1 crew module and the crew module adapter for the first time.
• The EM-1 European service module will arrive at the O&C and be mated to the crew module.
• The integrated EM-1 service module and crew module stack will undergo integration testing and power on.
• The Environmental Control and Life Support System will undergo ground based development testing at Johnson Space Flight Center.
• Construction of the EM-2 structure will begin in Louisiana.
  

NASA and Lockheed Martin are approaching the end of Orion's development phase, having successfully tackled many of the toughest engineering challenges associated with human exploration of deep space. As the team enters 2017, they remain on track for Exploration Mission-1 in 2018 and Exploration Mission-2, the first crewed flight, as early as 2021.

[Salo]

Chris B - NSF ‏@NASASpaceflight  1 ч.1 час назад  
NASA memo at 9am today notes the secret is out about EM-1. SLS debuting with a crew. Have fun with that, ASAP! Likely 2019/20 now.

 
 Recruta Capoeira  @clownShowPony  
holy shit robert lightfoot just said we're going to investigate putting a crew on EM-1

[Paleopulo]

Ну, пока, как я понял, пока это не решено. Исполняющий обязанности директора НАСА сказал: "I have asked Bill Gerstenmaier to initiate a study to assess the feasibility of adding a crew to Exploration Mission-1, the first integrated flight of SLS and Orion. I know the challenges associated with such a proposition, like reviewing the technical feasibility, additional resources needed, and clearly the extra work would require a different launch date."

То есть сейчас должна начаться проработка этого вопроса.

Но это интересно. Похоже, Трамп, действительно дал указание за годы его президентства что-то сотворить.

[triage]

Вначале хотелось пошутить что может обогнать Боинг или Дракона, а потом - а ведь так и первый запуск могут перенести. Первый запуск SLS пилотируемый - неожиданное предложение для астронавтов, которые кажется и не готовятся к полету на Орионе в ближайшие три года.

[Paleopulo]

pnetmon пишет:
Вначале хотелось пошутить что может обогнать Боинг или Дракона, а потом - а ведь так и первый запуск могут перенести. Первый запуск SLS пилотируемый - неожиданное предложение для астронавтов, которые кажется и не готовятся к полету на Орионе в ближайшие три года.

Так там же почти прямым текстом написано - это потребует переноса запуска на более позднее время. Беспилотный Орион планировался на конец 2018-года. Думаю, если решат все же сразу с астронавтами пускать в перовм полете SLS - думаю смогут не раньше конца 2019-го в лучшем случае.

[Salo]

Eric Berger ‏@SciGuySpace  2 ч.2 часа назад  
Lockheed Martin says it's down with accelerating crewed flights of Orion.
 

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Marcia Smith ‏@SpcPlcyOnline  6 мин.6 минут назад
NASA To Study Adding Crew to first SLS/Orion Mission While GAO Worries About Challenges of Flying Without a Crew http://www.spacepolicyonline.com/news/nasa-to-study-adding-crew-to-first-sls-orion-mission-while-gao-worries-about-flying-without-a-crew#.WKTGBxojYoU.twitter ...

[Salo]

http://spacenews.com/nasa-to-study-launching-astronauts-on-first-sls-mission/

NASA to study launching astronauts on first SLS mission
by Jeff Foust — February 15, 2017
 
A new study will examine placing a crew on the first SLS/Orion mission, EM-1, which currently is set to fly in late 2018 without astronauts on board. Credit: NASA  
 
Updated at 2 p.m. Eastern with Lockheed Martin statement.
WASHINGTON — NASA plans to study putting astronauts on the first launch of its Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket, a move that could introduce new delays and other complications into the vehicle's development.
NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot, in a speech at the Space Launch System/Orion Suppliers Conference here Feb. 15, and a memo emailed at the same time to the agency's workforce, said he had directed Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for human exploration and operations, to begin a study on the feasibility of putting a crew on the first SLS mission, known as Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1).
"The study will examine the opportunities it could present to accelerate the effort of the first crewed flight and what it would take to accomplish that first step of pushing humans farther into space," NASA spokesman Bob Jacobs said in a statement to SpaceNews confirming the planned study.
Current plans call for the EM-1 mission to launch in late 2018 without a crew. The first crewed flight would be EM-2, which NASA is planning to launch in 2021. However, an assessment in 2015 performed as Orion reached a development milestone known as Key Decision Point C indicated that there was a 70 percent chance the EM-2 mission would launch no later than April 2023.
Lightfoot, in the memo, said the study will examine the technical and schedule issues of flying a crew on EM-1. "I know the challenges associated with such a proposition, like reviewing the technical feasibility, additional resources needed," he wrote, "and clearly the extra work would require a different launch date."
Lightfoot didn't discuss the specific challenges, but they are likely to involve both issues with the Orion spacecraft and SLS vehicle. NASA did not plan to have a full life support system in the Orion spacecraft for the EM-1 mission as it would not have a crew on board. Last year, the agency said it was considering shortening the EM-2 mission since it would be the first Orion flight with the complete life support system.
"Lockheed Martin will support NASA on a study to determine the feasibility of flying a crew on Exploration Mission 1," said Allison Miller, a spokeswoman for Orion prime contractor Lockheed Martin, in a Feb. 15 statement. "We'll look at accelerating remaining crew system designs, as well as potential technical and schedule challenges and how to mitigate them."
The SLS that will be used on EM-1 will use an upper stage derived from the Delta 4, known as the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS). NASA plans to replace it on EM-2 and future SLS missions with the more powerful Exploration Upper Stage (EUS), which would be human-rated for crewed missions.
NASA stopped work on human-rating the ICPS a year ago, following direction from Congress in the report accompanying the fiscal year 2016 appropriations bill. Congress has pushed NASA to accelerate work on the EUS, allocating additional funding for it, so that it would be ready for EM-2. NASA announced in January that EUS had passed its preliminary design review, keeping the stage on track for launch in 2021 on the EM-2 mission.
That work, as Lightfoot suggested in his memo, would likely delay the EM-1 launch from its current estimated launch window of September to November 2018. Industry sources said they believe addressing the various issues would delay the mission to 2019 or 2020. That would still be sooner than current NASA schedules for EM-2.
Lightfoot, in the memo, also addressed broader concerns about NASA's future direction. "From my interactions with the transition team, NASA is clearly a priority for the President and his administration," he wrote, adding that when he received information from the administration about its plans for the agency, he would share it with employees.
"There has been a lot of speculation in the public discourse about NASA being pulled in two directions – what has come before and what we want to do now. At NASA, this is an 'and' proposition, not an 'or,'" he added near the end of the memo. "We must work with everyone to secure our leadership in space – and we will."