Fri, Nov 29, 2013
Diaphragm Designed To Keep Harmful Gasses Away From The Spacecraft
Hardware that will keep harmful gases away from the Orion spacecraft during its first trip to space proved it won't bend under pressure during a recent test at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL.
The diaphragm for Exploration Flight Test (EFT)-1 was joined to an adapter prototype for pressurized testing. The adapter will connect Orion to a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV rocket being constructed at ULA's facility in nearby Decatur, AL.
For the test, the adapter was sealed and a vacuum pump was connected to the diaphragm. The vacuum pressure simulates atmospheric conditions the hardware may experience during the mission.
"Pressure testing helps us validate the design and integrity of the hardware, ensuring that it is flight ready," said Brent Gaddes, Spacecraft & Payload Integration Adapter Subsystem manager at Marshall.
For EFT-1, Orion will travel to an altitude of approximately 3,600 miles above the Earth’s surface. This flight test will launch Orion farther than any spacecraft built for humans has gone in more than 40 years. It also will provide engineers with important data about the adapter’s performance before it is flown in 2017 on NASA's new heavy-lift launch vehicle, the Space Launch System (SLS). Marshall manages the SLS Program for the agency. "Early next year, we will be performing a structural qualification test on the spacecraft adapter. It’s very busy in the test world," said Dee Vancleave, lead test engineer for the pressure test.
Now that pressure testing is complete, the diaphragm will be put into the flight adapter, and cables will be installed. EFT-1 is scheduled to launch in September 2014 from Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.
More News
Maximum Authorized Altitude A published altitude representing the maximum usable altitude or flight level for an airspace structure or route segment. It is the highest altitude on >[...]
Aero Linx: Soaring Safety Foundation (SSF) The Soaring Safety Foundation (SSF) is the Training and Safety arm of the Soaring Society of America (SSA). Our mission is to provide ins>[...]
From 2013 (YouTube Version): Dracula Lives On Through Kyle Franklin... and We're NOT Scared! ANN CEO and Editor-in-Chief, Jim Campbell speaks with Aerobatic and airshow master, Kyl>[...]
“For Montaer Aircraft it is a very prudent move to incorporate such reliable institution as Ocala Aviation, with the background of decades in training experience and aviation>[...]
Also: ForeFlight Upgrades, Cicare USA, Vittorazi Engines, EarthX We have a number of late-breaking news highlights from the 2024 Innovation Preview... which was PACKED with real ne>[...]