NASA
and Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, reached another
milestone Friday with the successful test firing of a
critical safety component for the Orion crew exploration
vehicle, NASA's next generation of spaceships.
A 36-inch-long (0.91 meter) igniter for the abort motor
of Orion's launch abort system was fired at ATK's
facility in Promontory, Utah.
Orion is part of the
Constellation Program of spacecraft and systems NASA is
building to carry astronauts to the International Space
Station and conduct sustained human exploration of the
moon.
The abort motor, the primary motor in the launch
abort system, is designed to pull the crew capsule away
from the Ares I launch vehicle in an emergency situation
while on the pad or during the first 300,000 feet
(91,440 meters) of ascent after launch.
In less than a second, the igniter generated
approximately 21,000 pounds of thrust and produced
combustion gas temperatures of more than 5,800 degrees
Fahrenheit (3,204 degrees Celsius).
Engineers will use the test firing to evaluate the
igniter's ballistic properties and pressure created
inside its chamber. Preliminary data indicate the
igniter performed as expected.
The
igniter is designed to fit inside the aft end of the
abort motor for Orion's launch abort system. In the
event of an emergency, it will be used to ignite the
solid propellant inside the abort motor casing.
The motor uses a unique reverse flow technology with
four nozzles mounted on the forward end. Once ignited,
it will produce nearly a half-million pounds of thrust
within milliseconds to pull the Orion crew module safely
away from the Ares I rocket.
Friday's test was the first in a series of three
igniter open air tests scheduled for 2008. A full-scale
abort motor ground test will be conducted in September.
In December, the entire Orion launch abort system will
be demonstrated during a flight test at the U.S. Army's
White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
The abort system is a key element in NASA's
continuing efforts to improve safety as the agency
develops the next generation of spacecraft to return
humans to the moon.
NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.,
manages the launch abort system design and development
effort with partners and team members from NASA's
Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
Langley's Launch Abort System Office performs this
function as part of the Orion Project Office located at
NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Orbital Sciences
Corporation of Dulles, Va., is building the launch abort
system for Lockheed Martin Corporation of Bethesda, Md.,
the prime contractor for Orion.
High speed images of the
test:
