Scale
models of the Orion crew exploration vehicle recently were
tested at NASA’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory, or NBL, at
NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston and at a wave tank at
Texas A&M University in College Station.
NASA conducted a series of buoyancy and flotation
characteristics tests using the NBL and a 1/4-scale model of
the Orion crew capsule. The model was lowered into the NBL’s
6.2-million-gallon pool and was floated in a series of
positions. This testing will allow the engineers and the NBL
team to develop their full-scale crew training mock-up that
will be used for mission training and for creating the crew
safety procedures for water-based landings of the Orion crew
capsule.
The team also performed a series of tests
to validate a new seal design and updated wireless
communications. Engineers also evaluated a prototype
floatation collar for the spacecraft, which was provided by
NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
“It is
rewarding to see an actual scale model of Orion finally
being tested in the water,†said Alan Rhodes, a NASA
engineer who was observing the testing. “The NBL is a
one-of-a-kind testing facility for NASA, and the team helped
us gather a tremendous amount of critical data that we will
use to refine the design of Orion.â€
A smaller scale
model of the Orion crew capsule also was tested at a wave
tank at Texas A&M University. The goal of the test was to
determine how the spacecraft reacts to strong waves while it
floats in the water. Engineers simulated gale force winds
and large waves to ensure the spacecraft would remain
upright.
The next step for the team will be to
partner with a team of naval architects from the United
States Navy to conduct a series of flotation characteristics
and towing tests to help further understand how the Orion
crew capsule will act in different sea states and to help
generate recovery procedures. The next round of testing will
be held in October at the Naval Surface Warfare Center in
Carderock, Md., and at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in
Aberdeen, Md.
Along with the scaled testing, NASA
and the United States Navy began fabrication of a full-scale
test article that will allow search and rescue divers from
the Human Space Flight Support team at the Kennedy Space
Center to begin working with an Orion mock-up in the water.
These tests will allow the team to review current recovery
procedures and to understand how changing sea states will
affect the overall recovery operation. Full-scale testing
will take place off the coast of Florida, near the Kennedy
Space Center, in January 2009.
