NASA's test today of an escape system that some day might save astronauts was a visual spectacular.Powerful solid-propellant motors ignited in a burst of orange flame, propelling a mock-up of NASA's Orion crew module in a simulation of how the escape system would work if a rocket exploded on the launch pad.
Check out this awesome PAD ABORT VIDEO.
7 comments:
Thanks, Todd.
Now if ONLY we can get the politicians and privatizers out of the way and let NASA accelerate completion of the ARES I/Orion post-shuttle space access system...
This test cost about the same, all costs considered, as a full
Space Shuttle mission. Constellation needed a huge escape rocket because it the Orion capsule is very heavy and had to drag the capsule away at a barely survivable 20Gs because Orion used a huge solid fuel booster which could not be shut off and would be trying to run down the capsule. Even if the Orion capsule is built, and used for manned launch, which is doubtful, it will be launched on the Atlas of Delta which are liquid fueled and so this abort rocket would be much heavier than needed. Even if we were going to build Constellation we could have used the Atlas or Delta all along, which Lockheed and Boeing now enthusiastically support, and so avoided the cost of the huge abort rocket and had more thoroughly tested rockets. More likely we will use the Dragon, which is a fraction of the weight of the Orion _and_ uses a liquid fuel booster, so needs nothing even approaching this size.
So we spent hundreds of millions developing and testing a huge escape rocket that was never really needed for a booster that will definitely not be built. There are things that could have been done with the money that would have been a lot more useful than this test. A complete Space Shuttle mission. 100 major medical research programs. Surely you can think of others.
Good flight, too bad Florida Today lists location of the flight in Utah. (It actually occurred at WSMR in New Mexico!)
That's strange. I'm from Missouri. Show me where we said the test was in Utah.....
What we need is to keep the Shuttle flying. It carries more people, fifty times more cargo, and costs less per launch than Constellation. And we have it now. With the increased NASA budget Obamna has requested we could keep it flying. What sense does it make to quit flying for five years and then go back to a primitive rocket?
Well that went without a hitch.!Keep going folks.!!!
"Constellation needed a huge escape rocket because it the Orion capsule is very heavy and had to drag the capsule away at a barely survivable 20Gs because Orion used a huge solid fuel booster which could not be shut off and would be trying to run down the capsule."
You are completely wrong. The PA system is specifically for catastrophic anamolies. (flight abort) Liquid and Solid have these issues. The PA system has to get the capsule out of the way because you can't shut off momentum of a vehicle. It's nothing about turning it off. Range safety would take care of that immediately on both types of vehicles.
Post a Comment