Thursday, November 15, 2007

The ORION logo that will be used by NASA on future Crew Exploration Vehicle missions.

ORION Update: This past week has seen a number of milestones for the Constellation Program...which is responsible for developing NASA’s replacement for the space shuttle after it is retired in 2010: The Ares rocket and Orion space vehicle. On November 9, construction began at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B for a trio of lightning towers that will protect the Ares rocket when it is out on the pad during a severe thunderstorm. Ares will begin test flights from Florida in 2009. The launch tower at LC-39B itself will not undergo renovation until late 2008...since it will be used one last time for the space shuttle next year. LC-39B will host a second shuttle (Endeavour) in case it has to launch on a rescue mission if Atlantis (the orbiter assigned to the mission) is found damaged in orbit after launching on next summer’s final Hubble Space Telescope servicing flight. Additional photos of the construction can be found here.

TOP PIC: Construction begins on the first of three lightning towers at Kennedy Space Center's Launch Complex 39B.  BOTTOM PIC: An artist's concept of how LC-39B will look after being modified for the ARES rocket.
NASA / George Shelton

In other Ares-related news, NASA successfully tested the main parachute for the Ares’ first stage rocket booster during a drop test today at the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. Click here for more details.

The main parachute for Constellation Program rockets is tested Nov. 15 over the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground near Yuma, Ariz. Measuring 150-feet in diameter and weighing 2,000 pounds, the parachute is the largest of its kind that's been tested.
NASA / Marshall Spaceflight Center

In New Mexico, workers broke ground on a pad where NASA will test a launch abort system for the Orion spacecraft at the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range. You can read more about it here.

TOP PIC: A computer rendition of a launch abort system (LAS) test taking place in White Sands, New Mexico.  BOTTOM PIC: A computer rendition showing NASA's ORION Crew Exploration Vehicle separating from its LAS during flight.
NASA

Damaris Sarria, a NASA engineer widely known for a Blog that is chronicling her exploits to become an astronaut, posted a brief entry on Tuesday talking about a prototype heat shield for Orion being shipped to NASA by Boeing. The shield was constructed at the Boeing facility in Huntington Beach, California. Too bad the actual spacecraft itself won’t be constructed at Huntington Beach...which is only a half-hour drive from me. Oh wait— Orion is being built by Lockheed Martin. Nevermind.

TOP PIC: Boeing engineer Elizabeth Chu inspects a prototype heat shield for the ORION Crew Exploration Vehicle.  BOTTOM PIC: A computer rendition showing ORION re-entering Earth's atmosphere.
NASA / Damaris B. Sarria

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