Fit Check Sets Stage for Orion Recovery Test for EFT-1 and Beyond

NASA and  Lockheed Martin Space Operations have been moving right along with the EFT-1 (Exploration Flight Test 1) of the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle.  EFT-1 is the first planned un-crewed test flight.  The Orion will be launched from Space Launch Complex 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (Two things to note: 1. Cape Canaveral Air Force Station houses Kennedy Space Center 2. Space Launch Complex 39, the other old shuttle launch pad is about to be run by SpaceX) in September 2014. The mission will be a multi-hour, two-orbit test of the Orion Crew Module featuring a high apogee on the second orbit and a high-energy reentry at around 20,000 mph.  This mission design is almost the same mission that was Apollo 4 in 1967 which was used to validate the Apollo flight control system and heat shield at re-entry conditions planned for the return from lunar missions.  This will test various Orion systems, including avionics, heat shielding and parachutes prior to its debut launch aboard the Space Launch System (SLS or also know as the Senate Launch System because the Senate demanded it and set some of the requirements), currently scheduled for late 2017 (if it does not get cancelled or delayed anymore, which it mostly likely will be, looking at budget proposals in Congress, but that is for another post).

The EFT-1 Orion crew vehicle will splashdown in the Pacific Ocean and be recovered to be used in an ascent abort test to provide that astronauts can escape if something goes wrong during launch.  

What I really wanted to talk about this post before I felt the need to give you some background information on EFT-1 is that the EFT-1 planning and set up is moving right along.  How do I know this?  NASA published this article the other day Fit Check Sets Stage for Orion Recovery which talks about the fit testing of the recovery system that will be used to recover the EFT-1 Orion after splash down. This is important because if NASA cannot recover the module how are they going to analyze it then fix it up and used it again in more testing to save money?  The fit check is to see if the recovery system built (see picture below) works with the Orion.

Image Above: The boilerplate handling fixture bumper assembly for Orion recovery tests was designed and manufactured at NASA's Kennedy Space Center.

Image Credit: 

NASA/Jeremy Parr

You think this would be a given, but in the engineering world its always better to measure twice and cut once, and if you have the opportunity to test something, test it.  Dumb mistakes are done by smart people all the time.  

NASA does not have much experience in this field.  All the guys from the Apollo days are long gone, through NASA did recover the solid rocket boosters from shuttle missions but that is a very different type of beast. See the following two videos:

Space Shuttle Launch Boosters Recovered in NASA HD

Solid Rocket Booster Recovery Divers

The ships used in these operations are the MV Freedom Star and MV Liberty Star.  NASA entered into an agreement with the Department of Transportation to transfer the MV Liberty Star to the United States Merchant Marine Academy for use of a training vessel who relocated it to Kings Point, NY from Cape Canaveral, FL.  MV Liberty Star is still on standby for any future NASA missions if it is needed.  This leaves only the  MV Freedom Star support any current NASA missions out of Cape Canaveral, FL.  It might be a long way for the MV Freedom Star to head out to the middle of the Pacific Ocean to recover the EFT-1 Orion.  Here is another video giving a tour of the MV Freedom Star, given by Astronaut Mike Massimino who you might know from the Big Bang Theory.  

There are some guys who do have some experience in recovering space capsules in the ocean, but I don't think NASA will be able to convince them to leave SpaceX.  Here are some pictures of the SpaceX recovery team in action.

Dragon in the ocean

The recovery team heading to Dragon

The recovery team getting to work

The Boat with the space capsule on-board

Putting Dragon back on dry land

I am excited about the fit test it shows that NASA is planning for the long term, the EFT-1 is an exciting mission and it will get NASA ready to start heading out to the stars instead of  just LOW( this is just the word low, the ISS is only 200 some miles above the Earth, I drive farther to get from Houston to Dallas) Earth Orbit.