NASA's Orion MPV spacecraft mock-up undergoes Recovery test

Credit: NASA, U.S. Navy 

A test version of NASA's Orion MPV spacecraft floats inside the well deck of the U.S.S. Anchorage on Aug. 2, 2014, during recovery tests off the coast of California.

A combined NASA and U.S. Navy team practiced recovery techniques over the weekend, in preparation for Orion's first trip to (and return from) space in Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) in December.

Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars.

It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities.

After traveling 3,600 miles into space on the unmanned or robotic EFT-1, Orion will return to Earth at a speed of 20,000 miles per hour and endure temperatures near 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit before landing in the Pacific Ocean.

NASA Orion EFT-1: Final Reaction Control System Pod Arrives

Image above: Astronaut Don Pettit watches as a technician works on the Orion crew module inside the Operations and Checkout Building high bay at Kennedy Space Center on March 21. 

Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

The last of eight reaction control system (RCS) pods for NASA’s Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) arrived this week at Kennedy Space Center’s Operations and Checkout Building (O&C) from the manufacturer, Aerojet, in Redmond, Wash.

“Arrival of the final reaction control system pod marks a significant milestone as we prepare NASA’s Orion crew module for its first flight test,” said Glenn Chinn, the deputy manager of the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Program in Kennedy’s Orion Production Operations Office.

“The pods will provide the critical maneuvers necessary for Orion’s re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.”

The first set of pods arrived at Kennedy on Feb. 18, with subsequent pods arriving March 11, and April 5 and 19.

Image above: A technician works on a reaction control system pod at the Aerojet facility in Redmond, Wash. 

The pod is one of eight that will be installed on the Orion crew module for Exploration Flight Test-1 and provide the critical maneuvers necessary for re-entry into the Earth’s atmosphere.” 

Photo courtesy of Aerojet

The right-roll thruster pod with two rocket engines was the last to arrive, and joined the other seven pods already in the facility.

Included in the group are two pitch-up thruster pods with a single rocket engine; two pitch-down thruster pods, each with a single rocket engine; two right- and left-yaw pods, each with a single rocket engine, and a left roll thruster pod with two rocket engines.

Before the pods were delivered to Kennedy, Aerojet put each of them through a series of tests, including proof pressure and leak, engine vibration, rocket engine hot fire acceptance and electrical functional testing.

Lockheed Martin will unpack and visually inspect all of the pods. Then technicians will add short propellant line segments and line brackets to each.

Beginning in June, the pods will undergo additional proof pressure and leak testing, valve leak testing and rocket engine functional testing.

Aerojet will support processing activities that involve the rocket engine pods with procedure reviews, and on-site engineering and assembly support during installation and testing on the crew module.

Aerojet Program Director for Human Space, Sam Wiley, said he can’t wait for the RCS pods to be installed onto the crew module.

“We put our heart into our products and the installation work will wrap up more than three years of design and development activities,” Wiley said. “We’re ready to support EFT-1 for flight.”

The pods and their engines will be installed in various locations on the Orion crew module.

For more information, and to follow the progress of the NASA Orion spacecraft team check out their monthly newsheet.