WASHINGTON, DC - Flames shot more than 100 feet high in a successful 5.5-second ground test firing Thursday, Nov. 20, of a launch abort motor for NASA's next generation spacecraft, the Orion crew exploration vehicle. NASA and the Orion industry team conducted the firing at the Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, facility in Promontory, Utah.

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The abort motor will provide a half-million pounds of thrust to lift the crew module off the Ares I rocket, pulling the crew away safely in the event of an emergency on the launch pad or during the first 300,000 feet of the rocket's climb to orbit. Thursday's firing was the first time a motor with reverse flow propulsion technology at this scale has been tested. It also is the first test of its kind since the beginning of the Apollo Program.

"This milestone brings the Constellation Program one step closer to completion of the Orion vehicle that will carry astronauts to the International Space Station in 2015 and return humans to the moon by 2020," said Mark Geyer, Orion project manager at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "The launch abort system must be ready to operate in many different environmental conditions, and tests such as this one are critical to assure this safety feature will protect our astronauts."
(Images credit: NASA)

Thursday's test firing was the culmination of a series of motor and component tests conducted this year in preparation for the next major milestone, a test scheduled for the spring of 2009 with a full-size mock-up of the Orion crew capsule.

This inaugural test of Orion's full-scale abort motor marks the first time such a test has been conducted since the Apollo Program tested its launch escape system in the 1960s. This demonstration was the culmination of a series of motor and component tests conducted earlier this year in preparation for the Pad Abort-1 Flight Test, which will test the abort system's capabilities using a full-scale crew module mockup.

Orion's abort motor has the same mission as Apollo's -- to safely lift the Orion crew module away from the launch vehicle, pulling the crew to safety in the event of an emergency on the launch pad or during initial ascent phase.

The abort motor, which stands more than 17 feet tall and spans three feet in diameter, has a manifold with four exhaust nozzles. It was fixed into a vertical test stand with its nozzles pointing skyward. Upon ignition, the abort motor fired for five seconds with the exhaust plume flames reaching up to 100 feet in height. The high-impulse motor was specifically developed so the majority of its propellant would be expended in the first three seconds, delivering the half million pounds of thrust needed to pull the crew module safely away from its launch vehicle.

Unlike Apollo, Orion's abort motor utilizes a composite case, and exhaust turn-flow technology rather than a tower, which results in weight savings, improved performance and improved success in crew survival during an abort. Instead of the rocket plume exiting straight out a nozzle at the aft end, the manifold is placed at the forward end of the motor. The rocket thrust enters the manifold and is turned 155 degrees exiting out the four nozzles, creating a forward-pulling force.

A series of earlier tests were performed leading up to this first full-scale demonstration. Those earlier tests included:

  • Five subscale test firings incorporating reverse flow technology.
  • Full-scale hydroproof and superproof operation pressure tests were conducted on the composite case, igniter bottle and manifold.
  • During casting, the propellant was tested to ensure the chemistry met abort motor requirements.
ATK is responsible for the launch abort motor through a contract to Orbital Sciences Corporation, who is responsible for integrating the LAS motor for Lockheed Martin Corporation -- Orion's prime contractor. The Orion Launch Abort System (LAS) program is managed out of NASA's Langley Research Center.

The Orion crew exploration vehicle sits atop the Ares I crew launch vehicle. The Orion features an advanced capsule design with state-of-the-art technology that will transport humans to and from the International Space Station, the moon and other destinations beyond low-Earth orbit.

The next major milestone is the Pad Abort-1 Flight Test, scheduled to take place at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico next spring. A series of LAS ground and flight tests are planned over the next several years that support the first operational flight of Orion and Ares I scheduled for 2015.

While similar to the Apollo Program's launch abort motor, Orion's abort motor incorporates today's technology into a more robust design. The launch abort motor uses a composite case and an exhaust turn-flow technology instead of a tower, which results in weight savings, improved performance and improved success in crew survival during an abort. Instead of the rocket plume exiting a rear nozzle, the manifold is placed at the forward end of the motor. The rocket thrust enters the manifold and is turned 155 degrees and forced out the four nozzles, creating a forward-pulling force.

To prove this new technology, a series of tests were performed leading up to the full-scale demonstration. Earlier tests included five subscale test firings incorporating reverse flow propulsion; full-scale structural integrity testing on the composite case, igniter bottle and manifold; and surveillance testing during casting to ensure the propellant chemistry met abort motor requirements.

For images and video of the test firing and more information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/constellation
 
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