Next-gen spacecraft stops at Holloman

NASA's next generation of manned spacecraft leaves Holloman Air Force Base, N.M. Aug. 21 enroute to White Sands Missile Range, N.M. The module was escorted on base by 49th Security Forces Squadron Airmen and off base by officers from the New Mexico State Police and the New Mexico Department of Public Safety Motor Transportation Division along with deputies from the Otero County Sheriff's Department. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Michael Means)

HOLLOMAN AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. (AFNS) -- NASA's next generation of a manned-spacecraft made a stop at Holloman AFB on its way to White Sands Missile Range, N.M. where launch abort tests will be performed.

The Orion Program's Pad Abort One Crew Module arrived here Aug. 19 via a C-17 Globemaster III and left aboard a tractor-trailer Aug. 21 for WSMR. The crew module has a launch abort system used to for the crew to escape from the launch rocket should something go wrong on the pad or during the ascent to orbit.

Holloman AFB was a vital stop because of the base's close proximity to WSMR and its ability to receive aircraft with heavy cargo.

"It would have been pretty much impossible to get this capsule out here if we were unable to land at Holloman," said Jeff Doughty, the Pad Abort One Flight Test Vehicle crew chief.

The base's reliable support also helped in the decision to bring the module through here.

"We've received excellent support from (Holloman)," said David McAllister, the Dryden Flight Research Center lead of operations for the abort flight test. "We feel like we're at home when we're here."

Holloman AFB was just one leg in the spacecraft's journey to WSMR. It was built at NASA Langley, Va., and flown to Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards, Calif., to have the avionics and instrumentation installed. When installation was complete, the spacecraft was flown to Holloman AFB, then driven to to its final destination at a launch site on WSMR for testing.

Mr. Doughty said the module is going to WSMR to demonstrate that it can be taken away from the launch pad, ensuring astronauts can get away from the pad in the event of an emergency.

Billed as the shuttle replacement program for NASA, the Orion Program is designed to take the next generation of astronauts to space.

NASA is expecting the Orion to be sent into orbit toward the end of 2014 or early 2015.

NASA's Orion Capsule Built and Tested at NSWC Carderock

WEST BETHESDA, Md. (NNS) -- Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Carderock Division engineers, along with a NASA test and evaluation team are conducting initial Post-Landing Orion Recovery Test(PORT) operations, March 23-27.

The team will test a full-scale model of NASA's Orion space capsule at Carderock's pentagon-shaped test pond.

The model, measuring 16.5 feet in diameter and weighing 18,000 pounds, was built by NSWC Carderock in its model fabrication facility. The area is primarily used for Navy ship and submarine model design, fabrication, mission test support, and specialized manufacturing services using computer aided numerically controlled machines, programming, stereolithography, manufacturing, wood and composite material fabrication.

NSWC Carderock, a field activity of Naval Sea Systems Command, also uses its model fabrication facility to design ships and systems that are both "state of the art" and easily upgradable.

The PORT objective is to determine what the environment will be like for the astronaut and recovery crews at landing, and incorporate those lessons into the spacecraft design.

The Carderock test pond provides a controlled environment for NASA space crew recovery personnel and 920th Air Wing's Para Rescue Divers for familiarization diving before testing procedures in the uncontrolled waters of the Atlantic Ocean during the week of Apr. 6.

"Divers were in the water March 25, practicing attaching flotation collars," said Richard Banko, Carderock lead engineer and principle Navy-NASA test coordinator. "We're currently testing opening and closing the hatch with the flotation collars in place and then we're going to do night testing, and conduct these evolutions all over again without natural lighting, using only the diver's lighting."

After completing diver familiarization, the crew module will be transported to the National Mall in Washington for display at the National Air and Space Museum.

Alan Rhodes, NASA's Constellation Program Test and Verification officer, had high praise for the quality of work NSWC Carderock personnel provided for their Orion project.

"The Carderock team has gone far above and beyond our expectations in support of this project that I'm almost at a loss for words of praise," said Rhodes. "When you look at where we started planning a year and a half ago, and look at the finished crew model, and its water testing, it's truly amazing how well this model was built, how well it fits within the tolerances we've asked for it."

Carderock engineers and researchers will also participate in the testing when the model is transported to sea and launched by NASA's space shuttle solid rocket booster recovery ship. The team will quantify the seakeeping characteristics of the mock-up.

"It's a test model we will use for years to come, and we have the right team from Carderock to thank for it," said Rhodes.