CAPE CANAVERAL AIR FORCE STATION – In a nostalgic scene reminiscent of the days of thelandingsof the capsulesApollo, a team of rescue divers-paratroopers performed the test of attaching a float collar to a full-scale model of the vehicle several timesOrion, which will be the new method of transportation for the crews of the future, under the programConstellation.
Floating in protected harbor waters, the test was the first in a series of in-water tests to which thesteel mockup, to check if the capsule is good “seaworthy” and how it behaves under the action of the wind and the waves. The buoyancy ofOrion, which is about four meters in diameter and has the capacity for six astronauts, had already been tested in a swimming pool. But last Friday it had to be dragged with a zodiac to see its stability, drips, etc.
“The next step will be to place it in the open sea,” said Michael Generale, the director of the tests. “Orion is designed to float upright, unlike Apollo, which stayed in the water on its side while the astronauts waited to be transported to the ship.”
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Thefloat ringIt consists of a series of floats tied like a string of sausages that are inflated in a matter of seconds with three tanks of compressed air. It will also serve as a platform for rescuers to stand on while helping astronauts open the side hatch to transfer to the inflatable boats. “Keep in mind that astronauts will return after at least six months in microgravity,” said Dr. Philip Scarpa, director of medical operations and flight surgeon at the Kennedy Space Center. ? For them to get out of their chairs and try to reach the main hatch, which is at a certain height, will be a considerable effort. That is why they will come out from the side, with the help of the divers.
Orion will have four windows, while the first capsules of the US space program only had one. Until last year, NASA was considering making landings on the mainland, as is the case with the Russian and Chinese missions. But the cost differences between both methodologies were not so great as not to choose the docking, which is much more benign for the human anatomy. In addition, it is planned thatOrionIt falls fairly close to the California heights, which facilitates the logistics of the capsule recovery. ? In any case, the astronauts will be subject to dizziness, not only because of the swell and the closed capsule, but because re-entry to Earth tends to cause nausea ,? Scarpa explained.
“The mockup so far behaves as we expected,” Generale said. “It is very stable, and the instruments in it are giving satisfactory readings. Of course the litmus test is yet to come, in open seas with a lot of wind. Our philosophy is to crawl, then walk and then run,” he added.
After analyzing various flight models and architectures to return to the moon, NASA decided that the modelApollo(a conical capsule installed on the tip of a rocket) was the best alternative. A vehicle in the form of a winged plane like the space shuttle does not meet the needs of such rigorous flight. Basically, the philosophy is that “if something is not broken there is no reason to fix it”. The capsule pattern on the nose of the rocket also prevents the astronauts’ vehicle from being free from shuttle damage from foam blocks dislodging from the outer tank and causing damage to the aircraft’s fuselage.
Angela Posada-Swafford
