Rachel Kraft
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-5227
rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov
Brandi Dean
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
brandi.k.dean@nasa.gov
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RELEASE 13-300
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Astronauts Practice Launching in NASA's New Orion Spacecraft
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/Astronauts Rick Linnehan and Mike Foreman try out a prototype display and
control system inside an Orion spacecraft mockup at NASA’s Johnson Space
Center in Houston during the first ascent and abort simulations for the
program./
For the first time, NASA astronauts are practicing a launch into space aboard
the agency's Orion spacecraft, and provided feedback on the new capsule's
cockpit design.
In the ascent simulations, which took place over the course of two weeks at
NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston this month, astronauts rehearsed their
roles during an eight-minute climb into space aboard Orion. The rehearsals
included procedures that would be required in the event of an emergency with
the agency's new heavy-lift Space Launch System rocket, which is being
designed to will carry Orion to low-Earth orbit on the first portion of its
flights to deep space.
Ten pairs of astronauts participated in two normal launch simulations and two
launch-abort simulations inside an Orion mockup fitted with instrument panels
and other equipment being designed for the actual capsule. As the two-person
crews made their way through a series of tasks, engineers took careful notes
of every comment and question from the crew. Their feedback will be
considered in the process of fine-tuning the design and build requirements
for the displays and controls.
"Simulations like these provide valuable experience by giving astronauts and
the operations team an early look at what going to deep space in Orion will
be like," said astronaut Lee Morin, who has been working on the Orion
displays as supervisor of Johnson's rapid prototyping laboratory. "Rehearsing
launch and ascent -- two of the most challenging parts of Orion's mission --
also gives us an opportunity to work toward optimizing how the crew interacts
with the spacecraft."
Designing a spacecraft's cockpit to maximize simplicity and efficiency is not
easy. Each of NASA's space shuttles had 10 display screens, more than 1,200
switches, dials and gauges, and pages of procedures weighing hundreds of
pounds on paper.
By comparison, Orion, which is designed for deep-space exploration and
autonomous or piloted rendezvous and docking, will have just three computer
screens, each the size of a sheet of paper, which take advantage of
information technology advancements made since the space shuttles were
designed in the early 1970s.
"It's very rewarding work, knowing the displays we are creating and testing
now will be what future astronauts will be looking at as they rendezvous with
an asteroid, orbit the moon, and even travel to Mars," Morin said. "Getting
this right is key to making Orion and other future vehicles safer and easier
to use."
Orion's first crewed launch, Exploration Mission-2, is scheduled for 2021,
when NASA plans to send two astronauts to an asteroid in lunar orbit. Orion
ultimately will allow us to go farther into space than ever before, including
destinations such as Mars.
NASA plans to make Orion's data and software available to the agency's
commercial partners, who may adapt it for use in spacecraft that could
transport astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
For more information on the test and images, visit:
http://go.nasa.gov/1avlDw0For more information on the Orion Program, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/orion
