Orion is a multipurpose partially reusable US manned spacecraft, developed since the mid-2000s as part of the Constellation program. The goal of this program was to return the Americans to the moon, and the Orion spacecraft was intended to deliver people and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) and for flights to the Moon, as well as to Mars in the future. In near-earth flights, Orion should replace the Space shuttle, which completed flights in 2011, and in the future ensure the landing of a man on Mars.
Initially, in NASA documents, the ship was called CEV (English Crew Exploration Vehicle - manned research vehicle). Then the ship received the official name in honor of the famous constellation - "Orion". Since 2011, the temporary name of the modified ship has become MPCV (Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle - multi-purpose manned ship).
Initially, a test flight of the spacecraft was scheduled for 2013, the first manned flight with a crew of two astronauts was planned for 2014, and the start of flights to the Moon in 2019-2020. At the end of 2011, it was assumed that the first flight without astronauts would take place in 2014, and the first manned flight in 2017 .. In December 2013, plans were announced for the first unmanned test flight (EFT-1) using the Delta 4 carrier in September 2014 , the first unmanned launch using the SLS carrier is scheduled for 2017. ... In March 2014, the first unmanned test flight (EFT-1) using the Delta 4 carrier was postponed to December 2014
Three parachutes lower the Orion descent module at the Utah Proving Grounds in Arizona.
Checking the system for interrupting the launch of the spacecraft in the event of an emergency.
Testing a mock-up of a spacecraft in a wind tunnel.
Photo of a test in a wind tunnel.
Astronauts master the layout of a new spacecraft at the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.
The Orion spacecraft engine is being tested at the test bench of the Space Center.
Photos of checking engines.
The ship is testing launching at NASA's Langley Center.
The Ares1 rocket, designed to launch the Orion spacecraft into orbit, is being tested at the test site.
An astronaut learns to install handrails at Johnson Space Center.
NASA specialists are examining a model of the new spacecraft after tests in a wind tunnel.
A test model of the Orion spacecraft is dropped from an airplane in the skies over Arizona.
The test model of the Orion spacecraft descends by parachute.
Descent with one parachute is being tested.
Soft landing in the Arizona mountains.
Heat shield of the new spacecraft.
NASA's Super Guppy Transport Shuttle is carrying a spacecraft module from Manchester, New Hampshire to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Unloading the space module.
Assembly of a new spacecraft at the Kennedy Space Center.
The auxiliary rocket is ready for testing at the New Mexico test site.
The auxiliary rocket was launched from the New Mexico test site.
Spaceship Orion is being tested by submersion in a pool at the Norfolk Naval Base in Virginia.
Orion mock-up is being tested in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean.
An astronaut learns to operate in zero gravity at the Johnson Space Center.
Checking the start system.
Welding is carried out with a special welding machine.
Accelerators are ready for testing.
The rocket engine is being tested at the NASA Space Center in Mississippi.
A test of the attitude control system of the engine of the Orion spacecraft.
A fully assembled crew module at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Launch pad, Cape Canaveral, Florida. It is from here that the new Orion spacecraft will make its first flight into space.
NASA is going to send the first astronauts to Mars on this device in the 2020s. Orion is the first spacecraft to leave low Earth orbit in 40 years.
The launch was made on December 5, 2014 at Cape Canaveral in Florida. NASA attaches great importance to this event and calls it historic. The reusable vehicle will be launched into orbit by the Delta IV heavy-class launch vehicle, created by ULA (United Launch Alliance) exclusively from components designed and manufactured in the United States. Unlike Atlas V, it does not have Russian RD-180 engines.
Initially, the launch of the ship was scheduled for 07:05 on December 4, 2014 US East Coast time (15:05 Moscow time), however, it was postponed more than once during the start window, which closes at 09:44 (17:44 Moscow time). Among the reasons for the transfer, NASA named the ship that sailed near the launch pad, high wind speed (twice the maximum allowable for launch), the temperature rise in the engines of the central stage of the launch vehicle (later it turned out that everything was in order with the units) and problems with fuel valve.
The ship will move away from the Earth at a distance of 5.8 thousand kilometers and cross the radiation belt (Van Allen belt in English terminology) of the Earth. The last time the spacecraft made such a trip was on the final mission of the Apollo program in 1972.
The ship itself was designed and built by the American aerospace (and defense) giant Lockheed Martin. The organization of the first test flight cost the United States $ 370 million. Orion consists of two modules: command and service. While the first module of the spacecraft was entirely designed by the American side, the development of the second took place with the participation of ESA (European Space Agency).
The Europeans provided the American side with an ATV (Automated Transfer Vehicle) space truck, which had undergone significant modernization: it was equipped with new engines, an orbital maneuvering system, and increased efficiency solar panels.
Previously, ATV delivered cargo to the International Space Station (ISS). In total, from March 2008 to July 2014, the ships of this series made five flights to the ISS. Currently, the main trucks for the orbital station are the Russian Progress vehicles, as well as the private American Dragon spacecraft from SpaceX and Cygnus from Orbital Sciences Corporation. The latter failed to go into space in October 2014 due to the explosion of the Antares launch vehicle.
In design, the Orion is reminiscent of the Mercury and Apollo aircraft used by the United States until the 1970s. However, the new ship is larger and more powerful than its predecessors. The Orion's total mass exceeds 20 tons, the height of the cone-shaped cargo module is more than three meters, and the base diameter is about five meters. The Orion is capable of carrying up to six astronauts on board, and its living space is comparable to a small room - about nine cubic meters.
Image: NASA
The main purpose of the flight is to test the ship's systems in extreme conditions. Approximately 20 minutes after the launch of the Delta IV launch vehicle, the Orion unmanned spacecraft will enter low-earth orbit and make one revolution around the Earth. In about an hour and a half, the device will already be in a high orbit - about 5.8 thousand kilometers to the Earth, which is more than 14 times higher than the ISS orbit. In another two hours, Orion will begin its return to Earth.
During a near-earth flight, the spacecraft will fall within the Earth's radiation belt. This region of the planet's magnetosphere traps high-energy cosmic particles (mainly protons and electrons), preventing them from reaching Earth. Such radiation is dangerous to humans. American ships within the Apollo lunar program crossed the Van Allen belt several times.
The radiation did not harm the astronauts, since the spacecraft flew quite quickly through the belt and continued their journey in space with a relatively low level of radiation. In addition, the design of the walls of the spacecraft module, inside which the astronauts were located, provided for special protection against cosmic rays.
Image: NASA
Orion carries on board sensors that measure radiation parameters: charge, energy and direction of movement of particles. In addition, the sensors are also capable of detecting high-energy neutral particles, such as, for example, neutrons and photons. NASA specialists will compare the readings of these devices with the telemetry of the spacecraft and thus will be able to trace the change in radiation along the entire route of the vehicle.
Orion is expected to enter the dense layers of the atmosphere at a speed of 32 thousand kilometers per hour. At the same time, the capsule will heat up to 2.2 thousand degrees Celsius. To protect against temperature overloads, the engineers equipped the device with a "heat shield", which is made of a special material and covers the capsule. When moving in the Earth's atmosphere, the screen will take on the main heat load. Thermal protection testing is one of the Orion's maiden missions.
The next tests are planned for 2017. It is assumed that the spacecraft will launch another carrier into orbit - SLS (Space Launch System), developed by Boeing. This super-heavy rocket is intended for the Martian program: in the 2030s, NASA is going to use Orion to send its astronauts to Mars.
Orion (MPCV Orion) – a multipurpose manned spacecraft developed in the United States since the mid-2000s.
Initially, the Orion spacecraft was created as part of the Constellation program, the purpose of which was to resume US manned flights to the ISS and to the Moon, followed by flights to Mars. On Earth orbital flights, Orion is to replace the Space Shuttle ships.
Initially, the ship was called CEV (Crew Exploration Vehicle), then the name Orion was introduced, since 2011 the changed cipher has become MPCV (Multi— Purpose Crew Vehicle - multipurpose manned ship).
Initially, a test flight of the spacecraft was scheduled for 2013, the first manned flight with a crew of two astronauts was planned for 2014, and the start of flights to the Moon in 2019-2020. At the end of 2011, it was assumed that the first flight without astronauts would take place in 2014, and the first manned flight in 2017. In December 2013, plans were announced for the first unmanned test flight (EFT-1) using the Delta 4 carrier at the end of 2014, the first an unmanned launch using the SLS carrier is scheduled for 2017.
Description
The Orion spacecraft will launch both cargo and astronauts into space. When flying to the ISS, the Orion crew can include up to 6 astronauts. In the expedition to the moon, it was planned to send four astronauts. The spacecraft was supposed to ensure the delivery of people to the moon for a long stay on it in order to further prepare a manned flight to Mars.
The Orion spacecraft is 5.3 meters in diameter and weighs about 25 tons. Orion's internal volume will be 2.5 times larger than the Apollo's internal volume.
The shape of the main part of the Orion spacecraft is similar to the shape of the previous Apollo spacecraft, but its creation uses the latest advances in computer technology, electronics, life support technology, and heat protection systems technology. The conical shape of the descent vehicle is the safest and most reliable when returning to Earth, especially with a return speed from deep space (about 11.1 km / s). The main part of the ship is supposed to be reusable. Orion's service module (SM) will be an upgraded version of the European ESA transport vehicle ATV.
What happens if an object is placed on the explosive charge? Everyday logic dictates that it will either be destroyed by an explosion, or (if it is strong enough) will be thrown at some distance. What if instead of explosives we have a nuclear bomb, and instead of an object a spaceship? Then we will get the project of the Orion spacecraft, which was developed in the 50s by scientists from the Los Alamos Laboratory ...
Before describing the essence of the concept, it is worth making a short historical excursion into the middle of the 20th century. Until the late 1950s, there was no single organization in the United States that would deal with issues of the space program. Instead, there existed a number of competing organizations under different ministries and departments. But the launch of the first Sputnik by the USSR (which turned out to be a shock for many ordinary people - delivering a quote from the work Stephen King it is possible) and several high-profile failures in the Avangard program forced President Eisenhower to make a decision to create a national organization, within which all resources allocated for the space race would be concentrated. This organization became well-known to all NASA, which received at its disposal all promising space projects developed by that time.
One of them was the Orion spacecraft. Its essence was as follows: the ship is supplied with a powerful plate installed behind the stern. Low-yield nuclear bombs (from 0.01 to 0.35 kilotons) should have been uniformly thrown in the direction opposite to the flight of the ship and detonated at a relatively small distance (up to 100 m). The reflective plate took on the impulse and transmitted it to the ship through a system of shock absorbers (or without them, for unmanned versions). From damage from flash light, gamma rays and high-temperature plasma, the reflective plate had to be protected by a graphite grease coating, which would be re-sprayed after each detonation.
Schematic diagram of the ship
Too crazy to be realizable? Don't jump to conclusions. The point is that there was a healthy grain in the concept of "explosion". Chemical rockets, which to this day are the only means of delivering cargo into space, are characterized by lethally low efficiency. This is due to the fact that they have an outflow velocity of the reactive mass of about 3-4 km / s, which means that it is necessary to provide n stages in the structure of the ship, if it needs to be accelerated to a speed of 3n km / s. This leads to the fact that, say, in order to deliver a descent vehicle with astronauts weighing two tons to the surface of the Moon, one has to build a three-stage rocket 110 m high and burn over 2600 tons of fuel. The detonation of a nuclear charge, depending on its power, can give a specific impulse of 100 to 30,000 km / s, which makes it possible to create a ship whose performance characteristics would radically surpass all ever created technology.
As part of the project, some mock tests were carried out. In particular, an experiment with conventional charges and a 100-kilogram model of the ship showed that such a flight can be stable. In addition, during the nuclear test at Eniwetok Atoll, graphite-covered steel spheres were placed 9 meters from the epicenter of the explosion. After the explosion, they were found intact: a thin layer of graphite evaporated from their surfaces, which proved that the proposed scheme for using graphite grease to protect the plate is in principle possible.
In addition, a kind of "experiment" was carried out in August 1957. During an underground nuclear test in the glorious state of Nevada, a 900-kilogram steel plate covering the mine at the bottom of which a nuclear charge was detonated was literally thrown into the atmosphere by a shock wave at a speed of about 66 km / s (as shown by measurements from surveillance cameras). Opinions differ about the future fate of the plate - some enthusiasts believe that it became the first human-made object to go into space, a more realistic view is that it simply burned up in the atmosphere. In any case, it is clear that the energy of a nuclear explosion made it possible to reach speeds incomparable with conventional missiles.
One of the participants working group a famous scientist was responsible for the development of the program Freeman Dyson, who believed that the use of chemical missiles was simply unreasonable and too expensive a pleasure - in particular, he compared them with airships of the 30s, while the Orion spacecraft was with modern Boeing. The motto of his working group was “Mars by 1965, Saturn by 1970!”, And this slogan was not as self-confident as it might seem at first glance.
Freeman Dyson
In particular, the simplest version of Orion would have a launch mass of 880 tons and could deliver 300 tons of cargo into orbit at a price of $ 150 per kilogram and 170 tons of cargo to the Moon (compare with the capabilities and price of Saturn-5). A modification for interplanetary flights would have a launch weight of 4,000 tons using bombs with a yield of 0.14 kilotons and could deliver 800 tons of payload and 60 passengers to Mars. Calculations have shown that a flight to Saturn with a return to Earth would have lasted only 3 years.
A reasonable question may arise - how would such a colossus be launched from Earth? Initially, Orion was supposed to be launched from the Jackess Flats nuclear test site in the same glorious state of Nevada. The ship, shaped like a bullet, would be mounted on 8 launch towers 75 meters high in order not to be damaged by a nuclear explosion near the surface. At launch, one explosion with a power of 0.1 kt was to be made every second. After entering orbit, the caliber of the charges increased.
But it is worth noting that the creators of Orion were not limited to interplanetary flights. Freeman Dyson has proposed several explosive designs that could be used for interstellar travel.
Dyson's calculations showed that using megaton hydrogen bombs would accelerate a 400,000-ton ship to 3.3% the speed of light. Of the total weight of the ship, 50,000 tons would be allocated for the payload - the rest for 300,000 nuclear charges necessary for flight and graphite lubricant ( Carl Sagan incidentally suggested that such a ship would be a great way to get rid of the world's stocks of nuclear weapons). The flight to Alpha Centauri would take 130 years. Modern calculations have shown that the correct design of the ship and charges would make it possible to reach somewhere around 8% -10% of the speed of light, which would make it possible to fly to the nearest star in 40-45 years. The cost of such a project in the mid-60s was estimated at 10% of the then US GDP (about 2.5 trillion dollars in terms of our prices).
Of course, the project had a number of problems that needed to be solved somehow. The first and most obvious is the radioactive contamination of the Earth at launch. In order to send a 4000 ton ship on an interplanetary expedition, 800 bombs had to be detonated. According to the most pessimistic estimates, this would give a pollution equivalent to detonating a 10 megaton nuclear bomb. According to more optimistic estimates, the use of more efficient and less radiation yield charges could significantly reduce this figure. By the way, the cost of the bombs themselves would not be so great - only 7% of the cost of ICBMs falls on the warheads themselves. Much more is spent on its hull, guidance systems, fuel and maintenance. It is estimated that the cost of one small nuclear charge for Orion would be $ 300,000 in current prices.
Secondly, there was the question of creating a reliable system of shock absorbers that would protect the ship and crew from excessive overloads, as well as protect the crew from radiation and equipment from electromagnetic impulses.
Thirdly, there was a risk of damage to the protective plate and the ship itself by debris and shrapnel from a nuclear explosion.
After the creation of NASA, the project received a little funding for some time, but then it was curtailed. In the struggle of ideologies that unfolded in those years, the supporters of Werner von Braun with the concept of powerful chemical missiles. Since then, the idea of \u200b\u200busing explosives has never enjoyed strong support within the agency, which the Orion authors have always considered a big mistake.
However, in addition to ideology, a big role was played by the fact that the creators were in many ways ahead of their time - neither then, nor now did humanity have an urgent need for a one-time launch of thousands of tons of cargo into orbit. In addition, given how popular the environmental movement is now, it is extremely difficult to imagine that some politicians would give the go-ahead for such a nuclear flight. A formal point in the history of the project was set in 1963, when the USSR and the USA signed an agreement banning nuclear tests (including in the air and space). An attempt was made to insert into the text a special clause for ships like the Orion, but the USSR refused to make any exceptions to the general rule.
But be that as it may, this type of ship is so far the only starship project that could be created on the basis of existing technologies and bring scientific results in the near future. No other types of engines for spacecraft that are technologically possible at this stage provide an acceptable time for obtaining results. And all the other proposed concepts - the photon engine, the Valkyrie-class starships on antimatter - have a large number of unsolved problems and assumptions that make their possible implementation a matter of the distant future. There is no need to talk about wormholes and WARP engines so beloved by science fiction writers - no matter how pleasant the idea of \u200b\u200binstantaneous movement is, unfortunately this is still pure fantasy.
Someone once said that despite the fact that now "Orion" (and its ideological followers) are only a theoretical concept, but it always remains in reserve in case of any emergency circumstances that require sending into space big ship. Dyson himself believed that such a ship would ensure the survival of the human race in the event of some kind of global catastrophe and predicted that with the then level of economic growth, mankind could begin interstellar flights in 200 years.
50 years have passed since then, and so far there are no clear preconditions for this forecast to come true. But on the other hand, no one can be sure of what the future holds for him - and who knows, perhaps over time, when mankind has a real need to put large ships into orbit, dust will be shaken off all these projects. The main thing is that the reason for this will not be some emergency, but economic considerations and the desire to finally try to leave our parental cradle and go to other stars.
Orion spacecraft, Photo: www.walkinspace.ru
The launch of the new Orion spacecraft is scheduled for December this year, NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore, a member of the new ISS crew, told reporters.
"The United States is on the milestone that will lead humanity to further space exploration. The launch of the new Orion spacecraft, which is scheduled for December 2014, will allow us to take us to new frontiers in the exploration of the solar system in the future," he said.
NASA astronaut Barry Wilmore / Photo: en.academic.ru
As reported, Orion, which resembles Apollo in its design, is being developed for flights outside the Earth orbit, in particular, for the expedition to the asteroid, which is planned for 2025.
The main executor of the Lockheed Martin project focused on the development of the command module - the descent capsule, where the crew will be located. According to the plan, the spacecraft will make its first test unmanned flight in 2017, and manned in 2021. In 2014, as reported, preliminary tests will take place - Orion will fly into space on a Delta IV carrier with a test service module.
Technical reference
Orion (spaceship)
Orion, MPCV is a US multipurpose partially reusable manned spacecraft, developed since the mid-2000s as part of the Constellation program. The purpose of this program was to return the Americans to the moon, and the Orion spacecraft was intended to deliver people and cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) and for flights to the Moon, as well as to Mars in the future.
Orion spacecraft in space / Drawing: NASA
In near-earth flights, Orion is to replace the Space shuttle, which completed flights in 2011, and in the future to ensure the landing of a man on Mars. Initially, in NASA documents, the ship was called CEV (Crew Exploration Vehicle - a manned research vehicle). Then the ship received the official name in honor of the famous constellation - "Orion".
Since 2011, the temporary name of the modified ship has become MPCV (Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle - multi-purpose manned ship). Initially, a test flight of the spacecraft was scheduled for 2013, the first manned flight with a crew of two astronauts was planned for 2014, and the start of flights to the Moon in 2019-2020.
The hull of the new Orion spacecraft was officially unveiled NASA / Photo: www.infuture.ru
At the end of 2011, it was assumed that the first flight without astronauts would take place in 2014, and the first manned flight in 2017. In December 2013, plans were announced for the first unmanned test flight (EFT-1) using the Delta 4 carrier in September 2014. the first unmanned launch using the SLS carrier is scheduled for 2017. In March 2014, the first unmanned test flight (EFT-1) using the Delta 4 carrier was postponed to December 2014
Drawings: kosmos-x.net.ru
The Orion ship has a diameter of 5.3 meters (16.5 feet) and weighs about 25 tons. The internal volume of Orion will be 2.5 times greater than the internal volume of the Apollo spacecraft. The volume of the Orion's cabin (MPCV) is about 9 m³. And this is not the total volume of the sealed structure, but the space free of equipment, computers, chairs and other "stuffing".
The main part of the ship is supposed to be reusable. Orion's service module (SM) will be an upgraded version of ESA's ATV transport vehicle. In September 2010, development company Lockheed Martin began creating full-size mock prototypes with completion of assembly by December 2010. The first fully functional unmanned aerial vehicle was manufactured in 2014.
Before flights to Mars, experts develop a plan for a manned Orion mission to an asteroid no earlier than the end of the 2020s. Since the spacecraft was originally created for flights to the moon, which take relatively little time, in order to prepare for long-distance space travel, it will need to be modernized and increased the area of \u200b\u200buseful space.
The option of combining two Orions or connecting the ship with a more voluminous living module is being considered. It is planned that the ship will go to the asteroid with two astronauts on board.
The "Constellation" scenario assumed that new launch vehicles of the "Ares" series would be launched into Orion's orbit, but it was decided to abandon their creation. Therefore, the spacecraft is being reoriented for compatibility with the existing heavy launch vehicles Delta 4 or Atlas 5 for flights to near-earth orbit and on the new super-heavy launch vehicle SLS for flights into deep space under development.
