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NASA Orion Blog

foophil

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foophil
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Depending on how you feel about the Orion project at NASA, you may be interested to follow along with recent developments on their blog:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/orion/

The latest test launch is still on schedule for Dec. 4th. Lots of good info in the link above if you are interested in that project. I'm eagerly awaiting the next launch!
 
foophil said:
Depending on how you feel about the Orion project at NASA, you may be interested to follow along with recent developments on their blog:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/orion/

The latest test launch is still on schedule for Dec. 4th. Lots of good info in the link above if you are interested in that project. I'm eagerly awaiting the next launch!
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They will not get the cash to translate this mission into one for Mars.
 
foophil said:
Depending on how you feel about the Orion project at NASA, you may be interested to follow along with recent developments on their blog:

https://blogs.nasa.gov/orion/

The latest test launch is still on schedule for Dec. 4th. Lots of good info in the link above if you are interested in that project. I'm eagerly awaiting the next launch!
Click to expand...

I guess we need to put this in perspective. The Delta IV Heavy is 23% larger than the Saturn 1B and lifts about 37% more. This is almost identical to the Command/Service Module test flights that Saturn 1B did back in the late 1960s. Saturn 1B was only able to carry partial fuel on the Command/Service Module because its lift capability topped out at 21,000 kg and full fuel would have been 30,000. The Orion MPCV weighs about 21,000 so it could have flown on Saturn 1B. However, Delta IV Heavy can lift 28,000.

The odd part is the the Orion Service Module only carries about half the propellant of the Apollo Service Module and has only about half of the delta-v, (4,400 ft/sec versus 9,200 ft/sec for Apollo). So, this configuration is clearly not designed to reach the Moon. A lunar mission would need another engine to boost out of Earth's orbit.

Falcon Heavy is supposed to be tested Summer, 2015. They are currently scheduled to begin pre-launch exercises on July 1. It will eventually be capable of lifting 53,000 kg into low Earth orbit. This would be about 90% more capacity than Delta IV Heavy and 152% more lift than Saturn 1B. NASA is currently renovating Pad 39A for Falcon.

SLS will eventually outdo the Apollo program with a LEO lift of 140,000 kg versus 118,000 kg for Saturn V. They are working on the first SLS vehicle now but the first launch isn't scheduled until 2018. This puts the unmanned lunar flyby of Orion at November, 2018.
 
Thanks for the info barehl.

Since starting to play Kerbal Space Program my interest in any space related has been piqued. Is there a good resources for info about the Orion Project (the blog mentioned in the OP is a little too technical for me without some base knowledge).
 
DarthFishy said:
Thanks looking at that now.

Thinking about what barehl said abotu the relative sizes does that make the Delta IV Heavy one of the biggest launch platforms in existence?
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The largest currently operating, yes.

Here's a list comparing active and historical launch systems. An interesting comparison to note: the Delta IV-H can lift more payload (29t) than the Space Shuttle (24t), though that's not counting the Shuttle's dry mass (69t).
 
Launch is currently on a delay, but should go off shortly. You can watch it live here:

http://www.ustream.tv/nasahdtv


ETA - first delay was due to a boat in the water that was too close. You'd think with all the money spent on this, NASA could patrol the water a little better. Second delay is now due to wind. There is over a 2 hour launch window so this should still happen today.
 
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3rd (maybe 4th) countdown is now happening. Hope this one makes it to 0!

ETA - Ugh, another hold. This time a stuck valve. Still over 1 hour left in the launch window though. NASA is such a tease! I feel like I'm dating in high school again.
 
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I like that their troubleshooting plan is to turn the rocket off and on again a couple of times to see if that fixes it.
 
Plan B is to send someone over and kick it.


ETA - It has been scrubbed again and is now rescheduled for tomorrow (12/05/14).
 
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A summary of what went wrong (pulled from Phil Plait's blog again):

After a morning fraught with problems, the Orion launch was scrubbed for today and will be attempted at the same time tomorrow: 12:05 UTC (07:05 Eastern time) Friday, Dec. 5. The first problem was a boat in the red zone in the waters off the Cape, and after that was cleared the winds picked up, violating limits. The countdown resumed several times, but then a problem with fuel valves in the tanks held things up. Cycling the valves (essentailly turning them on and off again five times) cleared the problem for the liquid oxygen tanks, but not the liquid hydrogen tanks. The problem took too long to solve and the timer ran up against the end of the launch window, so the attempt was scrubbed.
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http://www.slate.com/content/slate/blogs/bad_astronomy.html
 
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