In the unmanned launch scheduled for December 4, the rocket, the spacecraft's systems and especially the extraction system will be tested.
NASA's Orion spacecraft and the Delta 4 rocket - heavy version will take off into space for an unmanned test mission this December.
Orion was moved in early October from the hazardous materials service facility at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, and the heavy Delta 4 rocket built by United Launch Alliance made its way a few days later - both were transferred to Launch Complex 37 at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. The missile was lifted from its vertical position on the transport vehicle to the horizontal launch configuration.
"We've all been working hard towards this launch for months, and we're on the final stretch," says Kennedy Space Center Director Bob Cabana. "Orion is almost ready and the rocket that will launch it into space is on the launch pad. We are 64 days (the words were said on October 1) from the next stage for manned exploration of deep space."
Orion is now ready for the addition of the last missing component - the launch abandonment system - a rescue system that had no equivalent in the shuttle flights. This system was designed to protect the astronauts if a problem arose during launch by detaching and moving the spacecraft away from the malfunctioning rocket. During the unmanned launch in December, the ejector engine will be tested, which will separate the ejection system from the crew module in both normal operation and emergency situations.
After the extraction system is connected to the crew module and the service module, and the three systems are tested together, the Orion spacecraft will be considered complete. It will then wait inside the extraction system facility until mid-November, when the Delta 4 heavy launcher will be ready for integration with the spacecraft.
The rocket's three boosters have already been tested, and have been connected together to form the first stage that will be attached to Orion's service module.
After the launch, on December 4, the heavy Delta 4 rocket will launch Orion to an altitude of about 6,000 km above the Earth to test its critical systems designed for the safety of the crew. After hitting the Earth twice, the Orion spacecraft will return to the atmosphere at a speed of about 32 km/h, creating a heat of about 2,200 degrees Celsius and will land in the Pacific Ocean.
The Orion spacecraft was built to launch humans to far-flung places than before, including to an asteroid and Mars. Although the spacecraft will be unmanned on the December flight, which is planned to be test flight #1, it will include the crew compartment that will be used in the future to fly astronauts safely to and from space. Orion will provide living space for 21 days, and longer missions will require the addition of additional living cells to provide more space for the astronauts.
The Orion crew spacecraft and the service compartment move from the service facility where they will be fueled with ammonia, hydrazine and high-pressure helium to the recovery facility in the event of a launch failure, where the recovery system itself will be installed. Photo: NASA.
United Launch Alliance's new Delta 4 heavy rocket will launch the test model of the Orion spacecraft on its first flight in December, then launch 37 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Base and will be in a vertical launch configuration. Photo: NASA
For information on the NASA website
Home page of the Orion spacecraft on the NASA website
14 תגובות
A. From the Space Agency
Eyal told you from the beginning - helium will only help at a very low altitude and will reduce the weight very slightly.
It's not really complicated, think that the cable should have some kind of cone with its tip downwards.
That's what I meant by the problem with the value of the cable
Because every material today, collapses under its own weight...
Bro, this sounds too complicated to me, maybe we'll just build a rocket and that's it? 🙂
Think of it this way
Example: Suppose the weight of one meter of cable is equal to 1 kg.
At a point that is one meter from the floor, you feel a stretch of 1 kg.
At a point that is 2 meters from the floor, you feel a stretch of 2 kg, and so on...
At the point at the end that the balloon can help 100 km then there is a pull of 100 tons.
But actually part of the second section of the cable, needs to carry a weight of 1 kg, therefore its cross-sectional area needs to be increased because it is heavier (let's say another 0.5 kg)
And so the third section that needs to bear the weight of (1.5 +1 kg) therefore it will grow 0.5 kg more like we strengthened the second section, let's say 1 kg so it will be 2 kg.
So the fourth segment should carry the weight (1+1.5+2)
And so on….
In the end it's a considerable weight at all.
From a simple look at the cables of a transparent elevator (which is in Azrieli) you can see that a normal elevator has 4 or more cables with a thickness of 2 cm. I am sure that each one meter cable weighs 1 kg or more
Now think that with the help of helium balloons these weights can be lowered
And so also to reduce (the cable and the dumbbell) respectively in space
I remember once seeing a NASA calculation that the cost of launching 1 kg into space costs an average of $1,500
So in terms of costs...
And a safety check if such a cable falls from the sky it can wreak enormous destruction
And if we reduce the weights, it is possible to minimize the damage...
Try to understand the idea and not focus on the numbers (they are just an example)
Correction - physics (that's how I understood it to be said and written).
Miracles like I said I only studied theoretical physics (weightless cable) 🙂
You're right, wow that sounds really counterintuitive.
The launch will be unmanned, and as many systems as possible will be tested, in preparation for the launch of real astronauts.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KyZqSWWKmHQ#t=410
The abandonment system moves the spacecraft away from the launch vehicle in the event of a malfunction. You should be able to land safely after spaceflight, otherwise what have we done?
And for those interested in a space elevator, here are some details (+ book recommendation):
http://www.sf-f.org.il/story_115
Eyal
The voltage is not the same along the length of the cable. In physics class your cable had a "negligible" weight. But, the effect of a helium balloon will also be negligible.... as you said it only helps at a very low height (relative to the length of the cable).
"Ministry of Space Tourism", according to what I remember from physics classes, the tension on the cable is equal to its entire length... and as I told you before, even if you support a short section of 100 km, it will be really negligible for a cable that is 35,000 kilometers long (check how much it turns out in percentages).
The idea is this, near the equilibrium point there is the greatest tension, so instead of the cable size being particularly thick at this point, it is possible to lighten it to a certain extent and reduce the weight (thickness)
If there is a small weight on the side of the earth
So the second part beyond the equilibrium point should be relatively small to weigh the forces.
Try to understand the idea... 🙂
I don't have sails, it's not like I'm going to build an elevator now 🙂
The maximum is to build a house
Following on from my previous question, does the disconnection of the astronauts' cabin (abandonment unit) from the spaceship not impair its aerodynamic shape? Can she continue to fly/land even when this part is missing?
"After the launch, on December 4, the heavy Delta 4 rocket will launch Orion to an altitude of about 6,000 km above the Earth to test its critical systems designed for the safety of the crew.... and landed in the Pacific Ocean"
I didn't understand, at what height will they try the abandonment system? Shouldn't it be in the takeoff phase? And what logic is there in the fact that after the astronauts are no longer on the spacecraft, it continues with a normal landing process?
I don't remember reading about this problem in connection with the elevator, in any case the mechanism you propose, apart from it sounding a bit cumbersome (sorry to take the wind out of your sails) is not that practical - the length of the cable should be around 35,000 kilometers, with helium balloons you can To support a maximum of a short section of 100 kilometers in the atmosphere... What about the voltage created in the other parts of the cable? The ones in space?
http://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%9E%D7%A2%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%AA_%D7%97%D7%9C%D7%9C
The idea of an elevator to space must not be abandoned...
I have a relatively simple idea, I don't know if it was taken into account in the idea of an elevator to space...
As is known, the weight of the cable is a schematic problem.
Is it possible to install each section of helium balloons, so that the weight of the cable is offset accordingly.
And so the cable doesn't have to be huge and won't collapse under its own weight.
Does anyone know the subject so deeply?