Orion is getting ready to launch.
My name is Kelly Smith and I work on navigation and guidance for Orion.
Orion is NASA’s next generation spacecraft.
Built with versatility in mind, it can take astronauts deeper into space than we’ve
ever gone before to an asteroid or even on to Mars
For these missions, Orion has to be one tough spacecraft withstanding high speeds, searing
temperatures, and extreme radiation.
Before we can send astronauts into space on Orion, we have to test all of its systems.
And there’s only one way to know if we got it rightÖFLY IT IN SPACE.
For Orion’s first flight, no astronauts will be aboard.
The spacecraft is loaded with sensors to record and measure all aspects of the flight in every
detail.
It all begins with launch aboard a Delta IV Heavy rocketÖ
As it punches into Earth's orbit, Orion will jettison its Launch Abort System.
The abort system is a safety feature designed to pull Orion and its crew out of danger if
there were a problem with the rocket during ascent.
Orion's journey is just beginning.
As the spacecraft and the upper stage make their first lap around Earth, Mission Control
in Houston is monitoring the progress of the flight.
Orion's over a hundred miles up and going about 17,000 mph.
Just as it passes over the Indian Ocean we lose communication.
This is expected.
The communications link we have through satellites to Orion is momentarily lost, but Orion continues
to receive and process data.
Its computers can handle 480 million instructions per second.
Imagine you are traveling with Orion as the flight test continues.
One orbit completed.
Time to go: The upper stage of the rocket fires again.
Like the set up for a roller coaster ride, this is the big climb we have been waiting
for
We are headed 3,600 miles above EarthÖ 15 times higher from the planet than the International
Space Station.
KELLY: As we get farther away from Earth, we’ll pass through the Van Allen Belts,
an area of dangerous radiation.
Radiation like this could harm the guidance systems, onboard computers or other electronics
on Orion.
Naturally, we have to pass through this danger zone twice once up, once back.
But Orion has protection.
Shielding will be put to the test as the vehicle cuts through the waves of radiation.
Sensors aboard will record radiation levels for scientists to study.
We must solve these challenges before we send people through this region of space.
For this flight, it’s time to head home.
The upper stage of the rocket triggers separation.
Orion’s jets fire to turn it into the proper position to re-enter Earth’s atmosphere.
No matter what happens now, we’re coming in.
75 miles above Earth, the spacecraft enters the atmosphere.
Things happen quickly.
We’re now traveling more than 20,000 miles per hour.
Air particles pushed out of the way heat up an envelope of hot plasma surrounds the vehicle
as it plummets toward Earth.
The plasma reaches temperatures of 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit, almost twice as hot as molten
lava.
This may be the most dangerous part of the flight.
Mission control is monitoring all the data from the spacecraft and then we lose communication
again.
No data can penetrate the plasma.
Orion is on its own.
Orion is inside a fireball.
Onboard systems ignite jets to keep the ship pointed correctly, so the specially constructed
heat shield takes the full brunt of the inferno.
This is the largest heat shield of its kind ever made.
Orion’s computers command the spacecraft to bank like an airplane, keeping a precise
path to the landing site.
Even though we’ve slowed from 20,000 miles per hour to about 300 miles per hour, we’re
still traveling amazingly fast.
We must slow down to safely land in the ocean.
Luckily, we have parachutes.
Specially designed for Orion, the parachutes help us hit the brakes, but not too quickly.
One day people will be aboard, so deceleration must happen in stages to keep things comfortable
for the crew.
The forward bay jettisons two drogue chutes deploy and slow the returning spacecraft down
to 175 miles per hour.
Then, the three main parachutes open.
Once fully engaged, this canopy would cover an American football field.
It takes parachutes this size and strength to slow our descent to 20 miles per hour.
And then splashdown!
For this first flight, we won’t have astronauts inside, but we still have some very precious
cargo.
The flight data from this mission is stored inside the Orion spacecraft.
While our flight might be over, there is still a lot of work to do.
Onboard sensors recorded every detail from launch, to flying in space, to reentry, to
landing.
Flight tests are difficult and complex, but they give us confidence that the systems we
have designed work under real flight conditions.
It’s great to be a part of it all, knowing what we’re doing is setting the stage for
future human exploration.