Lockheed Martin Corp. [LMT] delivered two launch abort system (LAS) motors for the Orion crew exploration vehicle to White Sands Missile Range, N.M.
They are set for integration and preparation for the first flight test, known as Pad Abort 1.
Lockheed and NASA plan a series of ground and flight tests for the launch abort system over the next few years leading up to Orion’s first crewed flight to the International Space Station scheduled for 2015.
Lockheed is the prime contractor for Orion, the space capsule that will replace the space shuttle in transporting astronauts to space.
The launch abort system that sits atop Orion is a complex system designed to activate within milliseconds in the event of an emergency on the launch pad or during initial ascent phase.
The launch abort system consists of three motors: the abort motor that fires nearly 500,000 pounds of thrust to pull the crew module up and away from the launch vehicle; the attitude control motor that exerts up to 7,000 pounds of steering force to reorient the vehicle’s position; and the jettison motor that separates the crew module from the launch abort system so that parachutes can be deployed for a safe landing.
The jettison motor is the only motor that will be activated on all nominal Orion missions to separate the spacecraft from the launch abort system assembly shortly after second stage activation.
The system is required to provide a launch abort capability from the launch pad after crew module hatch closure through orbital insertion. Several mission abort modes are required to provide abort coverage extending from the launch pad until Orion achieves a sustainable orbit.
The LAS aborts, referred to as Mode I aborts, are the most viable option until the LAS is nominally jettisoned early in second stage. These aborts may be commanded via the ground-based health management system, the on-board Orion Abort Decision Logic, the crew, or ground personnel.
Mode II aborts, or Untargeted Abort Splashdown aborts, do not utilize the LAS. Instead, the crew launch vehicle upper stage engine is shut down and the Orion service module’s reaction control system is used to provide adequate clearance between the launch vehicle and Orion. The crew module then separates from the service module so it can be maneuvered for a guided re-entry, and descends using parachutes to a safe landing location.
Mode III aborts, commonly known as Targeted Abort Landings, are triggered by late second stage failures during which Orion’s trajectory is modified via a targeted service module main engine burn followed by a crew module guided entry to a target landing site.
The last type of abort — Mode IV — is called Abort to Orbit. In this situation, an abort is performed following a premature shutdown of the upper stage when the Orion service module has sufficient capability to achieve a safe orbit insertion and de-orbit burn.
Orbital Sciences Corp. [ORB] is responsible for integrating the LAS propulsion stack, which consists of three separate motors. Alliant Techsystems Inc. [ATK] supplies the LAS launch abort and attitude control motors, and Aerojet, a GenCorp [GY] unit, supplies the escape system’s jettison motor.
The team includes major subcontractors Aerojet, Hamilton Sundstrand — a unit of United Technologies Corp. [UTX], Honeywell, Orbital and United Space Alliance, a joint venture of Lockheed and The Boeing Co. [BA]; and a network of 60 minor subcontractors and small businesses in 22 states across the United States.