From "Jettson" to "Super Guppy" NASA's Orion Spaceship Alecole

Existingspace shuttleAs a spacecraft for a new manned mission to replace NASALockheed MartinIs co-developing "Orion"is. Although it is an Orion which should also be referred to as a crystal of cutting-edge science and technology in the 21st century, "various knowledge related to this can be obtained"Orion A to Z"Published by NASA.

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A: Apogee
Apogee (apogee) is the point where artificial satellites and the like are most distant from the earth. It is said that the distance point when Orion performs the first test flight will be 3600 miles (about 5,800 kilometers) from the earth. Civil aircraft fly about 8 miles (about 13 kilometers) from the ground, so Orion will fly 450 times higher.


B: To cross the earth orbit
The spacecraft crosses the earth's orbit and moves between planets. Orion is designed to be able to fly to the moon, Mars, even further, beyond the Earth's orbital orbit. The power seems to be obtained from the solar panel, the life support device circulates the water and oxygen of the crew, and the state-of-the-art heat shielding material protects the equipment and crew inside the spacecraft from radiation.


C: Module for occupants
The crewmembers are the space where astronauts live and tools necessary for investigation are stored.


D: Delta IV heavy type
In the first test flight scheduled to take place in December 2014, it is the one that plays the role of launching Orion into spaceDelta IVHeavy type. The Delta IV Heavy type can carry spacecraft with weights of more than 60,000 pounds (about 27 tons) together to a high trajectory.


E: ECLSS
ECLSS is a life support device that can detect atmospheric pressure, fire detection & crushing, oxygen level adjustment, waste disposal, water recycling, etc.


F: Fragile joint part and shaping plate
When separating the Orion from the rocket, it is important that the joint portion of the Orion and rocket and the shaping plate are "fragile". The reason that the joint part is fragile is to minimize the shock to Orion and to lower the danger as much as possible. The shaping plate is intended to protect Orion from changes in atmospheric pressure and temperature generated after the rocket is launched. About seven minutes after launch, Orion reaches an altitude of 135 miles (about 217 kilometers), purging these fragile parts will be separated from the rocket and will fly to space.


G: Super Guppy
Super guppy is a special aircraft that can carry 26 tons of luggage in the cargo room and transport it. The size of loadable materials is 25 feet (approximately 7.6 meters) high, 25 feet wide and 111 feet (about 34 meters) wide, and it is possible to load the blue whale, which is said to be the biggest animal in the world . This airplane seems to be useful for transporting goods used for Orion.


H: Heat shielding plate
The heat shield plate used for Orion is to prevent the inside of the ship from getting high heat when Orion enters the atmosphere to return to Earth after completing the mission in space. In the test flight scheduled to be held in December, this heat shielding plate will be a big focus whether it can withstand temperatures exceeding 2200 degrees.


I: ISOGRID
ISOGRIDIs a structure for enhancing the strength of Orion. By holding an alloy of aluminum and lithium in a lattice shape and adding a reinforcing aid, the strength is maintained while greatly reducing the weight.


J: Jetson
Discarding unnecessary rockets and boosters as "JetsonI call it. After launch, when the rocket reaches the orbit, the launch escape system (LAS) is jetted and Orion jumps to space. When Orion returns to Earth, Orion 's service module will also be jetted at the stage of entering the atmosphere. Even in the test flight in December, all parts other than Orion's crew modules will be jetted.


K: Kinetic energy
Kinetic energy is the energy of moving objects. This is proportional to the square of the mass and speed of the object. In the test flight to be held in December, Orion is planning to produce more kinetic energy than any spacecraft in the past 40 years, entering into the atmosphere, it is supposed to reduce this energy by deploying a parachute.


L: Launch escape system
The launch escape system (LAS) is a system to protect the Orion crew from danger. Orion's LAS was designed to protect the crewmembers from anomalies during takeoff, and a powerful motor is installed so that crew members can be evacuated instantaneously from dangerous positions. The acceleration of LAS in emergency is about six times faster than the average roller coaster.


M: Mars
Mars is also included in the active area of ​​manned spacecraft Orion, the spacecraft which brings human beings to Mars for the first time in human history is also likely to become Orion.


N: Near Earth object
Nearby earth bodies(NEO) is a collective name for asteroids, comets and meteoroid bodies approaching the Earth. More than 10,000 NEOs have been discovered at the December 2013 stage, and 27 of them have been found to be accessible by space flight. One of Orion 's initial missions is to access these NEOs and obtain rock samples.


O: OGIVE
Orthographic plates that protect Orion are named "OGIVE".


In addition, the alphabet 'O' and later will be released sequentially.