Orion Splash tests

[Jos Heyman]

Various press reports state that the 7th splash test was conducted on 1 December 2011.

I have tried to determine the dates of the first six test from other press reports:

#1: 12 July 2011 (confirmed)
#2: 21 July 2011 (flight number not confirmed)
#3: 2 August 2011 (flight number not confirmed)
#4: 18 October 2011 (flight number not confirmed)
#5: 27 October 2011 (confirmed)
#6: 6 or 8 November 2011 (date and flight number not confirmed).

Can anybody confirm/correct the above?

 

[Jos Heyman]

OK, I got it worked out from press releases and this is how the ests will be described in the next issue of the TSI News Bulletin:
The NASA Langley Hydro Impact Basin is used to validate and certify that future space vehicles, such as NASA's Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), are designed for safe water landings. The water basin is 35 m long, 27.4 m wide and 6.1 m deep and is located at the west end of Langley's historic Landing and Impact Research Facility, also known as the Gantry, where Neil Armstrong trained for walking on the moon. Construction of the basin was completed in December 2010. Over the past six months the facility was used with the Orion Boilerplate Test Article (BTA) in a series of drop tests from the gantry that simulated different water landing scenarios and took into account different velocities, parachute deployments, entry angles, wave heights and wind conditions that Orion may face when landing in the Pacific Ocean. The Orion BTA was fitted with a range of more than 150 sensors.
The Phase 0 series of tests tested the facility and also validated and improved the computer models of impact and acoustic loads used in the design and engineering process of the Orion. On 12 July 2011 the first drop test was conducted and the 10,297 kg Orion BTA was dropped reaching a speed of 28.6 km/h at impact. During the second test on 21 July 2011the Orion BTA was swung across at a speed of 80.5 km/h after which it was released and dropped into the water. The third test on 2 August 2011 was to represent a worst case scenario with a 50% chance that the BTA would get inverted.
Following these tests the Orion BTA was modified so that it was more representative of the actual flight vehicle.
On 18 October 2011, the first Phase 1 drop tests was conducted and the 8165 kg test article was drop tested at a 43o relative pitch angle and a 30o roll angle and travelled at 43 km/h horizontal velocity before splashing down in the Hydro Impact Basin. The second Phase 1 test took place on 27 October 2011 when the Orion BTA was dropped from the gantry and splashed into the pool at a speed of 35 km/h, creating a large splash. For the Phase 1-3 test of 8 November 2011 the vehicle was hoisted about 6 m above the ground with a pitch angle of 17o. It reached a horizontal velocity of about 35 km/h before splashing into the Hydro Impact Basin. Test conditions represented stable seas.
The 1 December 2011 test was designed to determine how much the heat shield would flex after hitting the water at a slightly different angle. Sea conditions simulated a low-wind swell case. The test article was only 60 cm above the water before it dropped pancake-style into the water at a speed of about 11.26 km/h. The test of 13 December 2011 simulated all parachutes being deployed with a nominal re-entry angle into steady seas. The capsule was at a 28o angle and travelled 32.2 km/h before splashing into the basin. The Orion remained upright upon landing into the basin.
The photo of the 13December test is from the NASA website.
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