NASA on Jan. 13 successfully completed the final development test of the Orion space capsule’s parachute system, according to an agency statement.
During the test, engineers demonstrated that when the spacecraft is traveling faster during descent than in previous tests, Orion’s parachutes can properly deploy and withstand high-inflation loads. NASA engineers also evaluated modifications to the system for the last time before the start of qualification testing for Orion mission with astronauts.
“The completion of this last development test of the parachute system gives us a high degree of confidence that we’ll be successful in certifying the system with the remaining qualification tests for flights with astronauts,” C.J. Johnson, project manager for Orion’s parachute system, said in a NASA statement. “We’ll verify the system is sound during our qualification tests.”
During the test, a C-17 aircraft dropped the test vehicle from its cargo bay while flying 30,000 feet over U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz. NASA conducts the tests at the proving ground because of its airdrop capabilities and the ability for engineers to gather detailed video and photo imagery from chase aircraft to analyze how all the parachute system’s mechanisms work, including how mortars fire and the parachutes unfurl and descend.
The system is composed of 11 total parachutes that deploy in a precise sequence. Three parachutes pull off Orion’s forward bay cover, which protects the top of the crew module—where the packed parachutes reside—from the heat of reentry through earth’s atmosphere. Two drogues then deploy to slow the capsule and steady it.
Three pilot parachutes then pull out the three orange and white mains, on which Orion rides for the final 8,000 feet of its descent. Orion’s main parachutes are packed to the density of oak wood to fit in the top part of the spacecraft, but once fully inflated, cover almost an entire football field.
The test was the seventh in the developmental series. In July, engineers will begin qualifying Orion’s parachute system for flights with astronauts. The series will encompass eight drop tests over a three-year period. Orion is developed by Lockheed Martin [LMT].