NASA will air the last test Wednesday, Sept. 12, of the parachute system for its Orion shuttle, which will convey space explorers to the Moon and beyond. Live coverage of the test from the U.S. Armed force’s Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona will start at 10:15 a.m. EDT on NASA Television, the official’s site, and the Orion Facebook page.
Orion’s parachute system is intended to guarantee a safe arriving for astronauts coming back to Earth in the team module at speeds surpassing 25,000 mph from profound space missions. This framework is basic for the safe return of Orion’s future teams who will go past the moon to investigate a space rock and other planetary bodies all through our solar system, including Mars.
Watchers can make inquiries of NASA specialists, including Orion Program Manager, Mark Kirasich, space explorer Randy Bresnik and Orion parachute engineers, via web-based networking media amid the occasion utilizing #AskNASA.
An Orion test capsule will be dropped from a C-17 aircraft at an altitude of more than six miles to verify the spacecraft’s complex system of 11 parachutes, cannon-like mortars, and pyrotechnic devices work in sequence to slow the capsule’s descent for a safe landing on Earth.
Deployed at 9,000 feet in altitude and a vehicle speed of 130 mph, the Main Parachutes will slow the crew module to a landing speed of 17 mph. Orion’s parachute system was designed with crew safety in mind: it can withstand the failure of either one drogue or one main parachute, and it can ensure a secure landing in an emergency.
To date, such tests have evaluated Orion’s parachute performance during normal landing sequences, several failure scenarios, and a variety of potential aerodynamic conditions, to ensure the safe return of astronauts from deep space missions.