NASA Completes Maximum Parachute Test For Orion Spacecraft

Aug. 29, 2012

Trent J. Perrotto
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-0321
trent.j.perrotto@nasa.gov

Josh Byerly
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
josh.byerly@nasa.gov

RELEASE: 12-299

NASA COMPLETES MAXIMUM PARACHUTE TEST FOR ORION SPACECRAFT

HOUSTON -- NASA Tuesday successfully completed another parachute test
of its Orion spacecraft high above the skies of the U.S. Yuma Army
Proving Ground in southwestern Arizona. The test examined the maximum
pressure Orion's parachutes might face when returning from
exploration missions.

Orion will be the most advanced spacecraft ever designed and carry
astronauts farther into space than ever before. It will provide
emergency abort capability, sustain astronauts during space travel
and provide safe re-entry from deep space.

During the test, a C-130 airplane dropped a dart-shaped test vehicle
with a simulated Orion parachute compartment from an altitude of
25,000 feet. Orion's drogue chutes were deployed at approximately
20,000 feet, followed by small pilot chutes, which then deployed the
three main parachutes. Each of the main parachutes is 116 feet wide
and weighs more than 300 pounds.

"Each one of these tests helps us verify the parachute system for
Orion is safe, efficient and robust," said Chris Johnson, a NASA
project manager for Orion's parachute assembly system. "Today's test
demonstrated the parachutes can deploy at the maximum velocity
expected when returning from deep space."

This is the latest in a series of parachute drop tests, with each one
designed to test a different condition or behavior of the parachutes.
Besides the dart-shaped test vehicle used to simulate the speeds at
which Orion will descend, NASA also uses a test vehicle that more
closely resembles the actual Orion spacecraft.

Orion will fly its first test flight, Exploration Flight Test 1, in
2014. During the test, the spacecraft will travel more than 3,600
miles into space -- 15 times farther from Earth than the
International Space Station -- and reach speeds of more than 20,000
mph before returning to Earth. This unmanned test flight will launch
from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. It is designed to
test several Orion systems, including the heat shield and parachutes
at speeds generated during a return from deep space.

In 2017, Orion will be launched by NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), a
heavy-lift rocket that will provide an entirely new capability for
human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. Designed to be flexible for
launching spacecraft for crew and cargo missions, SLS will enable new
missions of exploration and expand human presence across the solar
system.

For more images of the test and more information about Orion, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/orion


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