Outfitting Complete, Orion’s AA-2 Test Module Leaves Johnson for Kennedy

2018-12-03

The engineering team at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston completed an Orion milestone by equipping the crew module for a crucial abort system flight test, Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2), and transporting it to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida.

The importance of the AA-2 test is to verify that, in the event of an emergency during ascent, Orion’s Launch Abort System (LAS) can fire within milliseconds to pull a crew module away from the launch vehicle and reorient the spacecraft for a safe landing. A full-stress test of Orion’s LAS is planned for May 2019 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

The test crew module, complete with its newly attached separation ring that serves as its interface to the abort test booster, was outfitted and loaded up for its four-day trek to KSC on Dec. 1. The test crew module is protected by multiple layers of shrink-wrap and tarps to withstand road hazards and inclement weather.

“This is a significant step for our team, marking a change in the project phase from development and integration to launch site processing and preparation for flight,” said Jon Olansen, JSC’s AA-2 crew module manager.

More than 100 AA-2 team members at JSC assembled and integrated the crew module and separation ring, and completed a host of activities to prepare it for the ship to KSC. A portion of this team will form the operations team to work through the ground processing activities and execute the launch from Cape Canaveral.

Olansen highlighted the competence and dedication of the team which, over the past nine months, has transformed the vehicle from an empty shell to a fully populated spacecraft, with avionics, power and communication components, guidance, navigation and control instruments, 11 miles of interconnecting harnesses, and software to control it all. They also installed the flight instrumentation system and over 300 sensors that will collect data essential for characterizing the performance of the vehicle during an abort.

Orion Program Manager, Mark Kirasich, also praised their efforts and efficiency. “The team has completed an amazing amount of work on an accelerated schedule, allowing the program to conduct this test and obtain important data several months earlier than planned.”

Once at KSC, the AA-2 test crew module will first be integrated with the LAS and tested to assure functionality. That flight test article will be then be transported to the pad to be stacked atop its test booster in preparation for flight.

The AA-2 crew module was designed to match the outer shape and approximate mass distribution of the Orion crew module that will send astronauts to deep space during Exploration Mission-2. Its development was a multi-center project involving JSC, Langley Research Center in Virginia, and Armstrong Flight Research Center in California with contributions from KSC, and Glenn Research Center’s Plum Brook Station in Ohio.

Jon Olansen, Manager, AA-2 Crew Module (left) and Mark Kirasich, Orion Program Manager (right) shake hands in front of the Orion AA-2 Flight Test crew module which was outfitted at JSC. Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz

At JSC’s Space Vehicle Mockup Facility high bay on Nov. 30, Justin Brammer, a contractor with Landstar Ranger, secures the shrink-wrapped AA-2 payload to the back of a flatbed truck in preparation for transport to KSC. Credit: NASA/James Blair

On Dec. 1, AA-2 flight test team members stop for a moment to send off the crew module, equipped with its protective tarp before it begins its 1,000 mile journey. Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz

AA-2 flight test team members observe the purple procession, a Landstar Ranger truck carrying the Orion AA-2 flight test crew module, as it departs from the high bay for its 4-day trek to KSC. Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz

On Nov. 28, the Orion Ascent Abort-2 flight test team at JSC celebrated their completed work on the AA-2 Orion crew module and its newly-attached separation ring before its prepped for delivery to KSC. Credit: NASA/Robert Markowitz