For the dozens of onlookers Thursday, it was an awe-inspiring first-time viewing of a vehicle that is destined for space. But for 14-year-old Dillon Arboneaux, it was old news.
Dillon, the grandson of Tom Arboneaux, a fabrication specialist at NASA’s Langley Research Center, saw the Orion crew module before, at the center’s Centennial Open House in October.
Back then, it wasn’t complete. Now, Dillon was able to see the inside of the capsule for the first time.
“It looks awesome,” he said.
The viewing of the Orion capsule was part of a viewing Thursday for family and friends of the Langley employees who worked on the vehicle, as well as other center workers, at the hangar facility before it gets shipped off to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston for the next step in its process.
“This whole activity is a pause for our team, just to celebrate and share with all of our family members and friends to let you know what we’ve been doing the past two to three years,” said project manager Kurt Detweiler. “Sometimes it gets a bit distracting to the families to understand what we’re doing and why we were spending long nights and long days doing things away from home.”
In April 2019, Orion is scheduled to undergo a full-stress test of the Launch Abort System (LAS), called Ascent Abort Test 2 (AA-2), where a booster provided by Orbital ATK will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 32,000 feet at Mach 1.3 (over 1,000 miles an hour).
At that point, the system’s powerful reverse-flow abort motor will fire 500,000 pounds of thrust, propelling the Orion test vehicle to a safe distance away from the rocket. Timing is crucial, as the abort events must match the abort timing requirements of the Orion spacecraft to the millisecond in order for the flight test data to be valid.
This model en route to Johnson is not designed to carry a manned crew, but to offer a simulation of the mass of the actual crew-carrying vehicle, and allows testing of the LAS under realistic loads and altitudes.
The event was not only a day to share stories and accomplishments, but to brag on the Orion team’s speed in which they finished the capsule ahead of schedule. That fact was proudly touted by Langley Deputy Director Clayton Turner.
“They were really hustling,” he said.
Turner said the sacrifices made by the families of Orion workers did not go unnoticed. “We are here for each other,” he said.
Detweiler is the first to admit that work on Orion can be all-consuming, but he said it’s worth it.
“It’s been a great privilege working with all of the team members here,” he said. “I continue to be truly amazed at the professionalism and performance of everyone who has worked on this project to date.”
The sacrifices made by Orion workers were felt by their families, something that Patricia Arboneaux, Tom Arboneaux’s wife, knows too well.
“I’m ready for him to take a vacation,” she said with a laugh.
Kidding aside, Patricia knows of the importance of Orion in NASA’s deep-space mission future. When Langley’s Orion capsule launches from Florida, she’ll be among those watching in awe and appreciation.
“I’d love to go to the launch if possible,” she said. “It’ll be worth the wait.”
Learn more by selecting the links below:
- Visit the Orion program website and Flickr gallery
- View the AA-2 fact sheet and test animation
- Read feature stories on NASA.gov: NASA Moves Up Critical Crew Safety Launch Abort Test and Orion AA-2 Crew Module Painted for Flight
Eric Gillard
NASA Langley Research Center