Sat, Aug 23, 2008
Yep, They're Gonna NEED To Fix This
A preliminary test of the parachute system designed to softly
return NASA's upcoming Crew Exploration Vehicle to Earth failed in
spectacular fashion last month, resulting in an Orion-sized dent in
the Arizona desert landscape.
According to NASA, a test set-up parachute failed during the
July 31, test of parachutes for the recovery system for the Orion.
From the start, the test was in trouble... as one of the so-called
"programmer" chutes failed to inflate properly. As a result,
instead of falling right-side-up, the wooden capsule mock-up
tumbled almost from the moment it was released from the C-17
carrier aircraft.
The troublesome chute was one of 18 parachutes used during the
test... but created a domino effect, that extended to the capsule's
main 'chute system when the time came for that to be deployed. Only
one of the three main parachutes for the recovery system remained
attached to the mock-up... and that parachute was torn and too
damaged to inflate properly.
The result will be familiar to anyone who grew up watching
Warner Brothers cartoons. Like the hapless Coyote, attached to the
latest contrivance from ACME... the Orion mockup landed with a
solid thud on the desert floor. (NASA remains mum on whether
any Roadrunners were present at the time --
Ed.)
Granted, it's still early in the Orion's development cycle; the
first manned flight isn't scheduled to fly until 2015. But an
unmanned launch is scheduled for late-2009... and this failure is
the latest in a series of stumbling points for Orion, and the beleaguered Constellation
program.
In happier news: rumor has it the mockup's
toilets worked perfectly...
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