The tests involve the dropping of a scaled down version of its proposed Orion spaceship, a capsule-looking vehicle that will be launched on top of an Ares I rocket booster.

The tests are very important to the progress of Orion because NASA plans to land Orion with parachutes, like the Apollo capsules, but on land rather than water. Also of importance for the safe return of the spacecraft is its airbags. So far, NASA is still testing their configuration, having not yet decided whether to use wedge-shaped or sausage-shaped airbags.

NASA administrator Michael Griffin has announced that the first manned mission for the Orion spaceship and its Ares I booster will not be until, at the earliest, March 2015. It was announced earlier that the Space Shuttle fleet would be retired in 2010 and Orion would begin in September 2014. The six-month delay is caused by lack of money (budgetary issues) with regards to NASA’s 2007 exploration budget.

Orion is part of NASA’s Project Constellation, a plan to send humans to the Moon, Mars, and other destinations in the solar system. It consists of the Launch Abort System (LAS, at the top), the Crew Module (CM), the Service Module (SM), and the Spacecraft Adapter (SA, at the bottom).

Lockheed Martin is building the Orion capsules. The next big step in the development of Orion is the building of the “boilerplate” version of the capsule. This prototype will be tested and analyzed for launch aborts. The Orion boilerplate and escape tower are scheduled to be tested in the fall of 2007 at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.

The Ares I launch vehicle will use the basic design of the current Shuttle’s solid rocket boosters (SRBs). It is manufactured by Thiokol. Instead of four segments, the Ares I rocket will contain one SRB with five segments. It will also contain an upper stage that will take the astronauts to the International Space Station, to the Moon, and other destinations. NASA is in the process of taking bids for the manufacture of the upper stage part of Ares I.

NASA is also commencing wind tunnel and computer modeling tests of Ares I during launch. Tests are also being conducted on Ares V, which will be the unmanned cargo launch vehicle when NASA goes to the Moon, which is currently planned in 2019. Ares V will also supply the International Space Station.

More information about NASA’s Project Constellation is found at: http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/orion/index.html.

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