Considerations for Testing Programs for U.S. Future Crewed Exploration Flight Vehicles
- Paper number
IAC-07-D1.5.05
- Author
Mr. Arthur W. Joslin, The Aerospace Corporation, United States
- Coauthor
Dr. I-Shih Chang, The Aerospace Corporation, United States
- Coauthor
Mr. E. Joe Tomei, The Aerospace Corporation, United States
- Year
2007
- Abstract
Purpose: Throughout the history of space flight programs unexpected results, unforeseen conditions, unknowns and mistakes have been experienced. Perhaps the most cost effective and efficacious method of preventing some of these undesirable occurrences are applications of lessons that have been learned from previous programs. NASA’s next generation of crewed space vehicles is a launch system architecture that has been adapted from the Apollo Space Program that sent humans to the moon and returned them safely to earth. Landing humans on the moon and safely returning them to earth was a step- by-step process that relied on the successful completion of earlier programs, Mercury, Gemini, and the earlier Apollo missions. The opportunity to accomplish even more ambitious goals than Apollo’s goals presents itself in the form of NASA’s successor to the Space Shuttle program, Project Constellation. Project Constellation proposes to deliver humans to the International Space Station (ISSS) in 2014, the moon in 2020 and eventually to Mars. The purpose of this paper is to provide a list of lessons learned from the design and testing of previous space programs that includes both crewed missions and un-crewed missions from NASA and other programs and share that information in this new program’s development. Methodology: The information in this study was obtained from the experiences that arose during the development of other Space Programs. The material forming the basis of this paper was obtained from the records of previous launch vehicle program testing during development and qualification. For crewed missions the programs for STS, Apollo, Gemini and Mercury were considered. For un-crewed missions Titan, Delta, and Atlas launch vehicles were considered. The proposed Constellation launch vehicles are broken down into subsystem, such as propulsion, dynamics, structural, and environmental. For each subsystem specific types of testing are analyzed to determine a thorough and efficient method for demonstrating flight readiness. The emphasis for this study was on testing for the Ares I and Orion vehicles, the crew launch vehicles, which will be the first of the vehicles to be developed. Results: Design issues surfaced through previous ground and integrated flight testing in the development of launch vehicles are summarized by vehicle subsystem. Their remediations are discussed. The study results will provide useful information for mitigating risks associated with the development and testing for future crewed and un-crewed launch programs Conclusions: Lessons learned through testing of various launch vehicle designs from past and present U.S. crewed and un-crewed space programs are summarized. This study has been completed and a presentation package of 75 charts with substantive technical and programmatic content has been produced. The material is original and complements Paper IAC -06-D2.4.10 “Assessment of U.S. Human Space Launch and Flight Programs” that we presented. The paper has not been presented elsewhere, and financing the attendance of at least one author at the 58th IAC in Hyderabad, India to present the paper is assured.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-07-D1.5.05.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
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