The recovery test involved Navy personnel towing the capsule to a warship. (Francesca Bacardi/MNS)
Norfolk, Va. – NASA conducted a key recovery test Thursday at Naval Station Norfolk, which involved Navy personnel in zodiac boats reeling in a capsule and towing it to a warship, serving as an amphibious transport dock.
The operation was designed to prepare the U.S. Navy and NASA for the future rescue and recovery of astronauts aboard the Orion, the spacecraft seen as the next step in exploration of deep space.
NASA considers the space capsule recovered when it is secured in the well deck and completely drained. The draining process could take as long as 30 to 40 minutes.
The entire recovery process takes about two hours, time enough to prevent a crew from overheating after their suit-cooling functions are turned off on reentry. The ideal body temperature for crew members is 100.5 degrees.
Recovery testing allows NASA and Naval teams to evaluate and practice the procedures before they take the drill out onto the open waters of the Pacific next year in San Diego.
“We have what we refer to as a crawl, walk, run strategy,” said Scott Wilson, NASA’s manager of the offline processing and infrastructure for development, ground systems development and operations program.
NASA is working with the Department of Defense in the recovery testing for the first time since the Apollo programs in 1975.
“It’s a pretty historic start to the program,” Wilson said.
Thursday marked the first full-scale test using a Navy ship, the USS Arlington. The Orion will some day take astronauts into deep space – a realm unexplored by humans. Destinations could include Mars and an asteroid.
The waters on the Elizabeth River throughout the testing weren’t choppy, but rough seas could be in play when the capsule is ultimately put down in the Pacific.
“Today’s sea conditions are obviously very calm,” said Jim Hamblin, landing and operations manager of the ground systems development and operations program. “This is by design so we can prove our methods first and conditions prove minimal risk.”
The first spacecraft mission will be unmanned, and is planned for launch in September 2014.