Inside Wallops National Aeronautics and Space Administration Goddard Space Flight Center Wallops Flight Facility, Wallops Island, Va. Volume XX-08 Number 10 March 24, 2008
Max Launch Abort System Development Early last year, the Wallops Flight Facility enough and with enough distance Representatives from the Sounding embarked on a challenging effort to downrange to permit the CM to execute a Rockets Program Office and NASA support NASA Engineering and Safety nominal landing. Sounding Rocket Operations Contract, Center (NESC) with the development of (NSROC), have provided technical a composite crew module for the In addition to a wealth of solid rocket motor support associated with the solid rocket Exploration Orion spacecraft. knowledge and experience at Wallops, the motor systems. NSROC will play a major NESC found an engineering staff well- role in vehicle hardware and mechanical The NESC will design, develop, and test suited to rapid-response system GSE fabrication. an alternate concept launch abort system development. Personnel from many (LAS) for the Orion crew module (CM) Wallops organizations have joined the Team members from the Facilities as a risk mitigation for the Orion Project’s MLAS team. LAS development. Management Branch are responsible for procurement and construction of a custom Having an effective means for the crew The Wallops’ Guidance, Navigation & launch pad shelter and for infrastructure to escape in an emergency during launch Control and Mission Systems Engineering improvements related to transportation of is critical in establishing launch system Branch, have supported design and flight the MLAS demonstrator from the Wallops reliability and crew safety for the dynamics analysis. Main Base to the launch site on Wallops Ares-I launch vehicle. Island. Representatives from NASA’s An alternate LAS design could Advanced Projects Office and the MLAS performance will be evaluated reduce overall schedule risk by Range and Mission Management through an actual pad abort test from providing the Constellation Office have continued their Wallops Island in Fall, 2008. Program management with a project and vehicle manage- fallback design concept. ment roles. Wallops personnel can be proud of their accomplishments thus far as they mark Due to LAS complexity, a Team members from the another milestone in supporting manned flight demonstration is Electrical Engineering spaceflight. necessary to validate Branch are designing the design and performance avionics system and Looking back to 1959, Wallops Island was assumptions in a safety- electrical GSE. the test site for Little Joe, the subscale critical system such as the demonstration vehicle for the Mercury LAS. The System Software launch abort system. Have we come full MLAS NASA Graphic Engineering Branch is circle? An alternative LAS also supporting test and must meet all performance requirements verification of vehicle avionics and of extracting the Orion CM from the providing Mission Planning Lab resources launch vehicle at any time from crew for project simulation and presentation. ingress at the launch pad through staging and successful ignition of the second stage Employee Coffee of the Ares-I. Mechanical Systems Branch (MSB) Bring your questions to a morning coffee personnel are designing mechanical GSE with Wallops Director, Dr. John Campbell, Using an intra-agency technical team and for testing, integration, handling, and from 8 to 9 a.m., this working with industry partners, the NESC transportation, as well as working with the Thursday, March is developing a launch abort concept that Northrop Grumman group on vehicle 27, in the cafeteria. can be used for all launch abort conditions mechanical interfaces and designing the and for a nominal launch consistent with custom MLAS launch pedestal. Dr. Campbell will Constellation Program requirements. provide updates on The concept is known as the Max Launch MSB personnel also are designing the the latest items in the news impacting Abort System (MLAS). coast ring chute separation system and the Wallops. His remarks will begin at 8:30 a.m. landing parachute experiment system in It will be designed to lift the Orion CM addition to providing technical oversight on Coffee will be provided by the Wallops from the launch pad to an altitude high the reorientation drogue system. Exchange and Morale Association. PI Comments on Norway Launches Inspire the Next Scott Robertson Generation Day University of Colorado at Boulder The 2008 “Inspire the Next Generation NASA Terrier-Orions, 41.069 and 41.070 UE, were launched on August 3 and 6, 2007, Day” event will be held on April 17. respectively, from the Andoya Rocket Range, Andenes, Norway. Children must be “We had very good interactions with the engineers on the project. Shane Thompson in grades 4 was particularly helpful in finding a design for the forward deck and nosecone that through 12. accommodated the long E field booms along with the other instruments and in finding a design for the aft section that had both E field booms and a photometer. If you plan on sponsoring a Launch preparation and launches went very well. Both rockets were on the launch rail child, fill out a registration form and return when expected. We had good attitude control on both rockets and this gave us a very it NO LATER THAN April 4, 2008. No nice data set. Scott Hesh was very helpful to us in getting the data extracted from the late registration forms will be accepted. telemetry file. We met our comprehensive success criteria. If the child you are sponsoring attends a I had very good interactions with Bill Payne at all phases of the campaign. I also was Worcester County Public School, the very happy with the support provided by the Andoya Rocket Range.” student will be responsible for completing an assignment in order for the day to be counted as an excused absence.
Remote Access and Contact Rebecca Powell at x1139 for an Securid Token Users assignment and a registration form. After-hours support is now available through the ODIN help desk for remote Chincoteague apartment. access. The help desk also can reset PINs Available in April. Spacious Mark Your Calendar for securid tokens for all ITCD securid 2 BR, appliances, good token users. location. $550 + dep. + elec. The 2008 Safety Awareness Call Jerry. Leave a message The ODIN help desk is available from 5 Campaign will be held 757 894-5914. April 23 for all Wallops p.m.- 8 a.m., Monday-Friday, all day on employees. weekends and holidays at x66-3100 or toll free at (866) 835-0701. Contracting Officer Technical Representative The ODIN help desk will continue to reset (COTR) Certification passwords for Goddard domain and e-mail April 9 – 10 accounts. This service is extended to all 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Goddard customers. Bldg. E2, Training Room Participants are required to take the SATERN training module at: https:// “Keeping It Cool” Contest satern.nasa.gov/elms/learner/logout.do This online training must be passed with a With global warming and the 2008 elections heating up, the minimum of 70% prior to taking the COTR Wallops Environmental Office is sponsoring a “Keeping It Certification course. The online component Cool” contest. and the instructor-led component are necessary to become certified as a COTR. Photo Contest If you miss more than 2 1/2 hours of the Submit photos that relate to the “Keeping It Cool” theme instructor-led portion, you will not be and win prizes. certified as a COTR.
Brainstorm Contest For more information contact: Qiuna Harris Submit ideas on “Keeping It Cool” for the Wallops Flight at x66-3061. Facility and win prizes. Inside Wallops is an official publication of Goddard Space Flight Center and is published by Contest submissions and winners will be posted at the Environmental Office Booth at the Wallops Office of Public Affairs, Extension the Pavilion on Earth Day, April 17 1584, in the interest of Wallops employees. Recent and past issues of Inside Wallops also may be found at: http://www.nasa.gov/centers/ Submit photos and brainstorms by April 11 to Shane Whealton, Building F-160 Room, wallops/news/newsletters.html C134 or by email to: [email protected] Editor Betty Flowers Asst. Editor Rebecca Powell For further information contact, Whealton at x1090.