NASA's Orion Parachute Test: Phail!

I imagine there are some astronauts in Houston that cringed when they saw this video. Last month NASA crashed a mockup of their new Orion spacecraft in the desert during a test of the launch abort parachute system. After being pushed out of the back of a C-17 to simulate an aborted launch altitude, things got a little out of hand and a little nasty. Wired Science writes:

"In the test, a number of "set-up" parachutes are deployed. Some are used to pull the pallet out of the plane. Then the capsule is pyrotechnically separated from the pallet, which has its own parachute recovery system. The capsule then has a "programmer" parachute and two stabilizer parachutes that are used to set up the test configuration. It was this programmer chute that failed to inflate properly causing the capsule to fall much faster then planned. All this happened before the Orion parachute test could even begin."

Needless to say, the mockup was heavily damaged from the free fall. NASA engineers are reviewing the test setup while managers assure astronauts that Alaskan King Crab fishing is by far the most dangerous occupation.

[Wired Science]

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NASA Needs Your Urine

NASA is at it again. This time their number one priority is collecting all the urine they can find, from anyone. NASA engineers are in the process of designing the Orion space capsule, which is one of the vehicles that will eventually take astronauts to the moon and be in space for a much longer time than any previous NASA missions, orbiting unoccupied in space for up to six months.

What is the big deal you ask? Getting rid of all the stored urine. According to NASA, urine is full of solids which clog up the urine venting system over a period of time. During a mission, the Orion capsule will be expected to process 30 liters a day, which translates into nearly 8 gallons of straight up urine. There is no such thing as "simulated urine" and there is only one way to get it, from the tap.

I hope they can get the toilet issue resolved so no other problems come up like the recent toilet issues on the ISS.

Below is what the memo actually said:

Sent: Friday, July 11, 2008 3:00 PM
Subject: Urine Collection Study Donor Request
Who: All Houston-SLS Associates, employees at 2200 Space Park, and any visitors to the building
What: Please donate your urine to our study
When: Monday, July 21 - Thursday, July 31 from 6 a.m. until goal amount is collected each day including weekends

The Orion Program will be holding a urine collection study starting Monday, July 21 and running through Thursday, July 31, 2008. We are looking for
donors as we need to collect a large amount of urine per day for the entire
11 day period. [...]

We will be hosting an informational meeting with encouraged attendance for
potential urine donors from 11-11:30 a.m. Thursday, July 17, 2008 in the
first floor conference room. In this meeting we will go over instructions
and guidelines for the study and introduce volunteers to the equipment that
will be used in the study. [...]

Please see the attached Donor Guide for further information on donating.

(NASA Watch)

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Hate your job? Be an astronaut!

Maybe you didn't make the cut or forgot to apply to be an astronaut in the European Astronaut Corps recruitment a few months ago. Well, don't worry. Here's a new chance to blaze a trail into space and possibly to the Moon or Mars. NASA is recruiting new astronauts for its 2009 Astronaut Candidate Class now, but the deadline is fast approaching so act now! Imagine being one of the first individuals to hitch a ride in an Orion spacecraft on top an Ares I rocket, or even better, being the first to step back on the moon after 36 years. Sign me up!

Deadline Approaching to Apply for New NASA Astronaut Class

HOUSTON — NASA's deadline for accepting applications for the 2009 Astronaut Candidate Class is July 1. Those selected could fly to space for long-duration stays on the International Space Station and missions to the moon.

To be considered, a bachelor's degree in engineering, science or math and three years of relevant professional experience are required. Typically, successful applicants have significant qualifications in engineering or science, or extensive experience flying high-performance jet aircraft.

Teaching experience, including work at the kindergarten through 12th grade level, is considered qualifying. Educators with the appropriate educational background are encouraged to apply.

After a six-month period of evaluation and interviews, NASA will announce final selections in early 2009. Astronaut candidates will report to NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston during the summer of 2009 to begin the basic training program to prepare them for future spaceflight assignments.

To apply to be an astronaut, click here.

(via Gizmodo)

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NASA's new space suits (codpiece included!)

NASA announced recently that they have awarded a contract to Oceaneering International Inc. of Houston to manufacture it's next space suits to be used on the Constellation Program. The program is requiring two different suits for two distinct purposes. The first suit, Configuration One (white-suit), will be used on Orion missions to "support dynamic events such as launch and landing operations; contingency intravehicular activity (IVA) during critical mission events; off-nominal events such as loss of pressurization of the Orion crew compartment; and microgravity EVAs for contingency operations." The second suit, Configuration Two (blue-suit) will support operations on the surface of the moon. This suit simply adds components to the Configuration One suit to make it "Moon mobile". Configuration One will have to be ready by the time manned Orion missions start in 2015, and Configuration Two will need to be ready for astronauts to walk on the Moon by 2020. That's funny to say, "astronauts walking on the Moon".

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