Orion successfully enters its preliminary lunar orbit
NASA’s Orion capsule today successfully completed a 2.5 minute engine burn this morning to put it in its preliminary lunar orbit around the Moon.
At the time of the burn, Orion was 328 miles above the Moon, travelling at 5,023 mph. Shortly after the burn, Orion passed 81 miles above the Moon, travelling at 5,102 mph. At the time of the lunar flyby, Orion was more than 230,000 miles from Earth.
The outbound powered flyby burn is the first of two maneuvers required to enter the distant retrograde orbit around the Moon. The spacecraft will perform the distant retrograde orbit insertion burn Friday, Nov. 25, using the European Service Module. Orion will remain in this orbit for about a week to test spacecraft systems.
NASA has been bragging that when this orbit sends Orion 40,000 miles past the Moon, it will be the farthest a man-rated spacecraft has flown from Earth since Apollo. Though true, this fact is somewhat trivial. First, SpaceX could have easily put a Dragon capsule on its first Falcon Heavy launch, instead of a Tesla, and sent that capsule into interplanetary space beyond Mars. Second, Orion is not capable of taking any astronauts farther than lunar orbit. Thus, NASA’s achievement here is somewhat overblown. Orion is not an interplanetary spaceship. It remains nothing more than an overpriced, overweight, and over-designed ascent-descent manned capsule.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
NASA’s Orion capsule today successfully completed a 2.5 minute engine burn this morning to put it in its preliminary lunar orbit around the Moon.
At the time of the burn, Orion was 328 miles above the Moon, travelling at 5,023 mph. Shortly after the burn, Orion passed 81 miles above the Moon, travelling at 5,102 mph. At the time of the lunar flyby, Orion was more than 230,000 miles from Earth.
The outbound powered flyby burn is the first of two maneuvers required to enter the distant retrograde orbit around the Moon. The spacecraft will perform the distant retrograde orbit insertion burn Friday, Nov. 25, using the European Service Module. Orion will remain in this orbit for about a week to test spacecraft systems.
NASA has been bragging that when this orbit sends Orion 40,000 miles past the Moon, it will be the farthest a man-rated spacecraft has flown from Earth since Apollo. Though true, this fact is somewhat trivial. First, SpaceX could have easily put a Dragon capsule on its first Falcon Heavy launch, instead of a Tesla, and sent that capsule into interplanetary space beyond Mars. Second, Orion is not capable of taking any astronauts farther than lunar orbit. Thus, NASA’s achievement here is somewhat overblown. Orion is not an interplanetary spaceship. It remains nothing more than an overpriced, overweight, and over-designed ascent-descent manned capsule.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The print edition can be purchased at Amazon or from any other book seller. If you want an autographed copy the price is $60 for the hardback and $45 for the paperback, plus $8 shipping for each. Go here for purchasing details. The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
As I call Orion, a “Gold-plated Apollo capsule”. I hope it is actually a money-laundering project for something better. Lockheed does know how to build good stuff!
It boggles me that NASA themselves calls this Orion “man-rated” given that it is a test article and is missing many critical life support systems.
Why do they want to carry the Orion to the moon? Thats just a waste of everything.
Do they plan i=on the passengers actually living in this for the one week drive to the moon and the week drive home?
Now they have to plan, design and test an in space refueling system.
Then a lunar space station. And then send it to the moon.
Then send fuel.
Then send a lunar lander.
Then send a lunar base to live in.
Then send more food and fuel.
Then they get to send people.
This is at best a ten year from now plan not counting the expected delays that will make it take twice as long.
By then Musk will have been to the moon as a Mars test and then landing on Mars.
David Eastman wrote: “It boggles me that NASA themselves calls this Orion “man-rated”…..”
I doubt NASA uses this terminology these days. They would call it “woman-rated”, but then they’d have to define the meaning of “woman”. It’s probably something lame like “crew-rated”. They (and many other wokesters in the media) insist on using the PC adjective “crewed”. I really like that one because it’s a beautifully ironic homonym with “crude”.
Actually, what pzatchok is describing is a good thing. All of the activities that he cites — in space refueling, a lunar space station and base, and ample stores of food and fuel — are the very things that will have to be put in place to enable a sustainable, productive human presence on the moon. The only question is who will build and transport such things. Hopefully, they will have labels that say “Made in the USA.”
NASA: We have improved the buggy whip! Thank us for your support, and tax dollars too!
And it’s full of switches, in 2022
So Orion, well I have a question about the minimal viable product for a ship to carry humans from earth orbit to the moon and back. Clearly not a capsule because Apollo 13 mission used the lunar excursion module when the command module and service modules had a life support failure. The LEM was very thin when it came to radiation shielding but it worked. And in fact an active multi layered thin shield with electrically charged gas layers is obviously better than a passive system. Just like battle tanks have multi layered armor with passive and active elements. Or for that matter the shielding around the earth.
And Starships escape tower is where now? New Spacer bile…
Jeff Wright: Starship’s escape tower is the same place the DC-3’s escape pod is.
Actually escape pods, towers, and ejection seats are a major benefit on vehicles in danger or that are unreliability dangerous. Like combat aircraft and expendable launch vehicles.
To be fair, airplanes do have escape slides and life rafts. Given the age and condition of some of the “seat cushion that may be used as a floatation device”s upon which I’ve sat, I have my doubts as to their utility.
And of course they do no good whatsoever in a fiery explosion or just mid-air coming-apart-at-the-seams.