Starliner and Orion drop tests
The competition heats up: NASA and Boeing have begun drop tests on land and water respectively of their Orion and Starliner manned capsules.
Both sets of tests are taking place at Langley. With Orion they are dropping the mockup in water to test how it will respond to a variety of circumstances. With Starliner they have finished the water drop tests and have begun drop tests on land.
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The competition heats up: NASA and Boeing have begun drop tests on land and water respectively of their Orion and Starliner manned capsules.
Both sets of tests are taking place at Langley. With Orion they are dropping the mockup in water to test how it will respond to a variety of circumstances. With Starliner they have finished the water drop tests and have begun drop tests on land.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
Since Boeing is a prime contractor on Orion (I believe), what is the difference between the Orion and Starliner capsules? Are they variants of the same craft, or completely different designs?
Greg the Geologist: Boeing is not the prime contractor for Orion. Lockheed Martin holds that contract.
Greg the Geologist asked: “what is the difference between the Orion and Starliner capsules? Are they variants of the same craft, or completely different designs?”
Orion is designed for a crew of four and longer flights that go deeper into space. Starliner has no Orion heritage, and is designed for seven people for only 2-1/2 days, or for seven months when it is docked to the ISS.
Edward, “Wiki says 60 hours, five days, but that’s maybe with a minimum crew. That’s still not enough to round the Moon. Maybe it could be upgraded, I suppose it depends on the service module. I see a quote by Elon Musk ten years ago claiming that Dragon will have a 30-man-day life-support system. If SpaceX has planned to gradually upgrade its Dragon as it has its Falcon, it might become Moon capable. I bet that Elon Musk himself will be an early passenger.
Wait wait wait wait… What do they mean they’ve “begun” drop tests? I seem to recall seeing drop tests of the Orion test capsule showing up for years now on Nasa TV. I remember they even had this giant trapeze setup so they could skid the capsule into the water sideways. So are they that desperate to maintain interest that they had to take years old news and recycle it now? Or have I just hallucinated the past few years of Nasa TV?
Gealon,
Good catch. The Orion article says, “Thursday’s drop was the ninth in a series of 10 tests taking place at Langley’s Landing and Impact Research Facility.”
This is clearly not a beginning.
The Starliner article says, “Before beginning the land test series, the team wrapped up the last of 14 abort water landing scenarios at Langley’s 20-foot-deep Hydro Impact Basin.”
For Starliner, this is the beginning of drop tests on land, but several water tests have also been done. It seems that Langley’s Hydro Impact Basin has been busy for the past few years.
Gealon: My wording might have caused confusion. Starliner has begun land drop tests. Orion has begun water drop tests. This was not to imply that no previous drop tests had been done.