NASA Tests Orion Seat Shock Absorbers
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By Frank Morring Jr.
Engineers at NASA's Langley Research Center are using the Landing and Impact Research Facility to test the seat pallet that will protect astronauts in the planned Orion crew capsule from the shock of landing.
Requirements call for Orion to be able to parachute-land anywhere on Earth after returning from space, although the nominal spot would be in the Pacific Ocean off Catalina Island, Calif. To test the pallet and its "energy-absorbing struts," the 20,000-pound test article is dropped 18 feet onto a crushable honeycomb material designed to simulate different landing surfaces.
The Orion project also is using the seat shock absorbers to help mitigate vibrations the crew experiences as a result of thrust oscillation expected to be generated by the Ares I crew launch vehicle solid-fuel first stage in the final 10 seconds before burnout. NASA is raising Gemini-era standards that limited crews to a peak of 0.25g for the sort of longitudinal vibrations the thrust oscillation imparts to 0.7 g.
The higher load is based on tests with astronaut/subjects at Ames Research Center to determine just how much vibration hampers a crew member's ability to read modern displays and react to them.
Photo of Orion parachute test vehicle: NASA
