NASA abort rocket fit to go
Testing: the project’s solid rocket-powered abort motor
A NASA project designed to
take the next generation of
explorers to the moon has
completed full-scale tests of a
rocket that will launch the craft’s
abort system.
The Orion spacecraft will be
launched by a newly designed
vehicle called Ares 1 from 2010.
Orion and Ares I are part of
All-weather survival suit
A HELICOPTER survival suit is
claimed to keep pilots and
passengers cool in the aircraft
cabin while retaining heat in the
unlikely event of a crash at sea.
The suit has been developed
by SINTEF, Scandinavia’s
largest independent research
organisation and Helly Hansen,
a Norwegian manufacturer of
protective apparel.
A core component is a textile
that contains tiny in-woven
capsules filled with microscopic
particles of a specially
developed paraffin wax that can
transfer heat from and to the
wearer’s body. If the wearer’s
skin temperature rises above
28ºC, the wax will absorb the
body’s heat and change from
solid to liquid. The latent heat
also ensures the wearer is cool
in the cabin on warm days.
If there is a crash at sea, the
wax will release the stored heat
to the wearer as it returns to the
solid state. The suit contains
NASA’s Project Constellation,
which plans to return astronauts
to the moon by 2020, then on to
Mars and other destinations in
the solar system.
In the event of an emergency
on the launch pad or during
ascent, an escape capability
called the launch abort system
will separate the crew module
Afloat: the suit is claimed to help keep crash survivors warm in the water
extra insulation where the body
releases most heat.
The makers say the suit
ensures the wearer’s skin
temperature never falls below
15ºC during six hours in water at
a temperature of about 2ºC.
This means the crash victim will
be able to move their arms and
legs when help arrives.
Other innovative features of
the suit include a breathing
lung, an emergency beacon
and the ability to turn the wearer
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the EnGIneeR 21 APRIL–4 MAY 2008 7
from the vehicle using a solid
rocket-powered abort motor.
The first test was critical to
NASA’s preparations for a series
of flight tests of the full abort
system planned to begin this
year. ‘This was a major success
for the Orion launch abort
system team,’ said Mark Cooper,
NASA’s integrated product team
lead for launch abort system
propulsion at the Marshall Space
Flight Centre in Alabama. ‘The
test provided valuable data on
motor performance that will allow
design and analytical refinements
by our contractor team.
The test is the culmination of
intense and focused work by
the entire jettison motor team.’
The motor static test firing
was conducted by Aerojet
Corporation in California. NASA
has partnered with Lockheed
Martin, Orbital Sciences
Corporation and Aerojet to
supply the motor.
onto their back in the sea.
The suit was developed in
response to the demands of
the Norwegian Oil Industry
Association (OLF). Offshore
workers complained of being
‘boiled alive’ while travelling in
helicopters on warm summer
days.
They also feared that their
original suits would not offer
complete protection against
heat loss during long periods in
cold sea water.
IN BRIEF
■ Image make-over
An institute that aims to develop
novel imaging technologies to solve
biological problems has been
launched at Nottingham University.
The Institute of Biophysics, Imaging
and Optical Science will house a
range of optical microscopy
equipment and scanning probe
systems, including a new scanning
conductance ion microscope.
Biological and chemical lab facilities
will be available. Software,
hardware and silicon chip
engineering facilities will be
provided to allow researchers to
build custom-made cameras and
develop systems designed to fight
diseases such as chronic
obstructive pulmonary disorder.
■ Human touch
A project that aims for humancomputer
interaction is being
developed by an international team
that includes Imperial College,
London and Queen’s University
Belfast.Dubbed SEMAINE, the
€2.75m (£2.2m) EC-funded
project aims to build a sensitive
artificial listener system that will
perceive a human user’s facial
expression, gaze and voice, then
talk to the user. The team, led by
Germany’s DFKI, expect it to adapt
its own performance and pursue
different actions, depending on the
non-verbal behaviour of the user.
■ Waste work
Researchers at Missouri University
of Science and Technology are
developing biodegradable and
bioavailable plastics to help reduce
plastic waste. By combining and
modifying bio-based, oil-based and
natural polymers, the team hopes
to create optimal blends for
agricultural films, bottles,
biomedical and drug delivery
devices. An estimated 30 billion
water bottles end up in US landfills
each year. If successful, the team
expects bottles made with their
plastics to disappear within four
months of being discarded.
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