September 24, 2012

Computer-rendered image of NASA's crew access arm on its Mobile Launch tower. Credit: NASA/Boeing

Lawrence LeBlond for redOrbit.com Your Universe Online

NASA engineers in Florida are coalescing traditional and new technologies to design a crew access arm on a mobile launcher at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) that will be used for the space agencys Orion spacecraft, reports Linda Herridge, correspondent for NASAs KSC.

Engineers with the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program at KSC are working diligently to design and develop the 60-foot hydraulic arm that will be similar to the one used during the Apollo missions. Kelli Maloney, a mechanical design engineer for the centers Engineering Directorate, said the arm will have two levels and incorporate hardware from both the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs.

Orion will be the most advanced manned spacecraft ever developed by NASA. It is being designed to be able to carry astronauts farther into space than any craft has ever done before. The Space Launch System (SLS) is also designed to be flexible for launching spacecraft for both crew and cargo missions, and will expand humans presence across the solar system. Orion is scheduled to make its first launch in 2017.

The crew access arm will include a new White Room on the upper level. This area will provide access to the Orion crew module and will contain a six-foot-long access platform, nicknamed the diving board, that will extend from Orion to the crew module. A lower-level walkway will provide access to two panels on the spacecrafts service module.

Engineers will use design technology from the inflatable dock seal on the space shuttles orbiter access arm, as well as storage cabinets and safety equipment from the shuttle-era White Room, according to Maloney.

Apollo-era hinges will be used to rotate the access arm out to the crew module, she added. These hinges will be retrofitted with new digital encoders to accurately obtain the arms position. This information will be fed back to the Program Logic Controllers in an electrical room on the Mobile Launcher tower in order to achieve precise control of arm position, Maloney said.

Its a challenge, because you have to think about every detail, Maloney added. Its very diverse.

Read this article:

NASA Implementing New And Old Technologies For Crew Access Arm