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Directorate Contributions to the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) and Constellation (Cx) Program
Directorate Contributions to the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) and Constellation (Cx) Program
All of the Exploration Technology Directorate's four research divisions are actively contributing to the Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) and NASA's Constellation Program (Cx), which is hard at work on the next generation of human spacecraft. The Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles will provide the thrust, while the Orion crew capsule will be the future astronauts' home in space.
Ames Research Center has been given the lead in managing the contractor work package for Orion's thermal protection system advanced development project. The Directorate's Space Technology Division is supporting this project with its years of experience in developing and testing thermal protection systems for spacecraft re-entering the atmosphere. The Space Technology Division also has responsibility for developing the aero/aerothermal database. In addition, the Directorate's Intelligent Systems Division is responsible for providing flight software and Orion guidance, navigation, and control support.
The Directorate's researchers are also supporting key aspects of the Ares launch vehicles. Our Intelligent Systems Division is providing its expertise in integrated systems health monitoring requirements analysis, in developing launch vehicle fault detection algorithms, and in developing tools for design, development, testing, evaluation, validation and verification. Our NASA Supercomputing (NAS) Division is assisting in the development of the Ares launch vehicles by providing simulations to support reliability assessment, and by using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) to analyze ascent abort blast effects.
The Human Systems Integration Division is supporting mission operations by providing exploration tools for flight controllers, developing new applications to meet future requirements of the Constellation Training Program, and supporting the design, development, testing and evaluation of multi-center command & control systems. The division is also assisting in developing human-machine interaction requirements. The Intelligent Systems Division is assisting in mission control software development, project planning and management systems, and documentation systems.
The Directorate is also supporting the Lunar Precursor and Robotic Program by supporting the development of the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS), which will be used to look for signs of water and other compounds. As the LCROSS spacecraft approaches the Moon's south pole, the upper stage will separate, and then impact a crater in the south pole area. A plume from the upper stage crash will develop as LCROSS's second stage, the Shepherding Spacecraft, heads in toward the moon. The Shepherding Spacecraft will fly through the plume and analyze the cloud for signs of water and other compounds, and then will itself will become an impactor, creating a second plume visible to lunar-orbiting spacecraft and Earth-based observatories. The Directorate's Space Technology Division has provided its Vertical Gun Range to enable LCROSS scientists and engineers to simulate the lunar impacts by firing small pellets into materials that represented the lunar surface.
These are just some of the ways that the Exploration Directorate's researchers are supporting NASA's Constellation Program and the Vision for Space Exploration.
