Umbilical EVA's for Orion

[docm]

Flight Global....<br /><br /><blockquote><font class="small">In reply to:</font><hr /><p><b>Orion to see first umbilical EVA since 1974</b><br /><br />NASA has chosen umbilical extra vehicular activity (EVA) as the space walk method for its Constellation programme's Orion crew exploration vehicle.<br /><br />During the Space Shuttle programme, tethered EVA space suits have had onboard all the air and power required for working in the Orbiter's payload bay or assembling the International Space Station.<br /><br />Umbilical EVAs mean the space suit will draw its air and power from the astronaut's spacecraft, in future the Orion Command Module. The last NASA umbilical spacewalk was during the agency's final Skylab mission, Skylab-4, in 1974.<br /><br />NASA's Constellation space suit system concept envisages a basic suit that can have elements added to it to build up its capabilities to include lunar surface sorties.<br /><br />NASA is currently considering whether each suit will be integrated into the Orion's crew seats.<br /><br />"[The] configuration one [spacesuit] will protect the crew in [launch, entry and abort] mission phasesand will provide 0g umbilical-based EVA capability," says NASA.<br /><br />While the configuration one suit is for launch, entry and abort, configuration two is for lunar surface work.<br /><br />Skylab-4's fourth and last EVA took place on 3 February 1974 at 1519h GMT and lasted 5h 19min.<br /><br />This EVA was conducted by mission commander Gerald Carr and scientist pilot Edward Gibson. The third Skylab-4 crew member and pilot designate was William Pogue.<p><hr /></p></p></blockquote> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[PistolPete]

It makes sense. Storing a couple of EMUs in the Orion would just take up too much space and weight. It also makes sense to have the ascent suit and EVA suit the same (ie. Apollo A7L). It's an inevitable conclusion. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><em>So, again we are defeated. This victory belongs to the farmers, not us.</em></p><p><strong>-Kambei Shimada from the movie Seven Samurai</strong></p> </div>

 

[josh_simonson]

Yup. They're probably mostly for emergency situations anyway such as the TPS stitching on the last shuttle flight.

 

[PistolPete]

Don't forget the proposed Hubble servicing missions with Orion. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><em>So, again we are defeated. This victory belongs to the farmers, not us.</em></p><p><strong>-Kambei Shimada from the movie Seven Samurai</strong></p> </div>

 

[docm]

IMMO if they add that capability it would do more for their PR and Congressional relations than most anything else....including 50 "Message Constructs" <img src="/images/icons/tongue.gif" /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>

 

[jimfromnsf]

A CEV docking (LIDS) interface is to be added during the last servicing mission. This is more for disposal than another servicing mission

 

[holmec]

Oh yeah! I guess it does make sense.<br /><br />What type of missions would require EVA from Orion apart from ISS? I'm assuming ISS has its own emu's maintained on board. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><font color="#0000ff"><em>"SCE to AUX" - John Aaron, curiosity pays off</em></font></p> </div>

 

[henryhallam]

<font color="yellow">"What type of missions would require EVA from Orion apart from ISS? "<br /><br />Only contingency EVA's. EVA's at the ISS are not practical since the Orion EVAs use umbilicals which do not allow the crewmen to move very far.<br /><br /></font><br /><br />Of course crewmembers could still make EVAs using spacesuits and airlocks stored at the ISS.

 

[josh_simonson]

They're more flight suits than EVA suits, just upgraded to allow EVA - most likely in emergency situations only, such as if a solar array or radiator failed to deploy properly. Using the flight suits allows such incidents to be fixed without scuttling a $1bn mission, and using the flight suits for it keeps the weight penalty to a minimum.

 

[PistolPete]

SG, do you have any idea if the new Orion suit will be a derivative of the ACES suit, or a new model? <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> <p> </p><p><em>So, again we are defeated. This victory belongs to the farmers, not us.</em></p><p><strong>-Kambei Shimada from the movie Seven Samurai</strong></p> </div>

 

[jimfromnsf]

New model<br />http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewsr.html?pid=21596

 

[pathfinder_01]

I know and understand why they went with umbical EVA's but part of me says Juzz, splash downs and umblical EVA's what's next eatting your lunch out a tube!

 

[jimfromnsf]

It is not a step backwards and tt just makes sense . People have to realized the shuttle paradigm is not the only nor it is the right one

 

[pathfinder_01]

I would support Orion in a heart beat if I could be sure that Orion would not strand us in LEO with an even less capable spacecraft. I hate to say it but trading 4-6 flights of the shuttle a year for 2 flights to the moon sounds like a bad trade. Too low a flight rate for any sort of moon base. Plus Orion is dependant on Aris V to get to the moon. All we need is for congress to cancel the Aris V and no more moonflights.

 

[docm]

All the more reason to 'sell' asteroid intercept missions. Ares I is so anemic it certainly couldn't do the job, so Ares V would be a necessity. It would also imply a "SpaceWatch" base on the moon would be necessary to better track NEO's.<br /><br />I think this is one "defense" project even the peaceniks would push. <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>