Visions - Summer 2007 - 16

continued Above, a Primary Life Support System Assembly being retrofitted for use in High Pressure Oxygen Test Facility. Artist’s rendering of the Orion CEV approaching the International Space Station in Earth orbit. Image credit: NASA HSSSI is one of many partners contracted by NASA as part of Project Constellation. HSSSI is contributing systems and project management for Orion. HSSSI is planning to build on the EMU’s tested success to help NASA develop the next generation spacesuit. The next suit will need to be flexible and evolvable to accommodate a contingency extravehicular activity (EVA aka spacewalk) from the Orion vehicle as well as lunar exploration. Cross-Site Single Program Concept HSSSI will utilize nearly all of its facilities, located across the U.S., in the creation of Orion’s systems.Thermal management devices, environmental control, and life-support systems will be handled out of the Windsor Locks, CT facility. Fluid management systems will be built in the Long Beach, CA location with various tanks being designed in Ontario, CA. HSSSI’s Houston,TX branch will supply engineering services to NASA, as well as waste management systems for Orion.The Rockford, IL branch will handle auxiliary power systems and mechanical flight controls. Electrical power generation, management and distribution will be provided by the Rockford, IL and by HSC’s Rocketdyne element. This strategy, known as the cross-site single program concept “allows us to act as one team,” said Dan Lee. “We’re really excited about this.With advancements in communications technology, we’ve been able to execute well. We came in with an integrated offering, and we have a single program office that’s managing the contract. It’s one contract, one management team,” he added. 16 visions Summer 2007 HSSSI is one of many partners contracted by NASA as part of Project Constellation. Each partner on the CEV project has a specific set of responsibilities. HSSSI is contributing systems and project management for Orion.The 13 key systems include fire detection and suppression, carbon monoxide removal, humidity control, pressure control, atmospheric monitoring, cabin air ventilation, and potable water storage and cooling. Other partners on the CEV project include Honeywell, Orbital Sciences, and Aerojet. The CEV team will be led by Lockheed Martin, who will perform the majority of engineering work on the CEV at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston,TX. Final assembly of the vehicle will take place at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The CEV is 16-and-a-half feet in diameter at the base and has about two-and-a-half times the volume of an Apollo capsule. “It’s the size of a small office,” said Dave Parker, CEV Project Manager. “It’s a continuation of technology that was developed for Apollo and the Space Station,” said Larry McNamara. “The technology is well known to us. The science is the same, but it’s packaged differently for this specific application.” For more information, contact Katsuji Hirai at katsuji.hirai@sumitomocorp.com or NASA’s web portal on Project Constellation, www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/ main/index.html Sumitomo Corporation of America

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/main/index.html http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/main/index.html

Visions - Summer 2007

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