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Orion Parachute System Tested Through Induced Failures

A mockup of NASA’s Orion capsule descended safely this week with multiple deliberately induced parachute system failures onto the U.S. Army Proving Grounds in Yuma, Ariz., clearing the way for a higher altitude drop in July.

The parachute tests are part of preparations for the first unpiloted launch of an Orion spacecraft. Slated for late next year, Exploration Flight Test-1 will launch an uncrewed Orion test capsule atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV to an orbital altitude of 3,600 mi. for evaluations of heat shielding and other systems under deep-space mission re-entry and descent conditions.

“If we have problems with the system, we want to know about them now,” said Stu McClung, Orion’s landing and recovery system manager, in a statement accompanying the May 1 test. “Parachute deployment is inherently chaotic and not easily predictable.”

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