A new acoustic test method is being assessed on Orion, NASA’s new exploration spacecraft that will take humans farther than they’ve ever gone before. Engineers at Orion’s prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, are assessing Direct Field Acoustic testing that involves placing Orion in the center of a circle of more than 1,500 customized, high energy speakers meant to simulate the intense acoustic loads the vehicle will experience during launch and ascent. If the new method passes all the required evaluations, it will be used to verify Orion’s ability to withstand acoustic loads during its next mission.
The Orion crew module completed its first spaceflight test in 2014, traveling further than any spacecraft designed for humans has gone in over 40 years. It’s next mission will be Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) launched by Space Launch System (SLS), NASA’s advanced launch vehicle for exploration beyond Earth’s orbit. Orion will be the safest and most advanced spacecraft ever built with the flexibility and capability to take humans to a variety of destinations including an asteroid, our moon and eventually Mars.