Technology Development for the Orion Program

NASA formed the Constellation Program to achieve the objectives of maintaining American presence in low Earth orbit, returning to the Moon for purposes of establishing an outpost, and exploring Mars and beyond in the first half of the 21st century. Within Constellation, several projects have been defined to implement the various elements of the initial transportation architecture. The Orion crew exploration vehicle (CEV) Project was established to develop the spacecraft for lunar missions and to be used to carry crew to the International Space Station (ISS) after the Space Shuttle retires. This paper will introduce the range of technical developments being implemented on the Orion Program. Orion is currently in the Design, Development, Test, and Evaluation (DDT&E) phase of the program with technology development efforts applying to several aspects of the Orion program ranging from materials science for structures and solder joints, software algorithms for navigation, to better sensors for measuring propellant mass. There are 20 technology items currently being advanced. This paper will show a listing for these technologies, show different categories of development, and discuss status of several technologies in more detail. New technology advances will be defined and relevant photos of development items and summary tables will be included. Specific examples will include those from different types of development and be covered in sufficient detail to give the reader a good understanding of the range and technology readiness level in each category, and what further development and applications might be envisioned. Technological advancements throughout history often lead to applications, which, over time, improve the quality of our lives and occasionally drive history. Future prospects for technology development for the Constellation Program will also be mentioned briefly. The conclusions will cover how advancing technology is likely to increase future applications and economic value to industry and society. A glossary of terms and references will be included.