The Orion crew module (CM) is a reusable transportation capsule that provides a habitat for the crew, provides storage for consumables and research instruments, and contains the docking port for crew transfers. The crew module is the only part of the Orion that returns to Earth after each mission and is a 57. 5° truncated cone shape with a blunt spherical aft end, 5. 02 meters (16 ft 6 in) in diameter and 3. 3 meters (10 ft 10 in) in length, with a mass of about 8. 5 metric tons (19,000 lb). It was manufactured by the Lockheed Martin Corporation. It will have 50% more volume than the Apollo capsule and will carry four to six astronauts. After extensive study, NASA has selected the Avcoat ablator system for the Orion crew module. Avcoat, which is composed of silica fibers with a resin in a honeycomb made of fiberglass and phenolic resin, was formerly used on the Apollo missions and on the Space Shuttle orbiter for early flights.
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield nasa39s orion mpcv heat shield development collectspace Spacecraft Shield Orion Heat .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield nasa39s orion mpcv heat shield development collectspace Spacecraft Heat Shield Orion .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield space craft orion six alberts astronomy astrophotography Spacecraft Shield Orion Heat .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield the orion39s heat shield gets a scorching on re entry Shield Orion Spacecraft Heat .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield world39s largest heat shield attached to nasa39s orion crew Heat Orion Spacecraft Shield .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield orion heat shield move a crane attached to the orion Orion Spacecraft Shield Heat .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield nasa39s orion spacecraft is ready to feel the heat Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield nasa39s orion spacecraft gets heat shield for daring test Spacecraft Orion Shield Heat .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield orion39s heat shield takes shape youtube Spacecraft Heat Shield Orion .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield engineers recommend changes to orion heat shield Heat Orion Spacecraft Shield .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield nasa prepares for first orion test flight in 2014 Spacecraft Heat Shield Orion .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield nasa39s orion exploration flight test eft 1 Heat Orion Shield Spacecraft .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield the orion39s heat shield gets a scorching on re entry Orion Shield Spacecraft Heat .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield nasa alters orion heat shield for 2018 flight with Spacecraft Orion Shield Heat .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield installation of heat shielding tiles marks new phase for Spacecraft Heat Orion Shield .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield orion heat shield for next space flight is at kennedy Heat Shield Spacecraft Orion .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield orion em 1 heat shield arrives at launch site spaceref Spacecraft Heat Orion Shield .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield orion heat shield move the orion heat shield for Spacecraft Orion Heat Shield .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield largest heat shield ever constructed installed on nasa39s Orion Spacecraft Shield Heat .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield nasa video shows astronaut39s eye view of quottrial by fire Heat Orion Shield Spacecraft .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield nasa39s orion mpcv heat shield development collectspace Spacecraft Shield Orion Heat 1 1.
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield nasa team at marshall removes charred orion heat shield Heat Spacecraft Shield Orion .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield textron team readies orion heat shield for shipment to Shield Orion Heat Spacecraft .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield nasa experimenting with 18 engine all electric wing called Spacecraft Heat Shield Orion .
Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield testing the orion spacecraft heat shield design ocean optics Orion Heat Shield Spacecraft .
Earth's Moon Reveals An Ancient Secret. Many astronomers think that during an ancient era, termed the Late Heavy Bombardment, our young Moon was violently battered by a marauding multitude of invading asteroids that crashed onto its newly formed surface. This attack of pelting objects from space occurred about 4 billion years ago, and the shower of crashing asteroids excavated impact craters, and also slashed open deep fissures, in the lunar crust. This sustained shower of merciless impacts increased lunar porosity, and opened up an intertwining network of large seams under the Moon's surface. Launched as GRAIL A and GRAIL B in September 2011, the probes were renamed Ebb and Flow by schoolchildren in Montana. The probes operated in almost circular orbit near the lunar poles at an altitude of approximately 34 miles, until their mission came to an end in December 2012. The distance between the twin probes altered a bit as they soared over areas of lesser and greater gravity that were caused by visible topological features on the Moon's surface, such as impact craters and mountains--as well as by masses that were secreted beneath the lunar surface. Dr. Soderblom and his team, including Dr. Maria Zuber, who is the E.A. Griswold Professor of Geophysics and MIT's vice president of research, have published their findings in the September 10, 2015 issue of the journal Geophysical Research Letters.