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An Alternate Orion Heat Shield Carrier Structural Design

To carry astronauts beyond near Earth orbit to rendezvous with asteroids, the Moon, or Mars, the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) must be as light as possible, and spacecraft engineers are always looking for ways to “take mass” out of a design. Weighing in at over 3,000 pounds and just over 16 feet in diameter, the Orion crew module (CM) heat shield carrier structure offered the best opportunity to shave off a bit of weight – about 800 pounds in fact, or 25% of its mass. While the Orion MPCV Team worked hard to reduce mass in this area, the Orion MPCV Chief Engineer requested the NESC study the heat shield carrier and develop alternate designs to the structure.

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An Alternate Orion Heat Shield Carrier Structural Design

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