LDEF (Postflight), S0001 : Space Debris Impact Experiment, Tray E04

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CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Engineers and technicians prepare NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander for a free flight test at a new launch site at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 96-second test began at 4:21 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over the flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, sensors surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering 1,300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the ALHAT field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT, and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces.    The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/.  Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin KSC-2014-1927

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – Engineers and technicians prepare NASA's Project Morpheus prototype lander for a free flight test at a new launch site at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 96-second test began at 4:21 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over the flame trench and ascending more than 800 feet at a peak speed of 36 mph. The vehicle with its recently installed autonomous landing and hazard avoidance technology, or ALHAT, sensors surveyed the hazard field to determine safe landing sites. Morpheus then flew forward and downward covering 1,300 feet while performing a 78-foot divert to simulate a hazard avoidance maneuver. The lander descended and landed on a dedicated pad inside the ALHAT field. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT, and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie Martin KSC-2014-1927

LDEF (Postflight), S0001 : Space Debris Impact Experiment, Tray E04

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The postflight photograph was taken in the SAEF II at KSC prior to experiment removal from the LDEF. The originally white paint dot on clamp block at the center of the left tray flange and at the right end of the upper tray flange are dark brown. Since this tray is located adjacent to the LDEF's trailing edge, very little, if any, contamination has been cleaned away by atomic oxygen impacts. The greenish-gray and pink tints on the two (2) debris panels are a by-product of the chromic anodize coating process and not attributed to contamination and/or exposure to the space environment. The finger prints along the bottom edge of the panels that was observed in the flight photograph are still visible. Those seen previously along the top edges have been washed out by the lighting. The light band along the sides and across the top of the panels is caused by light reflecting from the tray sidewalls.
NASA Identifier: L90-13350 KSC-390C-832.03

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Date

1990
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Defense Visual Information Distribution Service
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