3D Measurement Supports Space Exploration

With Monday’s 40th anniversary of man walking on the moon, we are reminded how far we have all come. And while Americans were the first to walk on the moon, it was an achievement for people from all over the world – it was a time that united us all.

It’s sad to think that there are only 8 more space shuttle missions and that we’ve completed 126. So what’s in store for the space program? If you haven’t already heard, it’s what NASA’s calling the Constellation Program. It includes the Orion Crew Vehicle and the Ares Launch Vehicles.

Making its first flights to the International Space Station by the middle of the next decade, Orion will send human explorers back to the moon, and then onward to Mars and other destinations in the solar system. Future astronauts will ride into orbit on Ares I, which uses a single five-segment solid rocket booster, a derivative of the Space Shuttle’s solid rocket booster. NASA’s first test flight, called Ares I-X, will provide NASA with an early opportunity to test and prove the hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I crew launch vehicle. Data collected will begin to confirm the vehicle as a whole is safe and stable in flight before astronauts begin traveling into orbit.

If there was ever a product that required high accuracy, space vehicles definitely qualify. NASA Langley Research Center, located in Hampton, Virginia, is facilitating the buildup of the Ares I Crew Module, the Launch Abort System and the Separation Ring Assembly. With the high accuracy requirements when building these items, the Research Center has turned to laser tracker technology. Laser trackers are recognized in the aerospace industry for their portability, ease-of-use and their ability to achieve extremely high accuracy levels. The demand for this technology is continuing to increase as people realize how integrating laser trackers into their processes increases accuracy, facilitates build routines and provides real-time data acquisition. For Ares I-X, the FARO Laser Tracker is an integrated part of the fabrication process to assure the accuracy of the final product.

It’s exciting to follow the progress of the Constellation Program, and it’s reassuring to know that the parts are being inspected by the latest measurement technology. But until this program is up and running, we’ll watch with pride as the last 8 space shuttle missions remind us of how far we’ve come and how far we have yet to go.

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