Challenges in APEX Cover Separation Dynamics Analysis

Abstract

In any manned spaceflight, safety of the crew is of paramount importance. During re-entry as well abort mission, apex cover gets separated from crew module. The apex cover is one of the major subsystems of crew module. In re-entry mission, once crew module reaches low altitude, the parachute systems will be released. The first event in the sequence of operation of crew module parachute deployment is the apex cover separation. The apex cover separation is preceded by the command for apex cover parachute mortar ignition. Hence, safe separation of apex cover from crew module is essential to ensure safety of the mission and crew as well. For Crew Escape System (CES)-Pad Abort Test (PAT) mission, a six degree of freedom separation dynamics analysis of apex cover separation was carried out. The jettisoning of the crew escape system velocity is imparted by three pyro thrusters. This paper brings out the design and analysis efforts made during the separation of apex cover from Crew Module (CM). Subsequently from the flight data, it is evidenced that the separation performance was normal and collision free.