On the 22nd of June 2009, if the weather permits, NASA will test the new Max Launch Abort System, or MLAS, a system developed as an alternative concept to the launch abort system used by NASA for the Orion crew capsule. For the members of Google Lunar X Prize ARCA team this is excellent news, because of the similarities between MLAS and STABILO, one of ARCA’s launching vehicles.

What is MLAS?

While the Orion capsule will fly humans to the ISS starting with 2015, and then even to the Moon, the MLAS still has a chance to be used as the launch abort system for this capsule. Its shape and basic principles are very simple. Its main usage is to preserve the lives of the astronauts if hazards appear during the launch or during the climb to orbit. In the same time, this design is saving weight and simplifies the launch abort procedure.

The nonconventional vehicle is using traction rather than propulsion, enabling the cabin crew, situated at the bottom, to be safely carried away from any dangerous situation and eventually landed back on Earth. The principle is that the vertical traction offered by the thrusters at the top of the rocket will carry the vehicle upwards in a vertical position, increasing the safety of the crew and annulling any horizontal components. Additionally, the weight distribution is such that the vehicle stabilizes itself without needing many horizontal thrusters. This, in turn, will lead to a predictable and safe trajectory back to Earth.

MLAS (2007) vs. STABILO (2006)

ARCA team is very excited to see the MLAS launch, because the shape and basic principles behind this new vehicle (presented by NASA’s designers back in December 2007) are being already used in the team’s STABILO vehicle. You can see the shape and form of the STABILO vehicle, in pictures presented in New Mexico back in 2006 (when some took it for an UFO), and then compare them with the shape and form of the MLAS.

While even the proportions are the same (as physics law demand), the main differences are given by the specific usage of each vehicle. MLAS is designed to withstand high atmospheric drag, therefore it uses aerodynamic cones, enabling the system to gain altitude quickly, even starting from the ground. STABILO is designed to be carried upwards by a balloon, up to 18km (11.2 miles) high; then it fires up its engines and is being launched into space. Therefore it doesn’t need the aerodynamic shape for the rocket’s stages. Both vehicles however use the last cone (or, in STABILO’s case, sphere) to carry and protect the crew.

A similar principle, with tractor motors, was first used for the Mercury and Soyuz crew cabin abort systems, but the system used both by ARCA and by NASA nowadays is much more powerful and represents a modern evolution of the space technologies from 50 years ago.

ARCA Team is keen to see the MLAS first test launch succeed, as it would boost up the team’s trust in this type of vehicle, and it would allow understanding even better its behavior under real-life conditions. The fact that NASA would successfully use a similar shaped and designed system would let us learn a huge amount of information (if shared) enabling us to reach our goal – the Moon – faster and easier.

Fingers crossed for the MLAS test launch, then!

Read about ARCA’s STABILO system on ARCA’s website.

http://www.arcaspace.com/suborbital/en/stabilo.htm