NASA Reveals Design Flaw Led to Parachute Hiccup in OSIRIS-REx Return Capsule
In a recent release, NASA has announced that the out-of-order parachute deployment during the return capsule’s descent to Earth on September 24 was caused by inconsistent labels in the OSIRIS-REx landing plans.
The return capsule, which carried samples of the asteroid Bennu, landed in the Utah desert and has been carefully worked on by NASA in order to open the canister containing the samples. However, recovery teams are facing difficulties as the sample canister contains a greater quantity of asteroid fragments than anticipated, and they were discovered on the outside of the canister.
Upon reviewing the video of the descent and the system’s design plans, NASA found that the affected drogue parachute fired out of order due to the wiring of the capsule’s parachute triggers. Specifically, the issue was found in the liberal use of the word “main” in the design plans, causing the parachute deployment actions to occur out of order.
The design flaw caused the drogue parachute to deploy at 100,000 feet instead of the intended 10,000 feet. Despite the mishap, the capsule still arrived safely on the ground thanks to the strength of the main parachute.
To prevent such a blooper from happening again, engineers will need to dive into the hardware that released the parachutes and make the necessary adjustments. This system is currently sitting in one of the glove boxes housing the Bennu sample at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.
While the sample materials will need to be processed first, NASA is committed to ensuring that the issue is addressed to prevent similar incidents in the future. Scientists are excited about the abundant asteroid fragments in the sample canister from Bennu and the insights it will provide into the solar system’s formation and the primordial ingredients of life.