WorldWide Drilling Resource

Foremost Helps NASA with Mission to Mars Compiled by Amy White, Associate Editor WorldWide Drilling Resource ® When NASA’s (National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration) Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) test vehicle flew high over the Pacific Ocean last year to test two innovative aerobraking technologies, it did so with the help of many partners, including Foremost, LLC, of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. Foremost is an expert at designing and building drill rigs and other heavy hydraulic equipment. The same technology used to stand up rigs also supplied the hydraulic and motion control systems for a one-of-a-kind launch tower. NASA took notice of Foremost’s unique ability to manu- facture systems for extreme environments and contacted the company to en- gineer and build an unmanned 80-foot static launch tower for test flights. With help from Bosch Rexroth Canada, the hydraulic and motion control systems were successfully completed in Calgary. The tower was then transported to Fort Sumner, New Mexico, for the Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility to launch a sequence of test balloons with dummy payloads. Following these successful test launches, the tower was shipped to Kauai, Hawaii, and recommissioned for more successful launches to come. NASA is preparing the system with high hopes of landing rovers and humans on Mars in the future. The Earth’s upper stratosphere is the closest environment available for comparison to the thin atmosphere of the Red Planet. During a flight test off Hawaii’s coast last June, researchers lifted the LDSD test vehicle to 120,000 feet with a large scientific balloon. A powerful rocket then boosted the test vehicle another 60,000 feet before sending it hurtling back toward the ocean below, simulating the supersonic speeds at which the craft would sail through Mars’ atmosphere. (The balloon was later retrieved from the water by researchers.) Kevin Johnson, vice president of mobile equipment for Foremost told the Calgary Sun the company was paying close attention during NASA’s LDSD test launches. They were waiting with much anticipation to see if the strengthened steel launch tower, as well as the swivel vehicle pointing the LDSD in the right direction, would succeed. Johnson said the company’s expectations were exceeded. David Gregory, deputy chief of the Balloon Program Office at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility said, “The development of the launch tower was the key to allowing us to successfully and safely launch the LDSD test vehicle.” The purpose of the latest launch was for NASA to use atmospheric drag as a payload solution to save rocket engines and fuel for final maneuvers and landing procedures in space missions. These savings could double or triple the amount of payload future craft can carry to the Martian surface, and could also help NASA improve its landing accuracy to touch down within a mile of a targeted landing site instead of the current 6.5 miles or so. The groundbreaking nature of these technologies, along with distinct challenges faced by investigators seeking to test them in flight, led NASA to call upon industry experts like Foremost for the job. Mark Adler, program manager for the project said, “They weren’t only critical to conducting the mission, but also a pleasure and an honor to work with... These partners all stepped up with their expertise, ingenuity, and dedication to the mission to provide the solution and support to make it a success.” The launch tower links the vehicle to a balloon; once it floats up, the vehicle is released from the tower and the balloon carries it to high altitudes until the rocket kicks in. Photo courtesy of Bosch Rexroth Canada. An artist’s concept shows the test vehicle for NASA’s LDSD, designed to test landing technologies for future missions to Mars. Image courtesy of NASA/JPL-Caltech. The test vehicle suspended beneath launch tower during a full dress rehearsal. Photo courtesy of NASA/Bill Ingalls. 63 WorldWide Drilling Resource ® APRIL 2016