Abstract
NASA is currently preparing the Multipurpose Crew Vehicle Orion for a manned flight scheduled for 2023. In these preparations, the parachute system used by the Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV) is being reviewed to ensure a safe landing of the crew and vehicle. This paper focuses on running software guided analysis simulations on the CEV and parachutes to determine if a safe landing at 24 ft/s is attainable. Multiple simulations were conducted with varying flight conditions. Although the parachute system was a success during Exploration Flight Test-1, NASA has chosen to continue analysis of the parachute system to ensure the velocity of the CEV does not exceed 29.5 ft/s at impact and therefore guarantee the safety of the crew during Exploration Mission-2. In this paper, SolidWorks Simulation was used to simulate the CEV’s decent into splash down. The objective of this study was to create a new testing method for vehicles that use large parachutes as a method of deceleration. A secondary objective was to confirm NASA’s parachute test data with this new test method.