Ares I Linear Mate Umbilical Plate and Collet

摘要

This paper will present umbilical carrier plate design and testing performed at KSC for the ARES 1 Upper Stage. The focus will be on the innovative linear mate ground carrier plate and electric solenoid actuated collet mechanisms. The linear mate ground umbilical plate is a unique, two-piece, design where an outer plate is first aligned and locked to the vehicle, and then an inner plate translates to engage the commodity connectors. The collet uses a spring-loaded over-center mechanism and redundant electric solenoids to release a traditional collet locking device. A high level discussion of the umbilical arm will also be presented as a corollary to the umbilical plate designs.