Dream Chaser Update: A New Privately-Owned Space Station is in the Works...

Sierra Nevada Corporation

Ozmens’ SNC Announces Details for Commercial Space Station and LEO Commercialization (Press Release)

Crewed Dream Chaser Spaceplane to Shuttle Private Astronauts

SPARKS, Nevada – Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), the global aerospace and national security company owned by Eren and Fatih Ozmen, outlined development plans for its low-Earth orbit (LEO) space station – leveraging its transportation and destination technologies – releasing new images, details and video of the unique concept in support of LEO commercialization.

The space station is a configuration of multiple large inflatable LIFE™ habitats that can be serviced by both cargo and crew-carrying Dream Chaser® spaceplanes.

“There is no scalable space travel industry without a spaceplane,” said SNC’s Chairwoman and owner Eren Ozmen. “Dream Chaser and its runway landing offer the scalable, preferred solution for humans and science in support of a vibrant LEO economy.”

SNC also released that a crewed Dream Chaser will be able to shuttle private astronauts and to serve as the only vehicle capable of rescuing astronauts from space destinations and returning them to Earth via a safe and speedy runway landing.

Among the industries that have demonstrated interest in space-based operations:

- In-space manufacturing such as 3D printing

- Pharmaceutical and medical research

- Agricultural production for food and science

- Movie production

- Tourism

The Dream Chaser, America’s Spaceplane®, is a reusable, multi-mission space utility vehicle. Dream Chaser Tenacity™ spaceplane and the Shooting Star™ transport vehicle will begin providing cargo delivery and disposal services to the International Space Station under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services 2 (CRS-2) contract late next year.

The LIFE habitat is a three story, 27-foot large inflatable fabric environment that launches on a conventional rocket and inflates on-orbit. The LIFE habitat is undergoing a NASA soft-goods certification this year and the full-size ground prototype developed under NASA’s NextSTEP-2 contract is in the process of being transferred from Johnson Space Center in Texas to Kennedy Space Center in Florida for further testing on short-and long-term habitation. SNC’s Astro Garden® system also provides fresh food within the habitat.

“NASA has asked private industry to come to the table with alternatives to the International Space Station,” said Janet Kavandi former NASA astronaut and SSG executive vice president of SNC’s Space Systems. “SNC intends to lead in LEO commercialization, building on NASA’s efforts to date and welcoming additional public and private partners worldwide.”

The first Dream Chaser orbital vehicle is being assembled in Louisville, Colorado. Thermal protection tiles are being installed on the vehicle's exterior and its wings will be attached this summer.

Source: Sierra Nevada Corporation

****

“SNC intends to lead in LEO commercialization, building on NASA’s efforts to date and welcoming additional public and private partners worldwide” says @janetkavandi #FutureofSpace #Space pic.twitter.com/UUoNu0YYkl

— Sierra Nevada Corporation (@SierraNevCorp) March 31, 2021

Photos of the Day: SpaceShipThree Is Unveiled While Starship SN11 Commits a RUD...

Virgin Galactic

Earlier today, Virgin Galactic unveiled the first vehicle in its newest line of spacecraft...known as SpaceShipThree. This chrome-plated craft, christened the VSS Imagine, will begin embarking on test flights later this year—while VSS Unity (the only iteration of SpaceShipTwo) is scheduled to attempt a rocket-powered suborbital flight from New Mexico two months from now.


Virgin Galactic

Meanwhile, at the SpaceX launch facility in Boca Chica Beach over 780 miles away, Starship Serial No. 11 committed a Rapid Unscheduled Disassembly (a.k.a. it exploded) upon landing...after conducting a 10-kilometer (6.2-mile) hop above the fog-colored Texas coastline earlier this morning. Next up is SN15 (which will debut an upgraded structural assembly, avionics, flight software and Raptor engines)—while SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted that the Super Heavy Booster No. 1 pathfinder will be scrapped over a week after being stacked, as BN2 will incorporate an updated design. Stay tuned.


SpaceX

ISS Update: The Crew-1 Astronauts Will Relocate the Resilience Capsule at the Orbital Outpost in Preparation for Crew-2's Arrival Next Month...

NASA

NASA TV to Air First US Commercial Crew Port Relocation on Space Station (Press Release)

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 astronauts aboard the International Space Station will mark another first for commercial spaceflight Monday, April 5, when the four astronauts will relocate the Crew Dragon spacecraft to prepare for the arrival of new crew members in late April and the upcoming delivery of new solar arrays this summer.

Live coverage will begin at 6 a.m. EDT on NASA Television, the NASA app, and the agency’s website.

NASA astronauts Michael Hopkins, Victor Glover, and Shannon Walker, along with Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) astronaut Soichi Noguchi, will undock Crew Dragon Resilience from the forward port of the station’s Harmony module at 6:29 a.m. and dock to the space-facing port at 7:15 a.m.

The relocation will free Harmony’s forward port for the docking of Crew Dragon Endeavour, set to carry four crew members to the station on NASA’s SpaceX Crew-2 mission. NASA astronauts Shane Kimbrough and  Megan McArthur, JAXA astronaut Aki Hoshide, and ESA (European Space Agency) astronaut Thomas Pesquet are scheduled to launch to the station Thursday, April 22, from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

The Crew-1 astronauts will depart the station and return to Earth in late April or early May, leaving the space-facing port of Harmony vacant. A Dragon cargo spacecraft carrying several tons of supplies and the first set of new solar arrays for the space station is scheduled to launch this summer, and requires the space-facing port position to enable robotic extraction of the arrays from Dragon’s trunk using Canadarm2.

This will be the first port relocation of a Crew Dragon spacecraft. NASA’s SpaceX Crew-1 mission lifted off Nov. 15, 2020, and docked to the space station Nov. 16. The mission is the first of six certified crew missions NASA and SpaceX planned as a part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.

****

Photos of the Day: A Retired NASA Orbiter Leaves Her Mark on the Orion Artemis 2 Spacecraft...

Airbus

Engine of Atlantis (News Release)

The second European Service Module that will power the Orion spacecraft on a crewed flyby of the Moon is fitted with a special engine at Airbus facilities in Germany.

This engine belonged to space shuttle Atlantis, and is one of five refurbished engines to be paired with the first five European Service Modules. Technicians carefully installed the engine in Airbus’ cleanroom.

ESM is the powerhouse of NASA’s Orion spacecraft. It will provide critical functions such as the propulsion system to get astronauts to the Moon, and the consumables astronauts need to stay alive.

ESM-2 will fuel the crewed Orion spacecraft during a flyby of the Moon for Artemis 2 and is currently undergoing integration and other testing in Europe before it is delivered to NASA this summer.

Meanwhile in the United States, the first European Service Module is making its way to the launch pad as part of the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 1 mission test flight later this year. Next stop is fuelling, due to take place next week.

ESM is ESA’s contribution to NASA’s Artemis programme and includes involvement from 10 European nations.

ESA recently signed a contract with Airbus for the construction of three more European Service Modules (ESM) for Orion. These modules will be used for the Artemis IV to VI missions. The first two Modules in the contract are part of Europe’s contribution to the international lunar Gateway – a new space station around the Moon.

Source: European Space Agency

****


NASA

Artemis 2 Update: Assembly Is Finished on a Major Component of the Second SLS Core Stage Booster...

NASA

NASA Completes Weld of Rocket Adapter for First Artemis Launch with Crew (News Release)

Technicians at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, completed the weld to join the two major parts of the launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The adapter, a cone-shaped piece of hardware that connects the rocket’s upper and lower stages, will fly on Artemis II, the first crewed mission of NASA’s Artemis program. Using advanced robotic tooling and an innovative process called friction stir welding, technicians completed the weld that joins the upper and lower cones of the LVSA into one structure.

The next step in the manufacturing process is the installation of the pneumatically-actuated frangible joint, which sits atop the LVSA and helps separate the core stage and LVSA from the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) during flight. In addition to connecting the 212-foot-tall core stage to the ICPS, the stage adapter protects avionics and electrical devices in the ICPS from extreme vibration and acoustic conditions during launch and ascent. The completed LVSA is approximately three stories tall and 30 feet in diameter. While the larger stages of the SLS rocket are manufactured at other NASA facilities, the LVSA flight hardware is produced at Marshall Space Flight Center by Teledyne Brown Engineering in Huntsville, Alabama.

SLS is the world’s most powerful rocket and the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission. The SLS rocket, NASA’s Orion spacecraft, the ground systems at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Gateway, and Human Landing System are NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration. Under the Artemis program, NASA is working to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon to pave the way for sustainable exploration at the Moon and future missions to Mars.

Source: NASA.Gov

Artemis Update: NASA Prepares for the Lunar Gateway with the CAPSTONE Mission...

Stellar Exploration Inc.

Innovative Propulsion System Gets Ready to Help Study Moon Orbit for Artemis (News Release)

In 2021, NASA’s Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, or CAPSTONE, CubeSat will launch to a never-before-used cislunar orbit near the Moon.

As a pathfinder for Gateway, a Moon-orbiting outpost that is part of NASA’s Artemis program, CAPSTONE will help reduce the risk for future spacecraft by verifying the dynamics of a unique halo-shaped orbit. The mission will also demonstrate innovative spacecraft-to-spacecraft navigation technology and communications capabilities with Earth.

CAPSTONE’s journey to the Moon will take about three months, starting with its launch to low-Earth orbit on a Rocket Lab Electron. Rocket Lab’s Photon spacecraft will take over next and conduct a series of orbit-raising maneuvers to prepare the CubeSat for its transfer path to the Moon. After separating from Photon, CAPSTONE will utilize an energy-efficient ballistic lunar transfer using its onboard propulsion system and enter into a near rectilinear halo orbit in the vicinity of and around the Moon. There, it will maintain the orbit to inform future spacecraft and demonstrate new technologies.

CAPSTONE’s propulsion system is designed and built by Stellar Exploration Inc. of San Luis Obispo, California. Initially funded by NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program, the system is approximately 8-inches square by 4-inches deep. The system’s eight thrusters are fed hydrazine propellant from an unpressurized tank. CAPSTONE’s super small, high-performance thrusters integrate proven NASA technology with state-of-the-art industry fabrication techniques.

CAPSTONE is led by Advanced Space of Westminster, Colorado. Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems of Irvine, California, is building the microwave oven-sized CubeSat platform. NASA’s Small Spacecraft Technology program within the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate funds the demonstration mission. The program is based at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. The Launch Services Program at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida manages the launch service.

Source: NASA.Gov

****


Rocket Lab


NASA

President Biden Has Nominated the Next Leader of NASA...

Bill Clark / CQ Roll Call via AP Images

NASA Statement on Nomination of Bill Nelson for Agency Administrator (Press Release - March 19)

Acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk released the following statement after today’s nomination by President Joe Biden of Bill Nelson to serve as the 14th NASA administrator:

“I’m pleased President Biden has nominated former U.S. Senator Bill Nelson to lead our agency. Bill has a proven history of supporting our work here at NASA, and has helped advance America’s position in human exploration, science, aeronautics, and technology. While the Senate must confirm the nomination, I look forward to continuing to work with Bill and the Biden-Harris administration to carry out NASA’s many critical missions in the years to come.

“The men and women at NASA are an incredible national asset and will continue to take on the most pressing issues facing our country. As we look to the future – and with Bill at the helm – we will continue to take on and find solutions to problems once thought unsolvable, and educate and inspire the next generation of American scientists, engineers, and workers.”
Nelson represented Florida in the Senate from 2001-19 where he served as ranking member on the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee. Previously, he represented Florida’s 9th and 11th Congressional Districts in the U.S. House of Representatives. While chair of the House space subcommittee, Nelson flew aboard the space shuttle Columbia as a payload specialist on the STS-61C mission in 1986. He was appointed to the NASA Advisory Council by former Administrator Jim Bridenstine in May 2019.

****

SpaceX Update: The First Super Heavy Booster Has Been Assembled...

Yesterday, SpaceX founder Elon Musk tweeted this photo of Super Heavy Booster No. 1 (BN1) after engineers recently completed its stacking inside the High Bay at Boca Chica Beach in South Texas. While BN1 will not take flight, but instead used for ground testing at the company's launch facility, it is with BN3 and Starship Serial No. 20 that SpaceX hopes to conduct an orbital flight by this July (this target date will most likely be changed). BN2—which is currently being constructed at Boca Chica Beach—will go airborne using four Raptor engines instead of the three utilized by Starship. Once operational, Super Heavy will eventually soar into space using 28 Raptor engines!


Elon Musk

2nd Time's the Charm: The SLS Green Run Hot Fire Test Is a Complete Success!

NASA / SSC - Danny Nowlin

NASA Mega Moon Rocket Passes Key Test, Readies for Launch (Press Release)

The largest rocket element NASA has ever built, the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, fired its four RS-25 engines for 8 minutes and 19 seconds Thursday at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The successful test, known as a hot fire, is a critical milestone ahead of the agency’s Artemis I mission, which will send an uncrewed Orion spacecraft on a test flight around the Moon and back to Earth, paving the way for future Artemis missions with astronauts.

Engineers designed the eight-part Green Run test campaign to gradually bring the SLS core stage to life for the first time, culminating with the hot fire. The team will use data from the tests to validate the core stage design for flight.

“The SLS is the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built, and during today’s test the core stage of the rocket generated more than 1.6 million pounds of thrust within seven seconds. The SLS is an incredible feat of engineering and the only rocket capable of powering America’s next-generation missions that will place the first woman and the next man on the Moon,” said acting NASA Administrator Steve Jurczyk. “Today’s successful hot fire test of the core stage for the SLS is an important milestone in NASA’s goal to return humans to the lunar surface – and beyond.”

NASA previously conducted a hot fire test of the SLS core stage Jan. 16. The four RS-25 engines fired together for the first time for about one minute before the test ended earlier than planned. Following data analysis, NASA determined a second, longer hot fire test would provide valuable data to help verify the core stage design for flight, while posing minimal risk to the Artemis I core stage.

During the second hot fire test, the stage fired the engines for a little more than eight minutes, just like it will during every Artemis launch to the Moon. The longer duration hot fire tested a variety of operational conditions, including moving the four engines in specific patterns to direct thrust and powering the engines up to 109% power, throttling down and back up, as they will during flight.

“This longer hot fire test provided the wealth of data we needed to ensure the SLS core stage can power every SLS rocket successfully,” said John Honeycutt, manager for the SLS Program at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “During this test, the team conducted new operations with the core stage for the first time, repeated some critical operations, and recorded test data that will help us verify the core stage is ready for the first and future SLS flights for NASA’s Artemis program.”

The two propellant tanks in the SLS core stage collectively hold more than 733,000 gallons of supercold liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to help fuel the RS-25 engines at the bottom of the stage. The core stage has a complex network of flight software and avionics systems designed to help fly, track, and steer the rocket during launch and flight. Prior tests in the Green Run test series evaluated the integrated functionality and performance of the core stage’s avionics systems, propulsion systems, and hydraulic systems.

“Today is a great day for NASA, Stennis and this nation’s human space exploration program. This final test in the Green Run series represents a major milestone for this nation’s return to the Moon and eventual mission to Mars,” said Stennis Center Director Richard Gilbrech. “So many people across the agency and the nation contributed to this SLS core stage, but special recognition is due to the blended team of test operators, engineers, and support personnel for an exemplary effort in conducting the test today.”

Test teams at Stennis supervised a network of 114 tanker trucks and six propellant barges that provided liquid propellant through the B-2 Test Stand to the core stage. Test teams also delivered operational electrical power, supplied more than 330,000 gallons of water per minute to the stand’s flame deflector, and monitored structural interfaces of both the hardware and the stand.

Testing the SLS rocket’s core stage is a combined effort for NASA and its industry partners. Boeing is the prime contractor for the core stage and Aerojet Rocketdyne is the prime contractor for the RS-25 engines.

Next, the core stage for SLS will be refurbished, then shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. There, the core stage will be assembled with the solid rocket boosters and other parts of the rocket and NASA’s Orion spacecraft on the mobile launcher inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy in preparation for Artemis I.

SLS, Orion, and the ground systems at Kennedy, along with the Human Landing System and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, are NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon on a single mission. The exploration of the Moon with NASA’s Artemis program includes preparations to send astronauts to Mars as part of America’s Moon to Mars exploration approach.

****


NASA

Video of the Day: Remembering Starship SN10's Flight 2 Weeks Ago...

SpaceX

Today marks two weeks since SpaceX's Starship Serial No. 10 (SN10) rocket successfully touched down at its South Texas landing pad following a flawless test flight to an altitude of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles). To celebrate the occasion, SpaceX posted this YouTube video showing highlights from this great achievement. And as we speak, the SN11 vehicle is now sitting atop Pad B at the company's launch facility in Boca Chica Beach...waiting to conduct another static fire of its three Raptor engines before the prototype embarks on a flight that will hopefully end with it remaining intact long after making a soft landing on the pad! Stay tuned.

SLS Update #3: The Artemis 1 Core Stage Booster Is Now Powered Up for Thursday's Green Run Hot Fire Test...

NASA / SSC

According to the Artemis blog, the core stage booster for the Space Launch System has now been completely powered up for the Green Run hot fire test at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. With all avionics activated earlier today, the countdown has begun for what will hopefully be a full-duration firing of all four RS-25 engines (lasting a little over 8 minutes) on March 18. NASA TV will begin coverage of this highly-anticipated test 30 minutes before ignition...which can occur as soon as 3 PM, Eastern Daylight Time (12 PM, Pacific Daylight Time) two days from now. The test window will last for two hours.

SLS Update #2: The Second Green Run Hot Fire Test Remains Scheduled for This Thursday...

NASA

NASA TV to Air Second Rocket Test for Artemis Moon Missions (Press Release)

NASA is targeting a two-hour test window that opens at 3 p.m. EDT Thursday, March 18, for the second hot fire test of the core stage for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

The agency plans to begin live coverage on NASA Television, the agency’s website, and the NASA app approximately 30 minutes before the hot fire. The team will refine the timeline as it proceeds through operations. NASA will provide updates on the operations and the target hot fire time at @NASA and the Artemis blog.

On test day, engineers will power up all the core stage systems, load more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic, or supercold, propellant into the tanks, and fire the rocket’s four RS-25 engines at the same time to simulate the stage’s operation during launch, generating 1.6 million pounds of thrust.

A post-test briefing will follow on NASA Television approximately two hours after the test. Media can ask questions during the briefing by phone. To participate, reporters must contact Kathryn Hambleton at kathryn.hambleton@nasa.gov by 5 p.m. Wednesday, March 17, for dial-in information.

The hot fire is the eighth and final test of the Green Run series to ensure the core stage of the SLS rocket is ready to launch Artemis missions to the Moon, beginning with Artemis I. The core stage includes the liquid hydrogen tank and liquid oxygen tank, four RS-25 engines, as well as the computers, electronics, and avionics that serve as the “brains” of the rocket.

The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Under the Artemis program, NASA is working to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon to pave the way for sustainable exploration at the Moon and future missions to Mars.

****

SLS Update: The Second Green Run Hot Fire Test Is Now Scheduled to Take Place on March 18...

NASA TV

NASA announced today that it is aiming for Thursday, March 18, to conduct the second and hopefully final Green Run hot fire test of the Space Launch System's core stage booster that will fly on the Artemis 1 mission no earlier than February of 2022. The new test date was revealed after the space agency felt comfortable that the faulty liquid oxygen pre-valve which thwarted the February 25 hot fire attempt was successfully repaired. Click on this NASA blog for more details.


NASA

Photo of the Day: The Artemis 1 Launch Vehicle Continues to Take Shape at KSC...

NASA / Isaac Watson

Stacking Complete for Twin Space Launch System Rocket Boosters (News Release)

Stacking is complete for the twin Space Launch System (SLS) solid rocket boosters for NASA’s Artemis I mission. Over several weeks, workers used one of five massive cranes to place 10 booster segments and nose assemblies on the mobile launcher inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Engineers with Exploration Ground Systems placed the first segment on Nov. 21, 2020, and continued the process until the final nose assembly was placed on March 2. Prior to the arrival of the core stage, the team will finish installing electrical instrumentation and pyrotechnics, then test the systems on the boosters. When the SLS core stage arrives at Kennedy, technicians will transport it to the VAB, and then stack it on the mobile launcher between the two boosters. The SLS will be the most powerful rocket in the world, producing up to 8.8 million pounds of thrust during its Artemis I launch.

Artemis I will be an uncrewed test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS rocket as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Under the Artemis program, NASA aims to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon and establish sustainable lunar exploration.

Source: NASA.Gov

Starship Update: SN10 HAS NAILED ITS LANDING! (But Still Exploded, Anyway)

SpaceX

Earlier today, SpaceX moved one step closer to developing a vehicle that can legitimately send people to Mars when Starship Serial No. 10 (SN10) successfully conducted a soft landing at the company's launch facility in Boca Chica Beach, Texas. This flight—which lasted around 6 minutes, 20 seconds and reached an altitude of 10 kilometers (6.2 miles)—marked the first time in three tries that Starship was able to remain intact upon touch down at the landing zone only several meters from its Pad A launch pedestal. However, the euphoric feeling didn't last long as SN10 ended up exploding a few minutes later...likely due to a methane leak triggered by a failure in some of its landing legs, and a large flame bellowing out from underneath Starship that the pad's fire suppression system was obviously unable to quell.

Live feed of Starship SN10 flight test → https://t.co/Hs5C53qBxb https://t.co/Au6GmiyWN8

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) March 3, 2021

Despite SN10 now being a pile of scrap metal just like its two predecessors SN8 and SN9, this test was historic in that Elon Musk's company has finally figured out a way for Starship to slowly descend back to Earth and land carefully. All three Raptor engines are needed for the landing burn and not just two. Next up is SN11...which should see flight as soon as SN10's remains are removed from the landing zone and the prerequisite static fires are conducted on the 11th Starship prototype. Things are really starting to pick up for SpaceX and its long-term goal of transporting people to future colonies on Mars! Happy Hump Day.


SpaceX


SpaceX


Screenshot courtesy of SPadre - YouTube.com