Processing Has Begun on the SRBs for the Next SLS Flight...

NASA / Ben Smegelsky

Artemis II Booster Aft Segment Transport from BFF to RPSF (Photo Release - September 25)

One of two Artemis II aft skirts for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s twin solid rocket boosters is transported from the Booster Fabrication Facility to the Rotation Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, September 25, 2023.

The aft skirts were refurbished by Northrop Grumman and house the thrust vector control system, which controls 70 percent of the steering during initial ascent of the SLS rocket. The segments will remain in the RPSF until ready for stacking with the forward and aft parts of the boosters on the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building.

Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Jeremy Hansen will launch from Kennedy, traveling around the Moon on the first crewed mission under Artemis that will test all of the Orion spacecraft’s systems.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Ben Smegelsky


NASA / Ben Smegelsky

An ISS Crew Member Has Returned Home After Making American Spaceflight History...

NASA

Astronaut’s Record-Setting Mission Helps NASA Plan Deep Space Journeys (News Release)

NASA astronaut Frank Rubio set a new record on Monday, September 11 for the longest single spaceflight conducted by a U.S. astronaut.

Rubio arrived aboard the International Space Station on September 21, 2022, and returned home on Wednesday, September 27, after spending 371 days in low-Earth orbit. His mission breaks the previous record, held by NASA astronaut Mark Vande Hei, by 16 days.

This also marks the first time a U.S. astronaut has spent more than one year in space on a single mission.

Rubio originally was slated to spend six months in space before his mission was extended to more than a year. He returned in a Roscosmos Soyuz spacecraft with cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin.

Throughout his record-breaking mission, Rubio contributed to several science experiments, including six studies geared towards understanding how spaceflight affects human physiology and psychology.

“Every day we spend up here, we know a little more about how the human body fares in space,” Rubio explained in a September 26 episode of the Spanish podcast Universo Curioso de la NASA. “We continue to do studies on the station that will help us when we continue exploring deeper and deeper into our solar system.”

Rubio is the first astronaut to participate in a study examining how exercising with limited gym equipment affects the human body. Recognizing that crew members traveling to the Moon and elsewhere will not have enough room in their spacecraft for a treadmill, researchers are eager to determine whether other exercise regimens could keep crews healthy on long missions.

So rather than running on the space station’s treadmill, Rubio exercised only on the space station’s bicycle and weightlifting machine.

Rubio is also one of a handful of astronauts to help researchers test whether an enhanced spaceflight diet can help humans better adapt to life in space. For this study, Rubio met with a specialist to create a customized diet loaded with nutrients, with an emphasis on foods such as fruits, vegetables and fish.

Scientists will evaluate whether consuming this diet boosted his immunity and improved how his gut microbe functioned.

For another experiment, Rubio helped nurture and monitor vegetables produced in the space station’s Vegetable Production System, or Veggie. Future deep space missions will require astronauts to grow fresh food in space as an alternative to prepackaged food.

This Veggie study evaluates protocols for growing produce in space, and whether plants grown in microgravity can help satisfy the dietary needs of astronauts on more distant spaceflight missions.

Rubio also provided biological samples, completed surveys and performed tests for a study collecting a core set of measurements from astronauts, called Spaceflight Standard Measures. The measurements serve as a baseline for how multiple systems in the body react to spaceflight, from human cognition to the immune system.

Other biological samples will be frozen and archived for future life science studies.

After his return, Rubio will provide researchers with feedback about any injuries like bruises that he may have acquired due to the forces of landing in the Soyuz spacecraft. His feedback will provide insight into whether extended spaceflight missions make people more vulnerable to injuries.

Such insight will be used to improve the design and landing systems of future spacecraft.

“Our understanding of how spaceflight affects the human body is mostly limited to astronauts on short-duration missions during the shuttle days and crew members on six-month missions aboard the space station,” said Steven H. Platts, chief scientist of NASA’s Human Research Program, which seeks to understand how the human body adapts to long-duration space missions.

When needed, the program also develops strategies that prevent or treat potential spaceflight health problems. “Rubio’s contributions,” Platts noted, “provide valuable information that will be used to help keep astronauts as healthy as possible on increasingly longer missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.”

Source: NASA.Gov

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Welcome home! After 371 days in space, NASA astronaut Frank Rubio and Roscosmos cosmonauts Sergey Prokopyev and Dmitri Petelin have returned to Earth in Kazakhstan. More 📷: https://t.co/UREvYtkTXS pic.twitter.com/5bbJ0elv1f

— NASA HQ PHOTO (@nasahqphoto) September 27, 2023

The Twin SRBs for the Space Launch System's Next Flight Are Now in Florida...

NASA / Frank Michaux

Artemis II SLS Rocket Booster Segments Arrive at Kennedy Space Center (News Release)

The 10 booster motor segments for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help propel the Artemis II astronauts on a trip around the Moon arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on September 25. They will form the SLS rocket’s twin, five-segment solid rocket boosters, which produce more than 75% of the total thrust at liftoff, to send NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon.

Due to their weight, the 10 booster motor segments traveled by rail across eight states in specialized transporters to the spaceport. Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program are now preparing to process each of the segments inside the space center’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility ahead of integrating them inside the Vehicle Assembly Building.

“The arrival of the SLS solid rocket booster motor segments is an important turning point as NASA and our Artemis partners begin readying for stacking and launch preparations for Artemis II,” said Amit Kshatriya, Deputy Associate Administrator for the Moon to Mars Program Office at NASA Headquarters. “Fully stacked, these boosters for NASA’s SLS rocket are the largest, most powerful ever built for spaceflight and will help send the first astronauts around the Moon in more than 50 years.”

Manufactured by SLS booster lead contractor Northrop Grumman in Utah, the SLS solid rocket boosters have three major assemblies with the motor segment being the largest portion of the booster. Teams will inspect them along with the forward and aft skirt assemblies of the boosters.

The teams will then rotate the segments to a vertical position in preparation for stacking operations for Artemis II. The top and bottom portions of the boosters were previously assembled in the Booster Fabrication Facility at Kennedy.

Once processing is complete, crews will move all of the major segments one at a time to the Vehicle Assembly Building where they will get stacked to form each of the 17-story-tall boosters that flank each side of the rocket. Following completion, engineers and technicians will integrate the rocket’s core stage.

Together, the SLS rocket’s twin boosters and the core stage’s four RS-25 engines produce more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust.

Artemis II is the first crewed Artemis mission and will test all of the Orion spacecraft’s systems with NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen, aboard the capsule during its flight to and from the Moon.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA

The Next SLS Booster Has Moved a Step Closer to the Launch Pad...

NASA / Eric Bordelon

All Engines Added to NASA’s Artemis II Moon Rocket Core Stage (News Release)

Teams at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have structurally joined all four RS-25 engines onto the core stage for NASA’s Artemis II Moon rocket. The flight test is the agency’s first crewed mission under Artemis.

Technicians added the first engine to NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket core stage on September 11. Teams installed the second engine onto the stage on September 15, with the third and fourth engines on September 19 and September 20.

Technicians with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne - an L3Harris Technologies company and the RS-25 engines' lead contractor - along with Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, will now focus efforts on the complex task of fully securing the engines to the stage and integrating the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure.

The SLS core stage, at 212 feet, is the backbone of the Moon rocket. Its two huge propellant tanks provide more than 733,000 gallons of super-chilled liquid propellant to the four RS-25 engines, while the stage’s flight computers, avionics and electrical systems act as the “brains” of the rocket.

During Artemis II, the RS-25 engines will together provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust for eight minutes of flight, helping to send the Artemis II crew beyond low-Earth orbit to venture around the Moon.

NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems.

SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Eric Bordelon

Looking Ahead to the Post-ISS Era...

NASA

NASA Seeks Proposals from US Industry for Station Deorbit Spacecraft (News Release - September 20)

NASA has released a request for proposal from U.S. industry for the U.S. Deorbit Vehicle (USDV), a spacecraft meant to safely deorbit the International Space Station as part of its planned retirement.

To maximize value to the government and enhance competition, the acquisition will allow offerors flexibility in proposing Firm Fixed Price or Cost Plus Incentive Fee for the Design, Development, Test and Evaluation phase. The remainder of the contract will be Firm Fixed Price.

Since 1998, five space agencies (the Canadian Space Agency, the European Space Agency, the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and the State Space Corporation “Roscosmos”) have operated the International Space Station, with each responsible for managing and controlling the hardware it provides. The station was designed to be interdependent and relies on contributions from across the partnership to function.

The United States, Japan, Canada and the participating countries of ESA (European Space Agency) have committed to operating the station through 2030, and Russia through at least 2028.

At the conclusion of the International Space Station program, the station will be deorbited in a controlled manner to avoid populated areas. The safe deorbit of the International Space Station is a shared responsibility of all five space agencies through partner contributions based on mass percent ownership by agency.

In the future, the United States plans to transition its operations in low-Earth orbit to commercially-owned and -operated platforms to ensure continued access and presence in space for research, technology development and international collaboration.

In a years-long effort, NASA and its partners studied deorbit requirements and previously developed a preliminary strategy and action plan that evaluated the use of multiple Roscosmos Progress spacecraft to support deorbit operations. These efforts now indicate that a new spacecraft solution would provide more robust capabilities for responsible deorbit.

To initiate development of this new spacecraft, NASA released the request for proposal.

The USDV is focused on the final deorbit activity. It will be a new spacecraft design or modification to an existing spacecraft that must function on its first flight and have sufficient redundancy and anomaly recovery capability to continue the critical deorbit burn.

As with any development effort of this size, the USDV will take years to develop, test and certify.

Source: NASA.Gov

The Next Crew to Fly to the Moon Continued Their Training at Kennedy Space Center Today...

NASA / Frank Michaux

Artemis II Astronauts Successfully Conduct Launch Day Demonstration (News Release)

The Artemis II crew and teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program successfully completed the first in a series of integrated ground system tests at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in preparation for their mission around the Moon.

On Wednesday, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, practiced the procedures they will undergo on launch day to prepare for their ride to space.

The crew awoke at their crew quarters inside Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building before putting on test versions of the Orion crew survival system spacesuits they will wear on launch day. They then departed in NASA’s new Artemis crew transportation fleet to take them to Launch Complex 39B, traversing the nine-mile journey to the pad.

Wiseman and Glover headed over in the first electric vehicle as Koch and Hansen followed them in the second.

Upon arrival at the pad, the crew headed onto the mobile launcher and proceeded up the tower to the white room inside the crew access arm. From this area, the astronauts will have access to enter and exit the Orion spacecraft – only for this test, there was no Orion or SLS (Space Launch System) rocket.

“When we walked out that crew access arm, I just had images of all those Apollo launches and shuttle launches that I saw as a kid and it was unreal,” Glover said. “I actually had to stop and just stay in the moment to really let it all sink in.”

Successful completion of this test ensures that both the crew and ground systems teams at Kennedy are prepared and understand the timeline of their events for launch day.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Kim Shiflett


NASA / Kim Shiflett


NASA / Kim Shiflett


NASA / Frankie Martin


NASA

Testing Continues for a Future Component That Will Fly on the SLS Block 2 Rocket...

NASA / Sam Lott

Third Subscale Booster for Future Artemis Missions Fires Up at Marshall (News Release)

Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, conducted a hot fire of a 24-inch subscale solid rocket motor on September 14. The test, conducted in Marshall’s East Test Area, produced more than 82,000 pounds of thrust and was part of an ongoing series of developmental tests for an upgraded booster design for future configurations of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket.

Beginning with Artemis IX, the SLS rocket in its Block 2 configuration will use the BOLE (booster obsolescence and life extension) booster. The more powerful solid rocket motor will give the SLS rocket the capability to send even heavier payloads to the Moon and other areas of deep space for future Artemis missions.

The test was the third in the series to evaluate the alternate materials for possible use in the nozzle and motor insulation and built upon prior tests at Marshall in 2022 and 2021. The subscale motor tests are an essential part of learning how a full-scale BOLE booster will perform during flight.

For this latest test, NASA and lead booster contractor Northrop Grumman used different materials for both the nozzle and the insulation with the intent of improving the erosion resistance of the components. Engineers will use the data from the test to analyze how the nozzle and insulation performed and compare it to results from the second test.

The SLS solid rocket boosters are the largest, most powerful boosters ever built for spaceflight. They produce more than 75% of total thrust for the first two minutes of flight.

Source: NASA.Gov

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A Fellow Southern California Native Will Head Back to the ISS Next Year...

NASA / Andrey Shelepin

NASA Astronaut Tracy C. Dyson Receives Second Space Station Assignment (Press Release - September 15)

NASA has assigned astronaut Tracy C. Dyson to her second long-duration mission to the International Space Station as a flight engineer and member of the Expedition 70/71 crew.

Dyson will launch on the Roscosmos Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft in March 2024 and spend approximately six months aboard the International Space Station. She will travel to the station with Roscosmos cosmonaut Oleg Novitskiy and spaceflight participant Marina Vasilevskaya of Belarus, both of whom will spend approximately 12 days aboard the orbital complex.

During her expedition, Dyson will conduct scientific investigations and technology demonstrations that help prepare humans for future space missions and benefit people on Earth. Among some of the hundreds of experiments ongoing during her mission, Dyson will continue to study how fire spreads and behaves in space with the Combustion Integrated Rack, as well as contribute to the long-running Crew Earth Observations study by photographing Earth to better understand how our planet is changing over time.

After completing her expedition, Dyson will return to Earth in fall 2024 with Roscosmos cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Nikolai Chub on the Soyuz MS-25 spacecraft. Kononenko and Chub are slated to launch Friday, September 15, with NASA astronaut Loral O’Hara on the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft.

Kononenko and Chub will remain aboard the orbital laboratory for about one year. O’Hara, who will spend six months aboard the space station, will return with Novitskiy and Vasilevskaya on the Soyuz MS-24 spacecraft.

NASA selected Dyson as an astronaut in June 1998, and during her previous two flights, logged more than 188 days in space. Dyson first launched aboard the space shuttle Endeavour on STS-118 in 2007, serving as a mission specialist.

During STS-118, the crew successfully added the starboard-5 truss segment to the station’s “backbone” and a new gyroscope. In 2010, she served as flight engineer for Expedition 23/24 and performed three successful contingency spacewalks, logging 22 hours and 49 minutes outside the station as she helped remove and replace a failed pump module for one of two external ammonia circulation loops that keep internal and external equipment cool.

Dyson has worked inside the Mission Control Center at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston as spacecraft communicator, known as capcom, for both space shuttle and space station operations. She also served as the lead capcom for various space station missions, as well as the development of the capcom cadre for Boeing’s Starliner Mission Operations Team.

Other technical assignments included leading the development of the spacewalk qualification training flow, which she helped to complete for the 2017 class of NASA astronauts.

Born in Arcadia, California, Dyson received a Bachelor of Science degree in chemistry from California State University, Fullerton, in 1993, and a doctorate in chemistry from the University of California, Davis, in 1997.

For more than 22 years, humans have continuously lived and worked aboard the International Space Station, advancing scientific knowledge and demonstrating new technologies, making research breakthroughs not possible on Earth. As a global endeavor, 244 people from 19 countries have visited the unique microgravity laboratory that has hosted more than 3,000 research and educational investigations from researchers in 108 countries and areas.

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#ICYMI: Three new station crewmates launched to the orbital lab aboard the Soyuz MS-24 crew ship on Friday docking just over three hours later beginning a six-month space research mission. More... https://t.co/CznOtyFjR4 pic.twitter.com/5ymyVudVg8

— International Space Station (@Space_Station) September 17, 2023

Germany Is Now Working on Crucial Flight Hardware for Artemis 6...

Airbus Space

European Service Module-6 Structure Ready for Integration (News Release - September 14)

First steps to the Moon: on 31 August the sixth European Service Module structure moved from its Thales Alenia Space manufacturing hall in Turin, Italy, to arrive at the Airbus integration halls in Bremen, Germany on 8 September. The structure will be used to support all the equipment to keep Artemis astronauts alive and propel them to the lunar Gateway on the Artemis VI mission.

The trip took nine days over European roads via Austria in a special convoy.

Much like a car chassis, this structure forms the basis for all further assembly of the spacecraft, including 11 km of wiring, 33 engines, four tanks to hold over 8,000 litres of fuel, enough water and air to keep four astronauts alive for 20 days in space and the seven-metre ‘X-wing’ solar arrays that provide enough electricity to power two households.

The European Service Module structure provides rigidity to the Orion spacecraft and absorbs the vibrations and energy from launch while protecting the hardware from micrometeoroids and space debris during flight.

There are now no less than four European Service Modules lined up and in production in the Airbus integration halls. The third service module for Artemis is finalising production and will be shipped to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center later this year.

The fourth European Service Module is starting to be built up so that it can power four astronauts and the first European Gateway module around the Moon, I-Hab, similarly to its younger sibling, the European Service Module-5.

The Artemis II astronauts will be visiting the four modules in Bremen this week as part of a general progress meeting between NASA, ESA and suppliers for the Orion spacecraft.

When ready for launch, each module will weigh 13,500 kg on the launch pad, almost two-thirds of which is propellant (rocket fuel).

Source: European Space Agency

One of America's Biggest European Partners Has Joined NASA's Moon Exploration Initiative...

NASA

NASA Welcomes Germany as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory (Press Release - September 14)

During a ceremony at the German Ambassador's Residence in Washington on Thursday, Germany became the 29th country to sign the Artemis Accords. NASA Administrator Bill Nelson participated in the signing ceremony for the agency, and Director General of the German Space Agency at DLR, Dr. Walther Pelzer, signed on behalf of Germany.

NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy and the following were also in attendance:

- Jennifer Littlejohn, acting assistant secretary, U.S. Department of State

- Chirag Parikh, executive secretary of the U.S. National Space Council

- Andreas Michaelis, German ambassador to the United States

- Dr. Anna Christmann, federal German coordinator of German Aerospace Policy

“I’m thrilled to welcome Germany to the Artemis Accords family,” said Nelson. “Germany has long been one of NASA’s closest and most capable international partners, and their signing today demonstrates their leadership now and into the future – a future defined by limitless possibilities in space and the promise of goodwill here on Earth.”

The Artemis Accords establish a practical set of principles to guide space exploration cooperation among nations, including those participating in NASA’s Artemis program.

“Germany and the United States have been successful partners in space for a long time. For example, German companies in the space sector are already central contributing to the Artemis program. The German signing of the Artemis Accords gives a further boost to this joint endeavor to carry out programs for the exploration of space. Thus, the Artemis Accords offer a multitude of new opportunities for industry and scientific research in Germany – and ultimately, also across Europe,” said Pelzer.

NASA, in coordination with the U.S. Department of State, established the Artemis Accords in 2020 together with seven other original signatories.

The Artemis Accords reinforce and implement key obligations in the 1967 Outer Space Treaty. They also strengthen the commitment by the United States and signatory nations to the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices and norms of responsible behavior NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data.

More countries are expected to sign the Artemis Accords in the months and years ahead, as NASA continues to work with its international partners to establish a safe, peaceful and prosperous future in space. Working with both new and existing partners adds new energy and capabilities to ensure that the entire world can benefit from our journey of exploration and discovery.

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Alberto Bertolin, Bradley Reynolds

A Developmental Milestone Is Achieved for Artemis' First Human Landing System...

SpaceX

SpaceX Completes Engine Tests for NASA’s Artemis III Moon Lander (News Release)

NASA is working with SpaceX to develop its Starship human landing system (HLS) for use during the Artemis III and Artemis IV missions to land American astronauts near the South Pole of the Moon. The Starship HLS will be powered by two variants of the company’s Raptor engines—one optimized to operate in atmospheric pressure at sea-level and one optimized to operate in space, or in a vacuum, where there is no atmosphere.

Last month, SpaceX demonstrated a vacuum-optimized Raptor’s performance through a test that successfully confirmed the engine can be started in the extreme cold conditions resulting from extended time in space. One challenge that differentiates Artemis missions from those in low-Earth orbit is that the landers may sit in space without firing for an extended period of time, causing the temperature of the hardware to drop to a level below what they would experience on a much shorter low-Earth orbit mission.

One of the first testing milestones that SpaceX completed under its Artemis III contract in November 2021 was also an engine test, demonstrating the Raptor’s capability to perform a critical phase of landing on the Moon. In a 281-second-long test firing, Raptor demonstrated the powered descent portion of the mission, when the Starship HLS leaves its orbit over the lunar surface and begins its descent to the Moon’s surface to land.

The test had two goals: to show the Raptor’s ability to change the level of engine power over time, known as its throttle profile, and for the engine to burn the full length of time of the powered descent phase. The successful test provided NASA with early confidence in the company’s engine development.

Testing critical technologies and hardware under simulated and actual flight conditions is key for the development of Artemis Moon landers. These tests provide early and mission-like validation of the systems necessary for carrying astronauts to and from the lunar surface.

Data reviews following these tests provide NASA with continually increasing confidence in U.S. industry’s readiness for the mission. SpaceX’s Raptor engines will next be put to the test during the company’s second integrated flight test of Starship and Super Heavy.

Source: NASA.Gov

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SpaceX

Test of a Raptor Vacuum engine chilled to mimic conditions after a long coast period in space pic.twitter.com/o3kGEf9UtI

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) September 14, 2023

The Second SLS Core Stage Booster Is Close to Completion...

NASA / Eric Bordelon

First RS-25 Engine Installed to NASA’s Artemis II Moon Rocket (News Release)

Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have installed the first of four RS-25 engines on the core stage of the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help power NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. During Artemis II, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen will launch on SLS and journey around the Moon inside the Orion spacecraft during an approximately 10-day mission in preparation for future lunar missions.

The September 11 engine installation follows the joining of all five major structures that make up the SLS core stage earlier this spring. NASA, lead RS-25 engine contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3 Harris Technologies company, and Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, will continue integrating the remaining three engines into the stage and installing the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure.

All four RS-25 engines are located at the base of the core stage within the engine section, which protects the engines from the extreme temperatures during launch and has an aerodynamic boat tail fairing to channel airflow. During launch and flight, the four engines will fire nonstop for over eight minutes, consuming propellant from the core stage’s two massive propellant tanks at a rate of 1,500 gallons (5,678 liters) per second.

Each SLS engine has a different serial number. The serial number for the engine installed September 11 in position two on the core stage is E2059. It along with the engine in position one, E2047, previously flew on space shuttle flights.

E2047 is the most veteran engine of the entire set flying on Artemis II with 15 shuttle flights, including STS-98, which delivered the Destiny Laboratory Module to the International Space Station in 2001. The engines installed in positions three and four (E2062 and E2063) are new engines that include previously flown hardware.

NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Eric Bordelon


NASA / Eric Bordelon


NASA / Eric Bordelon

Starship Super Heavy Has Cleared a Major Hurdle on Its Path to a Second Flight Test...

SpaceX

FAA Closes SpaceX Starship Mishap Investigation (News Release - September 8)

The FAA has closed the SpaceX Starship Super Heavy mishap investigation. The final report cites multiple root causes of the April 20, 2023, mishap and 63 corrective actions that SpaceX must take to prevent mishap reoccurrence.

Corrective actions include redesigns of vehicle hardware to prevent leaks and fires, redesign of the launch pad to increase its robustness, incorporation of additional reviews in the design process, additional analysis and testing of critical safety systems and components including the Autonomous Flight Safety System, and the application of additional change control practices.

The closure of the mishap investigation does not signal an immediate resumption of Starship launches at Boca Chica.

SpaceX must implement all corrective actions that impact public safety and apply for and receive a license modification from the FAA that addresses all safety, environmental and other applicable regulatory requirements prior to the next Starship launch.

Source: Federal Aviation Administration

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SpaceX

SpaceShipTwo Update: GALACTIC 03 Is in the Books...

Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic Completes Fourth Successful Spaceflight in Four Months (Press Release)

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. – Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) (“Virgin Galactic” or the “Company”) today announced the completion of its second private astronaut flight, Galactic 03. The mission flew three of Virgin Galactic’s first customers.

Galactic 03 was Virgin Galactic’s fourth successful spaceflight in the past four months, and the third flight of Virgin Galactic’s inaugural commercial spaceflight season. The flight followed the Company’s first research mission in June and first private astronaut mission in August.

Onboard Galactic 03:

· Astronaut 014 Ken Baxter from the United States of America

· Astronaut 015 Timothy Nash from South Africa, and British Citizen

· Astronaut 016 Adrian Reynard from the United Kingdom

Spaceship VSS Unity was piloted by Commander Nicola Pecile and Pilot Michael Masucci; Chief Astronaut Instructor Beth Moses was also on board. Mothership VMS Eve was piloted by Commander Jameel Janjua and Pilot Kelly Latimer.

Galactic 03 In-Flight Facts:

Take-off Time: 8:34 AM, MDT (7:34 AM, PDT)

Release Altitude: 44,867 feet (13,675 meters)

Apogee: 55 miles (89 kilometers)

Top Speed: Mach 2.95

Landing Time: 9:36 AM, MDT (8:36 AM, PDT)

Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic, said: “What a thrilling day for our three new private astronauts and the entire team at Virgin Galactic. It’s an honor to see our Galactic 03 crew realize their lifelong dreams of spaceflight as they inspire our manifest of Future Astronauts. Each successful flight shows how powerful and personally transformative space travel can be, and we look forward to scaling our operations and making space travel more accessible to people around the world.”

The Company will now proceed with post-flight inspections and analysis in preparation for the next commercial space mission, Galactic 04, which is planned for early October.

Source: Virgin Galactic

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Rediscover your childlike sense of wonder with us. #Galactic03 pic.twitter.com/rMqyfEXN3R

— Virgin Galactic (@virgingalactic) September 9, 2023

Endeavour Has Completed Her Fourth Flight to the ISS...

SpaceX

NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 Safely Returns to Earth Near Florida Coast (Press Release)

After splashing down safely in a SpaceX Dragon spacecraft off the coast of Jacksonville, Florida early Monday morning, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 completed the agency’s sixth commercial crew rotation mission to the International Space Station. The international crew of four spent 186 days in orbit.

NASA astronauts Stephen Bowen and Woody Hoburg, as well as UAE (United Arab Emirates) astronaut Sultan Alneyadi and Roscosmos cosmonaut Andrey Fedyaev, returned to Earth at 12:17 a.m. EDT. Teams aboard SpaceX recovery vessels retrieved the spacecraft and its crew.

After returning to shore, the crew will fly to NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“After spending six months aboard the International Space Station, logging nearly 79 million miles during their mission, and completing hundreds of scientific experiments for the benefit of all humanity, NASA’s SpaceX Crew-6 has returned home to planet Earth,” said Administrator Bill Nelson. “This international crew represented three nations, but together they demonstrated humanity’s shared ambition to reach new cosmic shores. The contributions of Crew-6 will help prepare NASA to return to the Moon under Artemis, continue onward to Mars, and improve life here on Earth.”

The Crew-6 mission lifted off at 12:34 a.m. EST on March 2, 2023, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. About 25 hours later, Dragon docked to the Harmony module’s space-facing port.

On May 6, the crew completed a port relocation maneuver to the Earth-facing port ahead of the arrival of a SpaceX Dragon cargo spacecraft carrying new solar arrays, science investigations and supplies to the orbiting laboratory. The crew undocked from the space station at 7:05 a.m. on Sunday, to begin the trip home.

Bowen, Hoburg, Alneyadi and Fedyaev traveled 78,875,292 miles during their mission, spent 184 days aboard the space station, and completed 2,976 orbits around Earth. The Crew-6 mission was the first spaceflight for Hoburg, Alneyadi and Fedyaev.

Bowen has logged 227 days in space over four flights.

Throughout their mission, the Crew-6 members contributed to a host of science and maintenance activities and technology demonstrations. Bowen conducted three spacewalks, joined by Hoburg for two, and Alneyadi for one, preparing the station for and installing two new IROSAs (International Space Station Roll-Out Solar Arrays) to augment power generation for the station.

The crew contributed to hundreds of experiments and technology demonstrations, including assisting a student robotic challenge, studying plant genetic adaptations to space, and monitoring human health in microgravity to prepare for exploration beyond low-Earth orbit and to benefit life on Earth. The astronauts released Saskatchewan’s first satellite which tests a new radiation detection and protection system derived from melanin, found in many organisms, including humans.

This was the fourth flight of the Dragon spacecraft, which was named Endeavour by retired NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on its first voyage for the agency’s SpaceX Demonstration Mission 2. The spacecraft will return to Florida for inspection and processing at SpaceX’s refurbishing facility at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, where teams will inspect the spacecraft, analyze data on its performance, and prepare it for its next flight.

The Crew-6 mission is part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, and its return to Earth follows on the launch of NASA’s SpaceX Crew-7, which docked to the station on August 27, beginning another long-duration science expedition.

The goal of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program is safe, reliable and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station and low-Earth orbit, which maximizes research time and increases opportunities for discovery aboard humanity’s microgravity laboratory and testbed for exploration, including helping NASA prepare for human exploration of the Moon and Mars.

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NASA / Joel Kowsky