Artemis II Stacking - Booster Segment on ML (Photo Release - November 22)
Engineers and technicians with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program complete stacking of the first Moon rocket segments – the left and right aft assemblies for the agency’s Artemis II SLS(Space Launch System) solid rocket boosters – onto Mobile Launcher 1 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, November 22, 2024.
The first two of 10 booster segments to be stacked, the boosters will help support the remaining rocket components and the Orion spacecraft during final assembly of the Artemis II Moon rocket and provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust during liftoff from NASA Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B.
Sierra Space’s Commercial Space Station Technology Nears Certification (Press Release - November 20)
LOUISVILLE, Colo. – Sierra Space, a leading commercial space company and defense-tech prime that is Building a Platform in Space to Benefit Life on Earth® announced today the recent completion of a sixth successful stress test, and the fourth Ultimate Burst Pressure (UBP) test, for its LIFE® 10 commercial space station technology. This test of the revolutionary expandable LIFE platform, or Large Integrated Flexible Environment, was the final UBP test that Sierra Space needed to perform on LIFE 10 to fulfill Factor of Safety (FOS) recommendations ahead of certifying the structure for human habitation.
The LIFE 10 article in this most recent test, conducted on October 29th at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center, ruptured at the highest pressure yet, 255 psi, and was the highest loading to date of any test article in the three-year restraint layer certification test campaign. The 255 psi failure point exceeds any guideline for restraint layer capability recommended by NASA in all applications and environments. As a standalone product line, this test proved that the LIFE 10 restraint layer surpassed NASA’s 4x factor of safety recommendation in both LEO and lunar environments.
LIFE 10 has an internal volume similar to that of a 10-ft-long moving truck, making it an ideal module for the surface of the Moon.
In a LEO environment where the maximum internal pressure of the module will resemble that of Earth at 15.2 psi, the LIFE 10’s factor of safety is greater than 16x. In a lunar environment where – due to different operational needs – the internal pressure is lower (around 10.8 psi), LIFE 10’s restraint layer has an impressive 23x factor of safety. With such high margins, Sierra Space is concluding the UBP portion of the LIFE 10 test campaign, solidifying Sierra Space’s position as the industry leader in commercial space station development.
LIFE 10 is a one-third scale version of the company’s LIFE® 285 habitat, which inflates to the size of a three-story apartment building on orbit. Sierra Space has conducted two UBP tests on LIFE 285-scale modules in the past year; the first one will be featured in the NOVA documentary series “Building Stuff,” in an episode premiering November 20th on PBS (see preview here).
“Our company is fully committed to developing the necessary technology to ensure there is no gap in LEO when the International Space Station is decommissioned,” said Sierra Space CEO, Tom Vice. “We are leading the industry in the development of revolutionary expandable structures that will bring to life the world’s first end-to-end business and technology platform in Low-Earth Orbit, enabling humanity to find the answers to some of the toughest problems faced on Earth.”
“Sierra Space’s LIFE habitat scalable architecture is designed for a broad spectrum of space applications. The LIFE 10 design which started out as a scaled version of the LIFE 285, is now directly applicable for lunar surface infrastructure development, said Shawn Buckley, VP, Destinations & In-Space infrastructure at Sierra Space. “Whether it’s supporting missions in Low-Earth Orbit, deep space, or even on the Moon and on Mars, LIFE has so many practical applications. At Sierra Space, we’re proud to lead the way in inflatable habitat technology and continue pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in space innovation.”
Blue Origin Completes 28th Mission to Space (News Release)
Today, Blue Origin successfully completed its ninth human spaceflight and the 28th flight for the New Shepard program. The astronaut crew included: Emily Calandrelli, Sharon Hagle, Marc Hagle, Austin Litteral, James (J.D.) Russell and Henry (Hank) Wolfond. Sharon and Marc Hagle both flew for the second time.
Including today’s crew, New Shepard has now flown 47 people to space (three people have flown twice).
“It’s always moving to witness an astronaut crew return from space changed by their experience on New Shepard,” said Phil Joyce, Senior Vice President, New Shepard. “This mission amplifies the importance of STEAM and inspiring the next generation, and we welcomed back two returning astronauts. A big thank you to all our customers for the opportunity to provide this experience, and for helping to advance our mission to build a road to space for the benefit of Earth.”
If you’re interested in flying on New Shepard as an astronaut or flying a payload on a future mission, visit BlueOrigin.com.
NASA Stacks First Artemis II Segment on Mobile Launcher (News Release - November 20)
Engineers and technicians inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida stacked the first segment of the Artemis II SLS(Space Launch System) rocket boosters onto Mobile Launcher 1.
Comprising 10 segments total – five segments for each booster – the SLS solid rocket boosters arrived via train to NASA Kennedy in September 2023 from Northrop Grumman’s manufacturing facility in Utah. The booster segments underwent processing in the spaceport’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility before being transferred to NASA’s iconic VAB for stacking operations.
Technicians inside the 525-foot-tall facility used an overhead crane to lift the left aft assembly onto the Mobile Launcher. Up next, workers will install the right aft assembly, placing it carefully onto the 380-foot-tall structure used to process, assemble and launch the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft.
The first components of the Artemis II Moon rocket to be stacked, the solid rocket boosters will help support the remaining rocket segments and Orion spacecraft during final assembly. At launch, the 177-foot-tall twin solid rocket boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust during liftoff from NASA Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B.
Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element is now equipped with its xenon and liquid fuel tanks.
Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element, which will make the lunar space station the most powerful solar electric spacecraft ever flown, recently received the xenon and liquid fuel tanks for its journey to and around the Moon.
Technicians in Palo Alto, California carefully installed a piece of equipment that will house the tanks. Once fully assembled and launched to lunar orbit, the Power and Propulsion Element’s roll-out solar arrays – together about the size of an American football field endzone – will harness the Sun’s energy to energize xenon gas and produce the thrust to get Gateway to the Moon’s orbit where it will await the arrival of its first crew on the Artemis IV mission.
The Power and Propulsion Element will also carry the European Radiation Sensors Array science experiment provided by ESA (European Space Agency) and JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), one of three Gateway science experiments that will study solar and cosmic radiation. The little understood phenomenon is a chief concern for humans and hardware journeying to deep-space destinations like Mars and beyond.
The Power and Propulsion Element is managed out of NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio and built by Maxar Space Systems of Palo Alto, California.
It was 55 years ago today that Apollo 12 astronaut Pete Conrad stepped off the ladder of the Intrepid Lunar Module and set foot onto the Moon's surface at Oceanus Procellarum. To mark the occasion, Conrad immediately exclaimed “Whoopee!" This was followed by him commenting, "Man, that may have been a small one for Neil, but that’s a long one for me."
Pete Conrad was one of the shortest astronauts during the early days of America's space program...at a height of 5'6". (Neil Armstrong was 5'11".) Conrad was only one inch taller than me—which would give me hope to become an astronaut if not for a few health issues and the fact that I hated math back in high school and college!
Pete Conrad and his fellow moonwalker Alan Bean spent a total of 7 hours and 45 minutes on the Moon's surface during Apollo 12, with Dick Gordon remaining in lunar orbit aboard the Yankee Clipper Command Module on this mission. Apollo 12 concluded with a successful splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on November 24, 1969.
NASA Prepares for Artemis II Rocket Integration (News Release)
Since the mobile launcher returned in October from Launch Complex 39B to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, work has been underway for upcoming stacking operations of NASA’s SLS(Space Launch System) Moon rocket.
To prepare for launch, the mobile launcher is undergoing optical scans, system checkouts and umbilical refurbishment, including installation of the aft skirt electrical umbilicals.
The booster segments will soon move from the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility to the VAB via a transporter. The aft assemblies, or bottom portions of the five segment boosters, will be situated in the facility’s transfer aisle and then lifted atop the mobile launcher in High Bay 3.
The examinations and preparations of the mobile launcher and rocket elements lay the groundwork for the Artemis II crewed test flight around the Moon.
NASA Welcomes Denmark as Newest Artemis Accords Signatory (News Release)
Following a signing ceremony on Wednesday in Denmark’s capital city, Copenhagen, NASA embraced Denmark as the 48th nation to commit to the safe and responsible exploration of space that benefits humanity.
“We welcome Denmark’s signing of the Artemis Accords today,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Denmark, as a founding member of the European Space Agency (ESA), has contributed to space exploration for decades, including collaborating with NASA on Mars exploration. Denmark’s signing of the Artemis Accords will further international cooperation and the peaceful exploration of space.”
Christina Egelund, minister of higher education and science, signed the Artemis Accords on behalf of Denmark. Alan Leventhal, U.S. ambassador to the Kingdom of Denmark also participated in the ceremony, and Nelson contributed recorded remarks.
“With the Artemis program, the United States is leading the way back to the Moon, and Denmark wants to strengthen the strategic partnership with the United States and other partners for the benefit of both science and industry,” said Egelund. “The signing of the Accords is in line with the Danish government’s upcoming strategy for space research and innovation. As part of the strategy, Denmark seeks to strengthen ties with our allies such as the United States. Space holds great potential, and we want – in cooperation with other countries – to advance scientific breakthroughs and influence the development and use of the space sector in the future.”
In 2020, the United States, led by NASA and the U.S. Department of State, and seven other initial signatory nations established the Artemis Accords, identifying a set of principles promoting the beneficial use of space for humanity. The Artemis Accords are grounded in the Outer Space Treaty and other agreements including the Registration Convention, the Rescue and Return Agreement, as well as best practices and norms of responsible behavior that NASA and its partners have supported, including the public release of scientific data.
The commitments to the Artemis Accords and efforts by the signatories to advance implementation of these principles support the safe and sustainable exploration of space.
Artemis II Orion Spacecraft Undergoes Testing (News Release)
Teams lifted NASA’s Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II test flight out of the Final Assembly and System Testing cell and moved it to the altitude chamber to complete further testing on November 6 inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Engineers returned the spacecraft to the altitude chamber, which simulates deep space vacuum conditions, to complete the remaining test requirements and provide additional data to augment data gained during testing earlier this summer.
The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with crew under the Artemis campaign, sending NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Reid Wiseman, as well as CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back.
Artemis II Orion Crew Module in Vacuum Chamber (Photo Release)
Technicians capture a photo of NASA’s Orion spacecraft inside the altitude chamber to complete further testing on Friday, November 8, 2024, inside the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The altitude chamber simulates deep-space vacuum conditions, and the testing will provide additional data to augment data gained during testing earlier this summer.
The Orion spacecraft will carry NASA astronauts Victor Glover, Christina Koch and Reid Wiseman, as well as CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a 10-day journey around the Moon and back for the Artemis II test flight.
So anyways, I stumbled upon the tweet below where American music artist Olivia Rodrigo considered it a turn-off if men she met on a first date said that they wanted to go to space. She thinks that these guys are "a little too full" of themselves for having this ambition.
...
Um, okay. Overlooking the irony that a celebrity is accusing other folks of being too full of themselves, what kind of ridiculousness is it that a guy who wants to be an astronaut would be considered too ambitious for her?
Hypothetically speaking, if Rodrigo met Neil Armstrong on a first date—if he was obviously still alive and around her age today—she wouldn't continue going out with him because he flew to the Moon on Apollo 11, or was about to courtesy of an Artemis mission?
And let's not overlook the fact that Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and a lot of today's NASA astronauts are married with children... So traveling beyond Earth's atmosphere clearly didn't stop these explorers from having normal, earthly lives as well.
Of course, Rodrigo's response may be to billionaires like Jeff Bezos and Richard Branson traveling to space via their respective companies, Blue Origin and Virgin Galactic. And in Elon Musk's case, he wants to spend his inherited fortune and government subsidies to build a rocket—SpaceX's Starship vehicle—that would send people to Mars.
Bezos and Musk don't help the case against Rodrigo; considering that Bezos created a multibillion-dollar online retail company that destroyed countless numbers of mom-and-pop stores and major businesses like Sears, Borders and Toys 'R' Us, while Musk spent $44 billion on buying Twitter so that he could turn it into a right-wing propaganda tool used in an attempt to get Donald Trump re-elected tomorrow.
So yea, it disappoints me greatly that Olivia Rodrigo would look down on guys who are passionate about space exploration...but uberwealthy white folks like Bezos and Musk are giving her a reason to adopt such an attitude towards men wanting to venture to the Kármán line and beyond. Very unfortunate.
Olivia Rodrigo reveals that a guy wanting to go to space is a red flag for her:
“This is a very oddly specific question that I ask guys on first dates. I always ask them if they think that they would want to go to space. And if they say yes, I don’t date them. I just think if… pic.twitter.com/JdVhYBNMKz
