The Latest Update on Orion's First Crewed Lunar Flight...

NASA

NASA Seeks Volunteers to Track Artemis II Mission (News Release)

NASA seeks volunteers to passively track the Artemis II Orion spacecraft as the crewed mission travels to the Moon and back to Earth.

The Artemis II test flight, a launch of the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, will send NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on an approximately 10-day mission around the Moon.

The mission, targeted for no later than April 2026, will rely on NASA’s Near Space Network and Deep Space Network for primary communications and tracking support throughout its launch, orbit and reentry. However, with a growing focus on commercialization, NASA wants to further understand industry’s tracking capabilities.

This collaboration opportunity builds upon a previous request released by NASA’s SCaN (Space Communication and Navigation) Program during the Artemis I mission, where ten volunteers successfully tracked the uncrewed Orion spacecraft in 2022 on its journey thousands of miles beyond the Moon and back.

During the Artemis I mission, participants – ranging from international space agencies, academic institutions, commercial companies, nonprofits and private citizens – attempted to receive Orion’s signal and use their respective ground antennas to track and measure changes in the radio waves transmitted by Orion.

“By offering this opportunity to the broader aerospace community, we can identify available tracking capabilities outside the government,” said Kevin Coggins, NASA’s deputy associate administrator for SCaN at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “This data will help inform our transition to a commercial-first approach, ultimately strengthening the infrastructure needed to support Artemis missions and our long-term Moon to Mars objectives.”

Read the opportunity announcement here
Responses are due by 5 p.m. EDT on Monday, October 27.

NASA’s SCaN Program serves as the management office for the agency’s space communications and navigation systems. More than 100 NASA and non-NASA missions rely on SCaN’s two networks, the Near Space Network and Deep Space Network, to support astronauts aboard the International Space Station and future Artemis missions, monitor Earth’s weather, support lunar exploration, and uncover the Solar System and beyond.

Artemis II will help confirm the systems and hardware needed for human deep space exploration. This mission is the first crewed flight under NASA’s Artemis campaign and is another step towards new U.S.-crewed missions on the Moon’s surface that will help the agency prepare to send American astronauts to Mars.

Source: NASA.Gov

Blue Origin Looks Ahead to Its Next Suborbital Passenger Flight...

Blue Origin

New Shepard’s Crewed NS-34 Mission Targets Liftoff on August 3 (News Release - July 30)

Blue Origin announced that its next New Shepard crewed flight, NS-34, will lift off from Launch Site One in West Texas on Sunday, August 3. The launch window opens at 7:30 AM CDT / 12:30 UTC. The webcast on BlueOrigin.com will start at T-30 minutes.

Meet the Crew:

Arvinder (Arvi) Singh Bahal

Arvi is a real estate investor born in Agra, India, and is now a naturalized U.S. citizen. A lifelong traveler and adventurer, Arvi has visited every country in the world, the North and South Poles, and skydived over Mount Everest and the Pyramids of Giza. He holds a private pilot’s license and also flies helicopters.

Gökhan Erdem

Gökhan is a Turkish businessman and a board member of Erdem Holding, a diverse group of companies operating in the energy, telecommunications, construction and manufacturing sectors. Outside of his professional responsibilities, Gökhan is a passionate space enthusiast and an avid photographer. Deeply inspired by space exploration, he dreams of one day traveling to the International Space Station and possibly even beyond.

Deborah Martorell

Deborah is a Puerto Rican meteorologist and journalist. Her reporting on environmental and space topics has garnered eight Emmy Awards and two Awards of Excellence in Science Reporting from the American Meteorological Society. Her passion for space led her to participate in a 2007 microgravity flight with NASA, extensively cover Puerto Rican astronauts Joe Acabá and Marcos Berríos, and report on missions including STS-119, Artemis 1 and the launch of Puerto Rico's first nanosatellite, CuNARD-2.

Deborah was selected for the International Institute for Astronautical Sciences’ project PoSSUM, and is also a Solar System Ambassador for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Lionel Pitchford

Lionel is an Englishman who has spent the last four decades in Spain working as a teacher, translator and tour guide as a means to travel the world. In 1992, following a plane crash with his sister and her family onboard, Lionel founded a nonprofit in Nepal dedicated to serving disadvantaged children and girls. He’s also run an orphanage in Kathmandu for over 30 years.

Lionel has dreamed of flying to space since catching the travel bug and is astonished that it's now possible for ordinary people. He aims to inspire others by letting them know that they can do the same.

James (J.D.) Russell

J.D. is a serial entrepreneur and founder of Alpha Funds, a technology-focused venture capital company, and Alpha Aerospace, an aerospace consulting and solutions company. He founded the Victoria Russell Foundation to honor the memory of his deceased daughter. The foundation is dedicated to supporting children’s education and assisting the families of first responders.

The foundation is a proud partner with Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library to bring the love of reading to children by gifting books free of charge to children. J.D. first flew to space on NS-28 on November 22, 2024.

H.E. Justin Sun

H.E. Justin Sun is the Ambassador and former Permanent Representative of Grenada to the WTO, Prime Minister of Liberland, Founder of TRON, a world-leading blockchain and DAO, and Advisor to HTX, one of the world’s largest crypto exchanges. A protege of Alibaba's Jack Ma, Sun was featured on the cover of Forbes Magazine in April 2025, where he was recognized as one of the most dynamic and outspoken figures in crypto and earning the moniker 'Crypto’s Billionaire Barker' for his bold approach to innovation, advocacy and industry leadership. He’s been named on Forbes' 30 under 30 list in the Consumer Technology category several times, among other global recognitions.

Justin is an avid art collector, gamer, investor, philanthropist and space enthusiast. In 2021, he placed the winning bid for the first seat on New Shepard. The $28 million in proceeds were donated to Blue Origin’s foundation, Club for the Future, which selected 19 space-focused nonprofits to each receive a $1 million grant to inspire future generations to pursue careers in STEAM and help invent the future of life in space.

Source: Blue Origin

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Blue Origin

The Latest Update on the Planned SLS Block 2 Variant...

Northrop Grumman

Northrop Grumman Tests Most Powerful Segmented Solid Rocket Booster Ever Built (News Release - June 26)

PROMONTORY, Utah – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) conducted a full-scale static fire of NASA’s Booster Obsolescence and Life Extension (BOLE) solid rocket booster. This was the first demonstration test of the enhanced five-segment solid rocket motor, the world’s largest and most powerful segmented solid rocket motor built for human spaceflight.

-- Over 700 data channels assessed the 156-foot-long solid rocket motor as it fired for just over two minutes, producing more than 4 million pounds of thrust from a single booster.

-- Leveraging Northrop Grumman’s industry-leading experience in solid rocket motor manufacturing, BOLE improves on previous designs by replacing key components no longer in production. The booster features a composite case design, updated propellant formulation and advanced components to increase booster performance by more than 10 percent compared with the current five-segment Space Launch System (SLS) booster design.

-- The carbon fiber composite case enables better booster performance, faster manufacturing and aligns with commercial standards by providing commonality among our infrastructure, supply chain and manufacturing operations. Other aspects of the BOLE design, including metallic components, allows the company to support a U.S.-based supply chain of American manufacturers.

-- Compared with its predecessor, this evolved booster provides another five metric tons of payload to lunar orbit, a capability critical to supporting deep space missions.

Expert:

Jim Kalberer, vice president, propulsion systems, Northrop Grumman: “Today’s test pushed the boundaries of large solid rocket motor design to meet rigorous performance requirements. While the motor appeared to perform well through the most harsh environments of the test, we observed an anomaly near the end of the two-plus minute burn. As a new design, and the largest segmented solid rocket booster ever built, this test provides us with valuable data to iterate our design for future developments."

Details:

Northrop Grumman supplied rocket propulsion for NASA’s Apollo and Space Shuttle Programs and developed the five-segment SLS solid rocket booster based on the flight-proven design of the space shuttle boosters. The five-segment booster, BOLE’s predecessor, generates 25 percent more power than its space shuttle predecessor, and provided over 75 percent of the SLS rocket’s initial thrust during the Artemis I mission on November 15, 2022.

The BOLE booster development, awarded in 2017, represents a significant step towards more sustainable commercial practices and incorporates commonality in design and construction standards from across all of Northrop Grumman’s production programs.

With nearly 100,000 employees and over 30 million square feet of manufacturing space – more than 500 football fields – Northrop Grumman has the capacity, scale and agility to drive innovation at unprecedented speeds. The company’s manufacturing approaches do more than just produce; they accelerate and enhance the entire process from design and development to production and testing. Northrop Grumman has invested in U.S. infrastructure, R&D, its workforce and its supply chain to deliver today and tomorrow’s national security needs.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global aerospace and defense technology company. Our pioneering solutions equip our customers with the capabilities that they need to connect and protect the world, and push the boundaries of human exploration across the universe. Driven by a shared purpose to solve our customers’ toughest problems, our employees define possible every day.

Source: Northrop Grumman

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NASA / MSFC

IGNITION! BOLE: Five Segment SRB test for Artemis 9 onwards.

Overview:https://t.co/SJyxcLTCqf

Live:https://t.co/oDqHuQTgZx pic.twitter.com/esQhWxqk2j

— NSF - NASASpaceflight.com (@NASASpaceflight) June 26, 2025

Close up slow motion footage of the unexpected event(s) during Northrop Grumman’s BOLE DM-1 stb test today. @NASASpaceflight

Rewatch the livestream here: https://t.co/c3mHSLrzV2 pic.twitter.com/FcrZXjwLVD

— Jack Beyer (@thejackbeyer) June 26, 2025

The Next SLS Rocket Will Go Through a Series of Pre-Flight Milestones at KSC Before Sending Four Astronauts to the Moon...

NASA

Integrated Testing on Horizon for Artemis II Launch Preparations (News Release)

Teams responsible for preparing and launching Artemis II at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida are set to begin a series of integrated tests to get ready for the mission. With the upper stage of the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) integrated with other elements of the rocket, engineers are set to start the tests to confirm that rocket and ground systems are working and communicating as planned.

While similar to the integrated testing campaign conducted for NASA’s uncrewed Artemis I test flight, engineers have added tests ahead of Artemis II to prepare for NASA’s first crewed flight under the Artemis campaign – an approximately 10-day journey by four astronauts around the Moon and back. The mission is another step towards missions on the lunar surface and helping the agency prepare for future astronaut missions to Mars.

Interface Verification Testing

Verifies the functionality and interoperability of interfaces across elements and systems. Teams will conduct this test from the firing room in the Launch Control Center and perform health and status checks of various systems and interfaces between the SLS core stage, the solid rocket boosters, and the ground systems. It will ensure that different systems, including core stage engines and booster thrust control, work as planned.

Teams will also perform the same series of tests with the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion before conducting a final interface test with all segments.

Program Specific Engineering Test

Teams will conduct separate engineering tests for the core stage, rocket boosters and upper stage following the interface verification tests for each part of the rocket.

End-to-End Communications Testing

Integrated test of SLS core and upper stages, and Orion command and telemetry radio frequencies with mission control at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to demonstrate flight controllers’ ability to communicate with the ground systems and infrastructure. This test uses a radio frequency antenna in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), another near the launch pad that will cover the first few minutes of launch, as well as a radio frequency that use the Tracking Data Relay Satellite and the Deep Space Network. Teams will do two versions of this test – one with the ground equipment communicating with a radio and telemetry station for checkouts, and one with all of the hardware and equipment communicating with communications infrastructure like it will on launch day.

Countdown Demonstration Test

Teams will conduct a launch day demonstration with the Artemis II astronauts to test launch countdown procedures and make any final necessary adjustments ahead of launch. This test will be divided into two parts. The first will be conducted while SLS and Orion are in the VAB and include the Artemis II crew departing their crew quarters after suiting up at the Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building and driving to the VAB where they will enter Orion like they will on launch day and practice getting strapped in.

Part two will be completed once the rocket is at the launch pad and will allow the astronauts and Artemis launch team to practice how to use the emergency egress system, which would be used in the event of an unlikely emergency at the launch pad during launch countdown.

Flight Termination System End-to-End Test

Test to ensure that the rocket’s flight termination system can be activated in the event of an emergency. For public safety, all rockets are required to have a flight termination system. This test will be divided into two parts inside the VAB.

The first will take place ahead of Orion getting stacked atop SLS and the second will occur before the rocket and spacecraft roll out to the launch pad.

Wet Dress Rehearsal

Teams will practice loading cryogenic liquid propellant inside SLS once it’s at the launch pad and run through the launch countdown sequences just prior to engine ignition. The rehearsal will run the Artemis II launch team through operations to load liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the rocket’s tanks, conduct a full launch countdown, demonstrate the ability to recycle the countdown clock, and also drain the tanks to give them an opportunity to practice the timelines and procedures that they will use for launch.

Teams will load more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic, or super cold, propellants into the rocket on the Mobile Launcher at the launch pad according to the detailed timeline that they will use on the actual launch day. They will practice every phase of the countdown, including weather briefings, pre-planned holds in the countdown, conditioning and replenishing the propellants as needed, and validation checks. The Artemis II crew will not participate in the rehearsal.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Kim Shiflett

Three Secondary Payloads Are Currently Set to Fly on the Next SLS Rocket...

Brandon Hancock

NASA to Fly Saudi Arabia CubeSat Aboard Artemis II Test Flight (News Release)

NASA and the Saudi Space Agency have signed an agreement for a CubeSat to fly on NASA’s Artemis II test flight. The Saudi Space Agency’s CubeSat will measure aspects of space weather at a range of distances from Earth and deploy in high-Earth orbit from a spacecraft adapter on the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket after Orion is safely flying on its own with its crew of four astronauts.

NASA is working with several international space agencies to fly CubeSats aboard Artemis II, which provides an opportunity for the countries to access the high-Earth orbit environment and fly payloads as part of NASA’s Artemis campaign. NASA also has agreements with German space agency DLR and the Korea AeroSpace Agency for CubeSats to hitch a ride to space during Artemis II.

CubeSats are about the size of a shoebox and contain technology demonstrations or investigations with the potential to gather information to improve our understanding of the space environment. The Saudi Space Agency CubeSat will collect data on space radiation, solar X-rays, solar energetic particles, and magnetic fields.

While the CubeSats will detach from the rocket to study the environment around Earth, the crew in Orion will continue on and venture around the Moon and back over the course of a 10-day journey. Through Artemis, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars.

Source: NASA.Gov

NASA Is Trying to Put a Positive Spin on a Disastrous Budget Proposal by a Disastrous Administration...

Brandon Hancock

President Trump’s FY26 Budget Revitalizes Human Space Exploration (News Release)

The Trump-Vance Administration released toplines of the President’s budget for Fiscal Year 2026 on Friday. The budget accelerates human space exploration of the Moon and Mars with a fiscally-responsible portfolio of missions.

“This proposal includes investments to simultaneously pursue exploration of the Moon and Mars while still prioritizing critical science and technology research,” said acting NASA Administrator Janet Petro. “I appreciate the President’s continued support for NASA’s mission and look forward to working closely with the administration and Congress to ensure we continue making progress toward achieving the impossible.”

-- Increased commitment to human space exploration in pursuit of exploration of both the Moon and Mars. By allocating more than $7 billion for lunar exploration and introducing $1 billion in new investments for Mars-focused programs, the budget ensures that America’s human space exploration efforts remain unparalleled, innovative and efficient.

-- Refocus science and space technology resources to efficiently execute high priority research. Consistent with the administration’s priority of returning to the Moon before China and putting an American on Mars, the budget will advance priority science and research missions and projects, ending financially unsustainable programs including Mars Sample Return. It emphasizes investments in transformative space technologies while responsibly shifting projects better suited for private sector leadership.

-- Transition the Artemis campaign to a more sustainable, cost-effective approach to lunar exploration. The SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion capsule will be retired after Artemis III, paving the way for more cost-effective, next-generation commercial systems that will support subsequent NASA lunar missions. The budget also ends the Gateway Program, with the opportunity to repurpose already-produced components for use in other missions.

International partners will be invited to join these renewed efforts, expanding opportunities for meaningful collaboration on the Moon and Mars.

-- Continue the process of transitioning the International Space Station to commercial replacements in 2030, focusing onboard research on efforts critical to the exploration of the Moon and Mars. The budget reflects the upcoming transition to a more cost-effective, open commercial approach to human activities in low-Earth orbit by reducing the space station’s crew size and onboard research, preparing for the safe decommissioning of the station and its replacement by commercial space stations.

-- Work to minimize duplication of efforts and most efficiently steward the allocation of American taxpayer dollars. This budget ensures that NASA’s topline enables a financially-sustainable trajectory to complete groundbreaking research and execute the agency’s bold mission.

-- Focus NASA’s resources on its core mission of space exploration. This budget ends climate-focused “green aviation” spending while protecting the development of technologies with air traffic control and other U.S. government and commercial applications, producing savings. This budget will also ensure continued elimination of any funding toward misaligned DEIA initiatives, instead designating that money to missions capable of advancing NASA’s core mission.

NASA will continue to inspire the next generation of explorers through exciting, ambitious space missions that demonstrate American leadership in space. The agency will coordinate closely with its partners to execute these priorities and investments as efficiently and effectively as possible.

Building on the President’s promise to increase efficiency this budget pioneers a focused, innovative and fiscally-responsible path to America’s next great era of human space exploration.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / JPL - Caltech


NASA

The rumors we reported on were right, but the reality is worse than we thought. Here’s what you need to know. ⬇️

💰 The “budget blueprint” or “skinny budget.” This is the first part of the President's Budget Request, providing a high-level overview of what’s to come later this… pic.twitter.com/OunZUyRY9k

— Planetary Society (@exploreplanets) May 2, 2025

It is legitimately disgusting to try to spin a $6.3b cut to NASA as anything but a concerted effort by the WH to cripple America’s future in space, like critical thinking is VERY important here. A $6.3b cut and killing Orion is in no way a “increased commitment” https://t.co/A0Qoe4h9iX

— Maddie Urquhart (@rocketgobrrrrr) May 2, 2025

From the ranking member of the House appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA: https://t.co/xO4oDZhT5J

— Jeff Foust (@jeff_foust) May 2, 2025

If you care about humanity's journey into space, and American progress in space, a 24% cut to NASA, the greatest space agency of all time, is not a good move to make. Full stop.

All conversations about improvements, critiques, efficiencies etc. is fine. That is 95% of all of my…

— Ken Kirtland IV (@KenKirtland17) May 2, 2025

Trump’s Proposed NASA Budget Could Torch the Agency’s Boldest Missions https://t.co/PYSQey4clL

— Gizmodo (@Gizmodo) May 2, 2025

Two Major Components for the Next SLS Rocket Will Soon Undergo Stacking Operations at KSC...

United Launch Alliance

ICPS-2: ULA-built Upper Stage for Artemis II Delivered to NASA (News Release)

United Launch Alliance (ULA) delivered the flight-ready Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage-2 (ICPS-2) to the Kennedy Space Center on March 9 to fulfill our contribution to the Artemis II launch in NASA's lunar exploration program.

The ICPS-2 was manufactured by ULA in collaboration with Boeing to serve as the upper stage to the Space Launch System (SLS) mega rocket, which will launch an international crew of four astronauts around the Moon on the Artemis II mission.

ULA built the stage at the rocket factory in Decatur, Alabama, then shipped ICPS-2 to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida for final testing and check out activities.

With that work now completed, ICPS-2 was moved from ULA's Delta Operations Center high bay to NASA's Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) at Kennedy Space Center. Standing more than 45 feet tall and secured in its Vertical Transport Fixture, the ICPS rode aboard an Elevating Platform Transporter that provided hydraulic leveling and precision positioning capabilities along the route.

Technicians at the MPPF will load hydrazine in the ICPS-2's attitude control system to make in-flight maneuvers and prep the stage for its forthcoming transfer to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to undergo stacking operations.

The ICPS is based on the five-meter-diameter version of ULA's Delta Cryogenic Second Stage (DCSS) that flew for two decades on the Delta IV rocket with 100 percent mission success. ICPS-1 performance for the Artemis I mission was nominal, delivering the push needed to send Orion out of Earth orbit to travel around the Moon in 2022.

ICPS features a slightly larger liquid hydrogen tank as compared to the Delta IV second stage, as well as electrical and mechanical interfaces specific to attaching and supporting the Orion spacecraft, and a second hydrazine bottle for additional attitude control propellant.

The ICPS for Artemis II also includes an Emergency Detection System (EDS) and other hardware changes specific to astronaut safety.

The stage feeds liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to the RL10C-2 main engine to produce 24,750 pounds (110.1 kilo-Newtons) of highly-efficient thrust.

ICPS-2 also carries an approach target that the Artemis II astronauts will use to maneuver Orion in close proximity to the stage shortly after launch as part of a manual piloting evaluation test. Learn more about the test.

The ICPS-2 stage on Artemis II will provide the boost for the Orion capsule and its astronauts to reach a high-Earth orbit where the spacecraft will temporarily loiter to undergo testing before it departs on the lunar flyby trajectory.

The Artemis II crew includes Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, Mission Specialist 1 Christina Hammock Koch and Mission Specialist 2 Jeremy Hansen.

Source: United Launch Alliance

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United Launch Alliance


NASA


NASA

Photos of the Day: The Mini Mega-Moon Rocket Is Now Encased in Acrylic...

Richard T. Par

As promised in this blog post last New Year's Eve, here are images of the LEGO® Artemis 1 rocket after it was placed under an acrylic case that I purchased last December! The case was delivered to Southern California all the way from the United Kingdom courtesy of Wicked Brick last Monday, February 24...with me waiting over eight weeks for the package to arrive at my house. (The standard wait time according to an e-mail from Wicked Brick was approximately six weeks.)

The Artemis 1 rocket is now protected from dust like the LEGO Perseverance Mars rover that I got for Christmas in 2023. What isn't covered by a glass display is my mini-brick New Glenn rocket—which I built in late January.

Assuming that the lunar landing of Firefly Aerospace's actual spacecraft goes as planned tomorrow morning, I plan on ordering a mini-brick version of the Blue Ghost lander as well! You can buy your own set—which will consist of 196 pieces (compared to the 3,601 pieces for the Artemis 1 rocket and its Mobile Launcher; 1,100+ pieces for Perseverance; and 630 pieces for New Glenn)—on Firefly's online store.

Photos of the mini-brick Blue Ghost will be posted on my Main Blog after it is completed. Stay tuned!


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par

The Latest Update on the SLS Block 1B Variant...

NASA / Samuel Lott

NASA Readies Moon Rocket for the Future with Manufacturing Innovation (News Release - February 13)

NASA’s Artemis campaign will send astronauts, payloads and science experiments into deep space on NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) super heavy-lift Moon rocket. Starting with Artemis IV, the Orion spacecraft and its astronauts will be joined by other payloads atop an upgraded version of the SLS, called Block 1B. SLS Block 1B will deliver initial elements of a lunar space station designed to enable long-term exploration of the lunar surface and pave the way for future journeys to Mars.

To fly these advanced payloads on their future journeys through deep space, engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, are building a cone-shaped adapter that is key to SLS Block 1B.

The payload adapter, nestled within the universal stage adapter sitting atop the SLS Block 1B’s Exploration Upper Stage, acts as a connecting point to secure a large payload that is co-manifested – or flying along with – the Orion spacecraft. The adapter consists of eight composite panels with an aluminum honeycomb core and two aluminum rings.

Beginning with the Artemis IV mission, SLS Block 1B will feature a new, more powerful upper stage that provides a substantial increase in payload mass, volume and energy over the first variant of the rocket that is launching Artemis missions I through III. SLS Block 1B can send 84,000 pounds of payload – including both a crewed Orion spacecraft and a 10-metric ton (22,046 lbs.) co-manifested payload riding in a separate cargo compartment – to the Moon in a single launch.

Artemis IV’s co-manifested payload will be the Lunar I-Hab, one of the initial elements of the Gateway lunar space station. Built by ESA (European Space Agency), the Lunar I-Hab provides expanded capability for astronauts to live, work, conduct science experiments and prepare for their missions to the lunar surface.

Before the Artemis IV mission structure was finalized, NASA engineers needed to design and test the new payload adapter.

“With SLS, there’s an intent to have as much commonality between flights as possible,” says Brent Gaddes, Lead for the Orion Stage Adapter and Payload Adapter in the SLS Spacecraft/Payload Integration & Evolution Office at NASA Marshall. However, with those payloads changing typically every flight, the connecting payload adapter must change as well. “We knew there needed to be a lot of flexibility to the payload adapter, and that we needed to be able to respond quickly in-house once the payloads were finalized,” says Gaddes.

A Flexible Approach

The required flexibility was not going to be satisfied with a one-size-fits-all approach, according to Gaddes.

Since different size payload adapters could be needed, Marshall is using a flexible approach to assemble the payload adapter that eliminates the need for heavy and expensive tooling used to hold the parts in place during assembly. A computer model of each completed part is created using a process called structured light scanning. The computer model provides the precise locations where holes need to be drilled to hold the parts together so that the completed payload adapter will be exactly the right size.

“Structured light has helped us reduce costs and increase flexibility on the payload adapter and allows us to pivot,” says Gaddes. “If the call came down to build a cargo version of SLS to launch 40 metric tons, for example, we can use our same tooling with the structured light approach to adapt to different sizes, whether that’s for an adapter with a larger diameter that’s shorter, or one with a smaller diameter that’s longer. It’s faster and cheaper.”

NASA Marshall engineers use an automated placement robot to manufacture eight lightweight composite panels from a graphite epoxy material. The robot performs fast, accurate lamination following preprogrammed paths, its high speed and precision resulting in lower cost and significantly faster production than other manufacturing methods.

At NASA Marshall, an engineering development unit of the payload has been successfully tested which demonstrated that it can handle up to three times the expected load. Another test version currently in development, called the qualification unit, will also be tested to NASA standards for composite structures to ensure that the flight unit will perform as expected.

“The payload adapter is shaped like a cone, and historically, most of the development work on structures like this has been on cylinders, so that’s one of the many reasons why testing it is so important,” says Gaddes. “NASA will test as high a load as possible to learn what produces structural failure. Any information we learn here will feed directly into the body of information NASA has pulled together over the years on how to analyze structures like this, and of course that’s something that’s shared with industry as well. It’s a win for everybody.”

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Samuel Lott

Photos of the Day: New Glenn In Mini-Brick Form...

Richard T. Par

Earlier today, I completed this mini-replica of the New Glenn rocket...which I purchased from Blue Origin's online store.

This brick set, manufactured by The Atom Brick and not LEGO®, is comprised of 630 pieces—versus the 3,601 pieces for the LEGO Artemis 1 rocket that I built last Christmas, and the 1,100+ pieces for the LEGO Perseverance Mars rover I constructed in late 2023.

It took around 30 or so minutes to construct the New Glenn rocket, while I worked past midnight this morning (I started assembly on this set yesterday afternoon) to build its mobile launcher! The good thing about LEGO is that its instruction manuals are more specific about which piece I need for a certain part of the set, and the bricks are sorted in different plastic bags by the order in which I needed to assemble the Artemis 1 rocket and Perseverance. It's all good.

This New Glenn set (at 11.5 inches tall) is much smaller than the LEGO Artemis 1 vehicle (which stands at over 2 feet), but just as detailed and awesome nonetheless! Happy Hump Day.


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par

The First Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle That Flew to the Moon Is Back in Cape Canaveral...

NASA

Artemis I Orion Spacecraft Returns to Florida (News Release)

The Artemis I Orion crew module, now known as the Orion Environmental Test Article (ETA), returned to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on December 21, 2024, following an 11-month test campaign at the agency’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in Sandusky, Ohio.

This is not the first time that the ETA has been at Kennedy. After splashing down in the Pacific Ocean on December 11, 2022, following its journey around the Moon during the Artemis I mission, the spacecraft was transported by truck from Naval Base San Diego in California to Kennedy’s Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF) to be reconfigured from spacecraft to test article and complete a series of crew module functional tests.

Now returned to the spaceport after testing at the Armstrong Test Facility, engineers will begin testing on the ETA in Kennedy’s MPPF to undergo propulsion functional testing, which includes putting the crew module’s twelve reaction control system (RCS) thrusters through a simulated hot fire. RCS thrusters provide control of rotation while in orbit, during re-entry and certain abort scenarios.

Once testing is complete, the ETA will travel down the road to Kennedy’s Space Systems Processing Facility for an acoustic noise demonstration test that will help improve future acoustic testing for NASA and Lockheed Martin, the agency’s primary contractor for Orion. In addition to undergoing further testing at Kennedy, teams will remove hardware from the ETA for reusability studies that could impact future Artemis missions. With NASA’s Artemis campaign, we are exploring the Moon for scientific discovery, technology advancement, and to learn how to live and work on another world as we prepare for human missions to Mars.

Source: NASA.Gov

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Photos of the Day: A Mini Mega-Moon Rocket...

Richard T. Par

Happy New Year's Eve, everyone! Just thought I'd share these images that I took of the LEGO® Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that I got as a Christmas gift by one of my siblings last week.

This Artemis 1 LEGO set contains 3,601 pieces...and took me about a day-and-a-half to complete. By comparison, the LEGO Perseverance Mars rover that my sibling got me for Christmas a year ago contains over 1,100 pieces—but took me two full days to finish, I believe. (I never built LEGO sets of such complexity when I was a kid!)

Just like with LEGO Percy (and Ginny, as in the Ingenuity Mars Helicopter), I ordered an acrylic case online to put the SLS rocket in for posterity. The case should be delivered to my home by the end of next month.

I'll take more photos of the LEGO SLS once it's finally enshrouded by its glass case. Have a wonderful 2025!


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par


Richard T. Par

The Next SLS Launch Is Now Targeted for Spring of 2026...

NASA

NASA Shares Orion Heat Shield Findings, Updates Artemis Moon Missions (News Release)

Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will land the next American astronauts and first international astronaut on the South Pole region of the Moon. On Thursday, NASA announced the latest updates to its lunar exploration plans.

Experts discussed results of NASA’s investigation into its Orion spacecraft heat shield after it experienced an unexpected loss of charred material during re-entry of the Artemis I uncrewed test flight. For the Artemis II crewed test flight, engineers will continue to prepare Orion with the heat shield already attached to the capsule. The agency also announced that it is now targeting April 2026 for Artemis II and mid-2027 for Artemis III.

The updated mission timelines also reflect time to address the Orion environmental control and life support systems.

“The Artemis campaign is the most daring, technically challenging, collaborative, international endeavor humanity has ever set out to do,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “We have made significant progress on the Artemis campaign over the past four years, and I’m proud of the work our teams have done to prepare us for this next step forward in exploration as we look to learn more about Orion’s life support systems to sustain crew operations during Artemis II. We need to get this next test flight right. That’s how the Artemis campaign succeeds.”

The agency’s decision comes after an extensive investigation of an Artemis I heat shield issue showed that the Artemis II heat shield can keep the crew safe during the planned mission with changes to Orion’s trajectory as it enters Earth’s atmosphere and slows from nearly 25,000 mph to about 325 mph before its parachutes unfurl for safe splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

“Throughout our process to investigate the heat shield phenomenon and determine a forward path, we’ve stayed true to NASA’s core values; safety and data-driven analysis remained at the forefront,” said Catherine Koerner, associate administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The updates to our mission plans are a positive step toward ensuring we can safely accomplish our objectives at the Moon and develop the technologies and capabilities needed for crewed Mars missions.”

NASA will continue stacking its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket elements, which began in November, and prepare it for integration with Orion for Artemis II.

Throughout the fall months, NASA, along with an independent review team, established the technical cause of an issue seen after the uncrewed Artemis I test flight in which charred material on the heat shield wore away differently than expected. Extensive analysis, including from more than 100 tests at unique facilities across the country, determined that the heat shield on Artemis I did not allow for enough of the gases generated inside a material called Avcoat to escape, which caused some of the material to crack and break off. Avcoat is designed to wear away as it heats up, and is a key material in the thermal protection system that guards Orion and its crew from the nearly 5,000° Fahrenheit of temperatures that are generated when Orion returns from the Moon through Earth’s atmosphere.

Although a crew was not inside Orion during Artemis I, data shows that the temperature inside Orion remained comfortable and safe had crew been aboard.

Engineers are already assembling and integrating the Orion spacecraft for Artemis III based on lessons learned from Artemis I and implementing enhancements to how heat shields for crewed returns from lunar landing missions are manufactured to achieve uniformity and consistent permeability. The skip entry is needed for return from speeds expected for lunar landing missions.

“Victor, Christina, Jeremy and I have been following every aspect of this decision and we are thankful for the openness of NASA to weigh all options and make decisions in the best interest of human spaceflight. We are excited to fly Artemis II and continue paving the way for sustained human exploration of the Moon and Mars,” said Reid Wiseman, NASA astronaut and Artemis II commander. “We were at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida recently and put eyes on our SLS rocket boosters, the core stage and the Orion spacecraft. It is inspiring to see the scale of this effort, to meet the people working on this machine, and we can’t wait to fly it to the Moon.”

Wiseman, along with NASA astronauts Victor Glover and Christina Koch and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, will fly aboard the 10-day Artemis II test flight around the Moon and back. The flight will provide valuable data about Orion systems needed to support crew on their journey to deep space and bring them safely home, including air revitalization in the cabin, manual flying capabilities, and how humans interact with other hardware and software in the spacecraft.

With Artemis, NASA will explore more of the Moon than ever before, learn how to live and work farther away from home, and prepare for future human exploration of the Red Planet. NASA’s SLS, Exploration Ground Systems and Orion spacecraft, along with the Human Landing System, next-generation spacesuits, Gateway lunar space station, and future rovers are NASA’s foundation for deep space exploration.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Glenn Benson

Today marks the 10th anniversary of the first test flight of the @NASA_Orion spacecraft. It flew on a Delta IV rocket that was powered, in part, by three RS-68 engines tested by @L3HarrisTech (formerly known as Aerojet Rocketdyne) on the B-2 side of the Thad Cochran Test Stand at… pic.twitter.com/WNMzVxhCaQ

— Stennis Space Center (@NASAStennis) December 5, 2024

Just Like on Artemis 1, the Orion Stage Adapter Will Deploy Payloads Again on the Next SLS Flight...

NASA / Cory Huston

NASA to Fly International CubeSats Aboard Artemis II Test Flight (News Release)

NASA is working to fly five CubeSats from international space agencies on the Artemis II test flight, the first crewed mission under NASA’s Artemis campaign.

In a ceremony at the German Space Agency DLR on September 18, Catherine Koerner, NASA’s associate administrator for exploration systems development, signed an agreement for Germany to fly TACHELES, a CubeSat that will collect measurements on the effects of the space environment on electrical components to inform technologies for lunar vehicles.

CubeSats are shoebox-sized payloads that have the potential to expand knowledge of the space environment. They will ride to space inside a ring that connects NASA’s Orion spacecraft to the upper stage of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. They will be deployed in high-Earth orbit after the upper stage detaches from Orion and the spacecraft is safely flying free on its own and a safe distance away from the stage.

By working with other countries to fly CubeSats, NASA is increasing access to space for the international community and enabling its partners to expand scientific and technological knowledge. Although mission success for CubeSats historically has mixed results given their small size and the relatively low cost to develop them, the collaborations provide opportunities for NASA and other countries to work together to integrate and fly technology and experiments as part of Artemis.

NASA will share more details about the additional countries it is working with to fly CubeSats on Artemis II, all of which are countries that have signed the Artemis Accords, as the international agreements are put in place.

Source: NASA.Gov

The Service Module for the Third Moon-bound Orion Spacecraft Will Soon Be Transported to Florida...

Airbus Space

Europe Delivers for Artemis III (News Release)

The European Service Module that will power the Orion spacecraft during the Artemis III mission to the Moon is soon on its way to the United States.

ESA is delivering its third European Service Module to NASA as part of its key contributions to humankind’s return to the Moon.

The service module has left the integration halls of Airbus Space in Bremen, Germany, and will now sail to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in the United States.

Built in Italy, assembled in Germany, and with contributions from all over Europe, the module’s journey across the Atlantic Ocean will take 12 days on board the Canopée, the same ship that transported Ariane 6 to Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana ahead of its inaugural flight.

ESA’s European Service Module

The European Service Module propels NASA’s Orion crew vehicle in space during Artemis missions and provides astronauts with essential resources including electricity, water, temperature control and air.

ESA has already provided two European Service Modules for NASA: the first was used during the successful Artemis I uncrewed mission, and the second is currently at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center for testing in the lead up to the Artemis II mission scheduled for next year.

Now, the third European Service Module is on its way to join the second ahead of its own mission.

The Road So Far

The third European Service Module began its journey in the manufacturing halls of Thales Alenia Space in Turin, Italy, where engineers built its chassis-like structure.

This backbone supports all components of the module including: 11 km of wiring, 33 engines, four tanks with 2000 litres of propellant each, tanks with enough water and air for the crew during their mission and four seven-metre solar arrays providing enough electricity for two households.

From October 2020, the module and its components arrived at Airbus Space in Bremen, Germany, for assembly. The parts came from over 20 companies across more than 10 European countries, a testament to the cooperative effort behind this project.

Earlier this year, teams installed the third European Service Module’s main engine. This engine already has nine missions under its belt, powering the Space Shuttle orbiters Challenger, Columbia and Endeavour.

The module will soon leave Europe on its way to the United States.

Next Steps

Once the European Service Module arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, engineers will connect it to the Crew Module Adapter and later to the Crew Module itself, with plenty of testing before, in between and after to get the spacecraft ready ahead of the Artemis III mission.

Source: European Space Agency

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Airbus Space


European Space Agency

Bye-bye ESM-3! 🚀
The Airbus-built ESM-3, that will bring boots back on the Moon 🌑, left the Airbus facilities in Bremen to head to its launch site in Cape Canaveral.
The European Service Module (ESM) will travel aboard the ship Canopée 🚢 and arrive in Florida in early… pic.twitter.com/jvsrFvhIPR

— Airbus Space (@AirbusSpace) August 22, 2024

The Second SLS Booster Is Bound for Florida on the 55th Anniversary of Apollo 11's Launch...

NASA / Steven Seipel

NASA Ships Moon Rocket Stage Ahead of First Crewed Artemis Flight (News Release)

NASA rolled out the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s core stage for the Artemis II test flight from its manufacturing facility in New Orleans on Tuesday for shipment to the agency’s spaceport in Florida. The rollout is key progress on the path to NASA’s first crewed mission to the Moon under the Artemis campaign.

Using highly-specialized transporters, engineers maneuvered the giant core stage from inside NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to the agency’s Pegasus barge. The barge will ferry the stage more than 900 miles to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where engineers will prepare it in the Vehicle Assembly Building for attachment to other rocket and Orion spacecraft elements.

“With Artemis, we’ve set our sights on doing something big and incredibly complex that will inspire a new generation, advance our scientific endeavors, and move U.S. competitiveness forward,” said Catherine Koerner, associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “The SLS rocket is a key component of our efforts to develop a long-term presence at the Moon.”

Technicians moved the SLS rocket stage from inside NASA Michoud on the 55th anniversary of the launch of Apollo 11 on July 16, 1969. The move of the rocket stage for Artemis marks the first time since the Apollo Program that a fully-assembled Moon rocket stage for a crewed mission rolled out from NASA Michoud.

The SLS rocket’s core stage is the largest that NASA has ever produced. At 212 feet-tall, it consists of five major elements, including two huge propellant tanks that collectively hold more than 733,000 gallons of super-chilled liquid propellant to feed four RS-25 engines.

During launch and flight, the stage will operate for just over eight minutes, producing more than 2 million pounds of thrust to propel four astronauts inside NASA’s Orion spacecraft toward the Moon.

“The delivery of the SLS core stage for Artemis II to Kennedy Space Center signals a shift from manufacturing to launch readiness as teams continue to make progress on hardware for all major elements for future SLS rockets,” said John Honeycutt, SLS program manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “We are motivated by the success of Artemis I and focused on working toward the first crewed flight under Artemis.”

After arrival at NASA Kennedy, the stage will undergo additional outfitting inside the Vehicle Assembly Building. Engineers will then join it with the segments that form the rocket’s twin solid rocket boosters.

Adapters for the Moon rocket that connect it to the Orion spacecraft will be shipped to NASA Kennedy this fall, while the interim cryogenic propulsion stage is already in Florida. Engineers continue to prepare Orion, already at Kennedy, and exploration ground systems for launch and flight.

All major structures for every SLS core stage are fully manufactured at NASA Michoud. Inside the factory, core stages and future Exploration Upper Stages for the next evolution of SLS, called the Block 1B configuration, are currently in various phases of production for Artemis III, IV and V.

Beginning with Artemis III, to better optimize space at Michoud, Boeing, the SLS core stage prime contractor, will use space at NASA Kennedy for final assembly and outfitting activities.

Building, assembling and transporting the SLS core stage is a collaborative effort for NASA, Boeing and lead RS-25 engines contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company. All 10 NASA centers contribute to its development with more than 1,100 companies across the United States contributing to its production.

NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft, supporting ground systems, advanced spacesuits and rovers, 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 launch.

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NASA / Sam Lott


NASA / Sam Lott


NASA / Sam Lott


NASA / Sam Lott


NASA / Eric Bordelon & Michael DeMocker


NASA / Eric Bordelon & Michael DeMocker


NASA / Evan Deroche


NASA / Evan Deroche


NASA