45 Years After Apollo 11: Honoring A National Hero...

NASA

Orion Crew Module at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, Kennedy Space Center (Press Release)

NASA's Orion spacecraft crew module has been stacked on the service module inside the Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center -- renamed on July 21, 2014 as the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building in honor of the legendary astronaut and first man to set foot on the moon, Neil Armstrong.

The Operations and Checkout Building was built in 1964. The facility has played a vital role in NASA’s spaceflight history. The high bay was used during the Apollo program to process and test the command, service and lunar modules. The facility is being used today to process and assemble NASA’s Orion spacecraft as the agency prepares to embark on the next giant leap in space exploration, sending astronauts to an asteroid and Mars.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Kim Shiflett

45 Years Ago Today!

NASA

The Eagle Prepares to Land (Press Release)

The Apollo 11 Lunar Module Eagle, in a landing configuration was photographed in lunar orbit from the Command and Service Module Columbia. Inside the module were Commander Neil A. Armstrong and Lunar Module Pilot Buzz Aldrin. The long rod-like protrusions under the landing pods are lunar surface sensing probes. Upon contact with the lunar surface, the probes sent a signal to the crew to shut down the descent engine.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA

RS-25, No. 0525: A Space Shuttle Main Engine Starts A New Life...

NASA

NASA Begins Engine Test Project for Space Launch System Rocket (Press Release)

Engineers have taken a crucial step in preparing to test parts of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will send humans to new destinations in the solar system. They installed on Thursday an RS-25 engine on the A-1 Test Stand at the agency's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

The Stennis team will perform developmental and flight certification testing of the RS-25 engine, a modified version of the space shuttle main engine that powered missions into space from 1981 to 2011. The SLS's core stage will be powered by a configuration of four RS-25 engines, like the one recently installed on the A-1 stand.

"This test series is a major milestone because it will be our first opportunity to operate the engine with a new controller and to test propellant inlet conditions for SLS that are different than the space shuttle," said Steve Wofford, SLS Liquid Engines Element manager. "This testing will confirm the RS-25 will be successful at powering SLS."

Early tests on the engine will collect data on the performance of its new advanced engine controller and other modifications. The controller regulates valves that direct the flow of propellant to the engine, which determines the amount of thrust generated during an engine test, known as a hotfire test. In flight, propellant flow and engine thrust determine the speed and trajectory of a spacecraft. The controller also regulates the engine startup sequence, which is especially important on an engine as sophisticated as the RS-25. Likewise, the controller determines the engine shutdown sequence, ensuring it will proceed properly under both normal and emergency conditions.

"Installation of RS-25 engine No. 0525 signals the launch of another major rocket engine test project for human space exploration on the A-1 Test Stand," said Gary Benton, RS-25 rocket engine test project manager at Stennis.

The SLS is designed to carry astronauts in NASA's Orion spacecraft deeper into space than ever before, to destinations including an asteroid and Mars. NASA is using existing and in-development hardware and infrastructure, including the RS-25 engine, to the maximum extent possible to enable NASA to begin deep space missions sooner.

Testing of engine No. 0525 begins in the coming weeks on a test stand originally built in the 1960s for Apollo-era engines that helped launch the lunar missions. The stand has since been used for several major testing projects, and NASA spent almost a year modifying the structure to accommodate the RS-25 engine.

The SLS Program is managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Aerojet Rocketdyne of Sacramento, California, is on contract with NASA to adapt the RS-25 engines for SLS missions.

Source: NASA.Gov

45 Years Ago Today!

NASA

Launch of Apollo 11 (Press Release)

On July 16, 1969, the huge, 363-feet tall Saturn V rocket launches on the Apollo 11 mission from Pad A, Launch Complex 39, Kennedy Space Center, at 9:32 a.m. EDT. Onboard the Apollo 11 spacecraft are astronauts Neil A. Armstrong, commander; Michael Collins, command module pilot; and Edwin E. Aldrin Jr., lunar module pilot. Apollo 11 was the United States' first lunar landing mission. While astronauts Armstrong and Aldrin descended in the Lunar Module Eagle to explore the Sea of Tranquility region of the moon, astronaut Collins remained with the Command and Service Modules Columbia in lunar orbit.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA

SLS Artwork of the Day...

NASA

As tomorrow marks the 45-year anniversary since Apollo 11's launch to the Moon, just thought I'd share these two great illustrations of NASA's next manned rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS). The SLS looks very much like its predecessor, the Saturn V, but the core stage of the actual vehicle will be covered in orange spray-on foam (the same type of thermal insulation that enshrouded the space shuttle's external tank since STS-3 in 1982) and not be completely white like the workhorse rocket of the Apollo program. Despite this, it will be a sight to see once this 321-foot-tall behemoth (and eventually its 400-foot-tall variant) rolls from Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B in 2017. Can't wait.


NASA

Cygnus Begins Its Orbital-2 Mission...

NASA / Bill Ingalls

Antares Rocket Launches Cargo to Space Station (Press Release)

The Orbital Sciences Corporation Antares rocket launches from Pad-0A with the Cygnus spacecraft onboard, Sunday, July 13, 2014, at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. The Cygnus spacecraft is filled with over 3,000 pounds of supplies for the International Space Station, including science experiments, experiment hardware, spare parts, and crew provisions. The Orbital-2 mission is Orbital Sciences' second contracted cargo delivery flight to the space station for NASA.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Aubrey Gemignani

Quick Post: Space Launch System Milestones...

At NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans, Louisiana, work has begun on fabricating the core stage that will embark on the Space Launch System's (SLS) first flight in 2017, Exploration Mission 1. Tasks completed include:

• 34 primary structure components have been welded
• 20 rings have been welded, including all rings for SLS’s first flight
• Nine barrels have been welded, including first three LH2 qualification barrels
• Three domes have been completed, including two weld confidence domes

In all, nearly 1/2 mile worth of friction-stir welds have been achieved on SLS core stage components as NASA gears up to make America's newest and most powerful rocket ever a reality. Go progress!

Information courtesy of NASA's Space Launch System - Facebook.com


NASA

The Shuttle and SLS: Marking an Anniversary and Preparing for the Future...

Today marks three years since Atlantis embarked on the final mission of the space shuttle program, STS-135, and three more years till NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) begins its maiden flight, Exploration Mission 1. The Facebook fan-page for SLS honored the occasion by connecting the last shuttle mission with the first flight of America's next launch vehicle—set to take place in 2017. Who would've thought a liquid-fueled rocket engine would be so symbolic...


Image courtesy of NASA's Space Launch System - Facebook.com

Happy Fourth of July, Everyone!

NASA

America's Next Rocket (Press Release)

NASA’s Space Launch System, or SLS, will be the most powerful rocket in history. The flexible, evolvable design of this advanced, heavy-lift launch vehicle will meet a variety of crew and cargo mission needs.

In addition to carrying the Orion spacecraft, SLS will transfer important cargo, equipment and science experiments to deep space, providing the nation with a safe, affordable and sustainable means to expand our reach in the solar system. It will allow astronauts aboard Orion to explore multiple deep-space destinations including an asteroid and ultimately Mars.

The first configuration of the SLS launch vehicle will have a 70-metric-ton (77-ton) lift capacity and carry an uncrewed Orion spacecraft beyond low-Earth orbit to test the performance of the integrated system. As the SLS is evolved, it will be the most powerful rocket ever built and provide an unprecedented lift capability of 130 metric tons (143 tons) to enable missions even farther into our solar system.

Source: NASA.Gov

SLS Update: One Step Closer to Building NASA's Monster Rocket...

NASA

NASA's Space Launch System Marks Progress as Core Stage Passes Critical Design Review (Press Release)

NASA continues to make progress toward its next giant leap to send humans farther into the solar system than ever before, including to an asteroid and eventually to Mars.

This week, the core stage for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) has passed its Critical Design Review -- a major milestone for the program which proves the first new design for America's next great rocket is mature enough for production.

Representatives from various NASA centers and The Boeing Company -- prime contractor for the core stage, including its avionics -- met June 30 and July 1 for the Critical Design Review board at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. More than 3,000 core stage artifacts were reviewed by 11 individual technical discipline teams. Marshall manages the SLS Program for the agency.

"The SLS program team completed the core stage critical design review ahead of schedule and continues to make excellent progress towards delivering the rocket to the launch pad," said SLS Program Manager Todd May. "Our entire prime contractor and government team has been working full-steam on this program since its inception."

Components of the core stage test article and actual flight hardware manufacturing is underway at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans, while development and integration of flight computers and software continues at Marshall.

"Completing the CDR is a huge accomplishment, as this is the first time a stage of a major NASA launch vehicle has passed a critical design review since the 1970s," said Tony Lavoie, manager of the Stages Office at Marshall. "In just 18 months since the Preliminary Design Review, we are ready to go forward from design to qualification production of flight hardware."

Program officials also completed modification of the remaining major SLS contract with Boeing Aerospace of Huntsville, Alabama, a division of Boeing Company of St. Louis. Under the contract, Boeing will develop the 200-foot core stage, including the avionics system for SLS. The core stage will store cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen that will feed the RS-25 engines at the base of the core stage. Boeing has also been tasked to study the Exploration Upper Stage, which will be needed for the 130-metric-ton version of SLS that will further expand mission range and payload capabilities.

Three prime contractors support SLS in addition to Boeing: ATK of Brigham City, Utah; Aerojet Rocketdyne of Sacramento, California; and Teledyne Brown Engineering of Huntsville, Alabama.

The first configuration of the SLS launch vehicle will have a 70-metric-ton (77-ton) lift capacity and carry an uncrewed Orion spacecraft beyond low-Earth orbit to test the performance of the integrated system. As the SLS is evolved, it will be the most powerful rocket ever built and provide an unprecedented lift capability of 130 metric tons (143 tons) to enable missions even farther into our solar system.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / MAF