The Core Stage Booster for the Second SLS Flight Will Soon Head to Florida...

NASA / Eric Bordelon

NASA Invites Media to Rollout Event for Artemis II Moon Rocket Stage (News Release - June 7)

NASA will roll the fully-assembled core stage for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will launch the first crewed Artemis mission out of NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans in mid-July. The 212-foot-tall stage will be loaded on the agency’s Pegasus barge for delivery to Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Media will have the opportunity to capture images and video, hear remarks from agency and industry leadership, and speak to subject matter experts with NASA and its Artemis industry partners as crews move the rocket stage to the Pegasus barge.

NASA will provide additional information on specific timing later, along with interview opportunities. This event is open to U.S. and international media.

International media must apply by June 14. U.S. media must apply by July 3.

The agency’s media credentialing policy is available online.

Interested media must contact Corinne Beckinger at corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov and Craig Betbeze at craig.c.betbeze@nasa.gov. Registered media will receive a confirmation by email.

The rocket stage with its four RS-25 engines will provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust to send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission. Once at Kennedy, teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program will finish outfitting the stage and prepare it for stacking and launch.

Artemis II is currently scheduled for launch in September 2025.

Building, assembling and transporting the core stage is a collaborative process for NASA, Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, and lead RS-25 engines contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3 Harris Technologies company.

NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under the agency’s Artemis campaign. The SLS rocket 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.

The SLS rocket is the only rocket designed to send Orion, astronauts and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.

Source: NASA.Gov

Training Continues for the First Moonwalk since 1972...

SpaceX

NASA Astronauts Practice Next Giant Leap for Artemis (News Release - June 4)

The physics remain the same, but the rockets, spacecraft, landers and spacesuits are new as NASA and its industry partners prepare for Artemis astronauts to walk on the Moon for the first time since 1972.

NASA astronaut Doug “Wheels” Wheelock and Axiom Space astronaut Peggy Whitson put on spacesuits, developed by Axiom Space, to interact with and evaluate full-scale developmental hardware of SpaceX’s Starship HLS (Human Landing System) that will be used for landing humans on the Moon under Artemis. The test, conducted April 30, marked the first time that astronauts in pressurized spacesuits interacted with a test version of Starship HLS hardware.

“With Artemis, NASA is going to the Moon in a whole new way, with international partners and industry partners like Axiom Space and SpaceX. These partners are contributing their expertise and providing integral parts of the deep space architecture that they develop with NASA’s insight and oversight,” said Amit Kshatriya, NASA’s Moon to Mars program manager. “Integrated tests like this one, with key programs and partners working together, are crucial to ensure systems operate smoothly and are safe and effective for astronauts before they take the next steps on the Moon.”

The day-long test, conducted at SpaceX headquarters in Hawthorne, California, provided NASA and its partners with valuable feedback on the layout, physical design, mechanical assemblies and clearances inside the Starship HLS, as well as the flexibility and agility of the suits, known as the AxEMU (Axiom Extravehicular Mobility Unit).

To begin the test, Wheelock and Whitson put on the spacesuits in the full-scale airlock that sits on Starship’s airlock deck. Suits were then pressurized using a system immediately outside the HLS airlock that provided air, electrical power, cooling and communications to the astronauts.

Each AxEMU also included a full-scale model of the Portable Life Support System, or “backpack,” on the back of the suits. For Artemis moonwalks, each crew member will put on a spacesuit with minimal assistance, so the team was eager to evaluate how easily the suits can be put on, taken off, and stowed in the airlock.

During the test, NASA and SpaceX engineers were also able to evaluate placement of mobility aids, such as handrails, for traversing the hatch. Another set of mobility aids, straps hanging from the ceiling in the airlock, assisted the astronauts when entering and removing the AxEMU suits.

The astronauts also practiced interacting with a control panel in the airlock, ensuring that controls could be reached and activated while the astronauts were wearing gloves.

“Overall, I was pleased with the astronauts’ operation of the control panel and with their ability to perform the difficult tasks they will have to do before stepping onto the Moon,” said Logan Kennedy, lead for surface activities in NASA’s HLS Program. “The test also confirmed that the amount of space available in the airlock, on the deck, and in the elevator, are sufficient for the work our astronauts plan to do.”

The suited astronauts also walked from Starship’s airlock deck to the elevator built for testing. During Artemis missions, the elevator will take NASA astronauts and their equipment from the deck to the lunar surface for a moonwalk and then back again.

Whitson and Wheelock practiced opening a gate to enter the elevator while evaluating the dexterity of the AxEMU suit gloves, and practiced lowering the ramp that astronauts will use to take the next steps on the Moon.

The steps that the astronauts took in the spacesuits through full-scale builds of the Starship hatch, airlock, airlock deck and elevator may have been small, but they marked an important step toward preparing for a new generation of moonwalks as part of Artemis.

For the Artemis III mission, SpaceX will provide the Starship HLS that will dock with Orion in lunar orbit and take two astronauts to and from the surface of the Moon. Axiom Space is providing a new generation of spacesuits for moonwalks that are designed to fit a wider range of astronauts.

With Artemis, NASA will explore more of the Moon than ever before, learn how to live and work away from home, and prepare for future human exploration of the Red Planet. NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, 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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SpaceX

SpaceShipTwo Update: GALACTIC 07 (and VSS Unity's Final Mission) Is in the Books...

Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic Completes 12th Successful Spaceflight (News Release - June 8)

Galactic 07 Carries Five Research Payloads During Company’s Seventh Research Mission

After Today’s Final Commercial Flight of VSS Unity, Momentum Builds for Production of Delta-Class Spaceships

ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. – Virgin Galactic Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: SPCE) (“Virgin Galactic” or the “Company”) today announced the completion of its second spaceflight of 2024 and 12 mission to date, carrying one researcher and three private astronauts. Today’s Galactic 07 flight marks the Company’s seventh research mission with Virgin Galactic’s spaceship again serving as a suborbital lab for space-based scientific research.

Onboard Galactic 07:

· Astronaut 027 – Tuva Cihangir Atasever, Turkish Space Agency (TUA) astronaut and Axiom Mission 3 (Ax-3) Backup Mission Specialist

· Astronaut 028 – Anand “Andy” Harish Sadhwani, California, USA

· Astronaut 029 – Irving Izchak Pergament, New York, USA

· Astronaut 030 – Giorgio Manenti, Italy

On today’s flight, Atasever flew with three human-tended experiments, including custom headgear with brain activity monitoring sensors to collect physiological data related to human spaceflight; a dosimeter; and two commercially-available insulin pens to examine the ability to administer accurate insulin doses in microgravity. He also participated in four investigations carried out by Turkish researchers on the ground to understand physiological changes during suborbital spaceflight.

Galactic 07 also flew two autonomous rack-mounted payloads supported by NASA’s Flight Opportunities program: a Purdue University experiment to study propellant slosh for spacecraft propulsion applications and a University of California, Berkeley experiment to test new 3D printing technology while in microgravity.

The flight was Virgin Galactic’s seventh spaceflight carrying microgravity and space-based research, following last year’s research missions, Galactic 05 with U.S. Planetary Scientist Dr. Alan Stern and U.S. Payload Specialist and Bioastronautics Researcher Kellie Gerardi, and Galactic 01 with the Italian Air Force and National Research Council. VSS Unity was piloted by Commander Nicola Pecile and Pilot Jameel Janjua.

VMS Eve was piloted by Commander Andy Edgell and Pilot C.J. Sturckow.

Galactic 07 In-Flight Facts:

Take-off Time: 8:31 AM, MDT (7:31 AM, PDT)

Altitude at Release: 44,562 feet (13,582 meters)

Apogee: 54.4 miles (87.5 kilometers)

Top Speed: Mach 2.96

Landing Time: 9:41 AM, MDT (8:41 AM, PDT)

Source: Virgin Galactic

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Virgin Galactic


Michael López-Alegría


Virgin Galactic

Honoring a Pioneer Who Helped Humanity Discover the Earth While Exploring the Moon...

NASA

NASA Administrator Remembers Apollo Astronaut Williams Anders (Press Release)

The following is a statement from NASA Administrator Bill Nelson on the passing of Apollo astronaut Maj. Gen. (ret.) William “Bill” Anders, who passed away on June 7, in San Juan Islands, Washington state, at the age of 90.

“In 1968, as a member of the Apollo 8 crew, as one of the first three people to travel beyond the reach of our Earth and orbit the Moon, Bill Anders gave to humanity among the deepest of gifts an explorer and an astronaut can give. Along with the Apollo 8 crew, Bill was the first to show us, through looking back at the Earth from the threshold of the Moon, that stunning image – the first of its kind – of the Earth suspended in space, illuminated in light and hidden in darkness: the Earthrise.

“As Bill put it so well after the conclusion of the Apollo 8 mission, ‘We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth.’

“That is what Bill embodied – the notion that we go to space to learn the secrets of the universe yet in the process learn about something else: ourselves. He embodied the lessons and the purpose of exploration.

“The voyage Bill took in 1968 was only one of the many remarkable chapters in Bill’s life and service to humanity. In his 26 years of service to our country, Bill was many things – U.S. Air Force officer, astronaut, engineer, ambassador, advisor, and much more.

“Bill began his career as an Air Force pilot and, in 1964, was selected to join NASA’s astronaut corps, serving as backup pilot for the Gemini XI and Apollo 11 flights, and lunar module pilot for Apollo 8.

“He not only saw new things but inspired generation upon generation to see new possibilities and new dreams – to voyage on Earth, in space, and in the skies. When America returns astronauts to the Moon under the Artemis campaign, and ultimately ventures onward to Mars, we will carry the memory and legacy of Bill with us.

“At every step of Bill’s life was the iron will of a pioneer, the grand passion of a visionary, the cool skill of a pilot, and the heart of an adventurer who explored on behalf of all of us. His impact will live on through the generations.

“All of NASA, and all of those who look up into the twinkling heavens and see grand new possibilities of dazzling new dreams, will miss a great hero who has passed on: Bill Anders.”
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NASA / Bill Anders

Welcome Back to the ISS, Butch and Suni!

NASA

Boeing’s Crew Flight Test on Starliner Docks to Station (News Release - June 6)

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, successfully docked to the International Space Station at 1:34 p.m. EDT. Starliner launched on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at 10:52 a.m. on June 5 from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

During flight, Wilmore and Williams successfully performed manual piloting demonstrations of Starliner and completed a sleep period. Prior to crew sleep, mission teams identified three helium leaks in the spacecraft.

One of these was previously discussed before flight along with a management plan, and the other two occured when the spacecraft arrived in orbit. To monitor and manage these leaks, the three helium manifolds were closed in flight during the crew’s sleep period and were all reopened ahead of rendezvous and docking operations.

After docking, all Starliner manifolds are closed per normal plans.

As Starliner began its approach to the space station, five reaction control system thrusters failed off during flight. Mission teams performed a series of hot-fire tests which re-enabled four of the thrusters while the crew manually piloted the spacecraft at the station’s 200-meter hold point.

After re-selecting four of the thrusters, Starliner had the fault tolerance required to approach the space station for docking. At the 10-meter hold point, the mission team completed system readiness evaluations and proceeded with docking.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA TV


NASA TV

Starship Super Heavy Has Finally Nailed Its Flight Test!

SpaceX

After three attempts since early 2023, SpaceX has finally succeeded in conducting a full integrated flight test of Starship Super Heavy!

At 7:50 AM, CDT (12:50 PM, UTC), the launch vehicle consisting of Ship 29 and Booster 11 (B11) departed from Starbase in Texas on Integrated Flight Test 4 (IFT-4)...with Booster 11 heading towards the sky on 32 of 33 Raptor 2 engines. It was a nominal ascent despite one engine on B11 shutting down upon liftoff, resulting in Ship 29 successfully separating from its Super Heavy booster less than three minutes afer launch.

Unlike IFT-3, which employed the hot stage maneuver for the first time, IFT-4 saw the hot stage ring being jettisoned from Booster 11 after it separated from Ship 29 following main engine cutoff. This was to reduce the amount of weight aboard the booster as it conducted a boostback burn to make its way towards the Gulf of Mexico.

And unlike the three previous Super Heavy boosters, Booster 11 successfully made its way down to the Gulf...with the vehicle softly splashing down in the water after initiating a landing burn that drew the cheers of a huge crowd of employees watching the IFT-4 broadcast at SpaceX Headquarters in Hawthorne, CA.

Around forty minutes after launch, Ship 29 began its own reentry into Earth's atmosphere. Needless to say, footage from Ship 29's descent was both spectacular and dramatic—with stunning video showing one of the vehicle's two forward flaps slowly disintegrating from the searing heat of reentry as the ship sped its way towards a splashdown in the Indian Ocean.

Thanks to continuous video coverage provided by SpaceX's Starlink satellite constellation, rocket geeks around the world watched as Ship 29 made its way towards the ocean to conclude IFT-4. Despite damage to the camera lens caused by debris coming off the partially-intact flap, the glow from Ship 29's landing burn was still visible as the vehicle successfully landed in the water.

With Starship Super Heavy's fourth flight being a bonafide success, there will be no 'mishap investigation' by the Federal Aviation Administration to cause SpaceX to wait months to conduct IFT-5. Elon Musk commented after IFT-4 that the fifth test may involve the next booster—Booster 12—actually heading back to Starbase following launch to be caught by the Orbital Launch Tower's (OLT) so-called mechazilla arms (also nicknamed 'chopsticks')!

We'll have to wait and see what SpaceX has in mind for Starship Super Heavy now that it was able to pull off a successful launch and reentry. If Booster 12 does return to Starbase after sending IFT-5's Ship 30 to orbit—and nails the catch by OLT's chopsticks—then this changes spaceflight forever.

The next launch by the world's most-powerful rocket ever flown will definitely be one for the history books.


SpaceX


SpaceX


SpaceX


SpaceX


SpaceX


SpaceX


SpaceX

Calypso Is Finally Flying Butch and Suni to the ISS!

NASA / Joel Kowsky

LIFTOFF! NASA Astronauts Pilot First Starliner Crewed Test to Station (Press Release)

NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams are safely in orbit on the first crewed flight test aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft bound for the International Space Station.

As part of NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test, the astronauts lifted off at 10:52 a.m. EDT Wednesday on a ULA (United Launch Alliance) Atlas V rocket from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on an end-to-end test of the Starliner system.

“Two bold NASA astronauts are well on their way on this historic first test flight of a brand-new spacecraft,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. “Boeing’s Starliner marks a new chapter of American exploration. Human spaceflight is a daring task – but that’s why it’s worth doing. It’s an exciting time for NASA, our commercial partners, and the future of exploration. Go Starliner, Go Butch and Suni!”

As part of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program, the flight test will help validate the transportation system, launch pad, rocket, spacecraft, in-orbit operations capabilities, and return to Earth with astronauts aboard as the agency prepares to certify Starliner for rotational missions to the space station. Starliner previously flew two uncrewed orbital flights, including a test to and from the space station, along with a pad abort demonstration.

“With Starliner’s launch, separation from the rocket, and arrival on orbit, Boeing’s Crew Flight Test is right on track,” said Mark Nappi, vice president and program manager of Boeing’s Commercial Crew Program. “Everyone is focused on giving Suni and Butch a safe, comfortable ride and performing a successful test mission from start to finish.”

During Starliner’s flight, Boeing will monitor a series of automatic spacecraft maneuvers from its mission control center in Houston. NASA teams will monitor space station operations throughout the flight from the Mission Control Center at the agency’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

“Flying crew on Starliner represents over a decade of work by the Commercial Crew Program and our partners at Boeing and ULA,” said Steve Stich, manager, Commercial Crew Program, at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. “For many of us, this is a career-defining moment bringing on a new crew transportation capability for our agency and our nation. We are going to take it one step at a time, putting Starliner through its paces, and remaining vigilant until Butch and Suni safely touch down back on Earth at the conclusion of this test flight.”

Starliner will autonomously dock to the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony module at approximately 12:15 p.m. on Thursday, June 6, and remain at the orbital laboratory for about a week.

Wilmore and Williams will help verify that the spacecraft is performing as intended by testing the environmental control system, the displays and control system, and by maneuvering the thrusters, among other tests during flight.

After a safe arrival at the space station, Wilmore and Williams will join the Expedition 71 crew of NASA astronauts Michael Barratt, Matt Dominick, Tracy C. Dyson and Jeanette Epps, and Roscosmos cosmonauts Nikolai Chub, Alexander Grebenkin and Oleg Kononenko.

Mission coverage will continue on NASA Television channels throughout Starliner’s flight and resume on NASA+ prior to docking.

Source: NASA.Gov

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NASA / Joel Kowsky


NASA / Joel Kowsky


NASA / Joel Kowsky


NASA TV


NASA / Joel Kowsky

A Launch License for Starship's Next Flight Has Been Granted by the FAA...

SpaceX

Starship Super Heavy remains scheduled to launch on Integrated Flight Test 4 (IFT-4) from Starbase in Texas at 7:00 AM, CT (12:00 PM, UTC) on Thursday, June 6. Here is the modified license that was granted by the Federal Aviation Administration today:

Calypso's Next Launch Attempt Is Officially Scheduled for This Wednesday...

NASA / Joel Kowsky

NASA, Mission Partners Target June 5 Crew Flight Test Launch (News Release)

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight Test mission teams are preparing to support a launch at 10:52 a.m. EDT on Wednesday, June 5, from Space Launch Complex-41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on a mission of about a week to the International Space Station.

Technicians and engineers with ULA (United Launch Alliance) worked overnight and on Sunday to assess the ground support equipment at the launch pad that encountered issues during the countdown and scrubbed the June 1 launch attempt. The ULA team identified an issue with a single ground power supply within one of the three redundant chassis that provides power to a subset of computer cards controlling various system functions, including the card responsible for the stable replenishment topping valves for the Centaur upper stage.

All three of these chassis are required to enter the terminal phase of the launch countdown to ensure crew safety.

On Sunday, the chassis containing the faulty ground power unit was removed, visually inspected, and replaced with a spare chassis. No signs of physical damage were observed.

A full failure analysis of the power unit will be performed to better understand root cause. Meanwhile, ULA has completed functional checkouts of the new chassis and the cards, and all hardware is performing normally.

The mission managers have opted for the next launch attempt on June 5. The U.S. Space Force’s 45th Weather Squadron predicts a 90% chance of favorable weather conditions, with the cumulus cloud rule being the primary weather concern.

Another opportunity is available at 10:29 a.m. on Thursday, June 6.

NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Suni Williams, the crew of the flight test who will be the first to launch aboard Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft, remain in quarantine at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and will take part in pilot proficiency and other training activities leading up to launch.

Source: NASA.Gov

Calypso's Flight to the ISS Has Been Delayed Once More; Plus an Update on Starship's Next Launch...

NASA

NASA, Mission Partners Forgo June 2 Launch of Starliner Crew Flight Test (News Release)

NASA, Boeing and ULA (United Launch Alliance) are forgoing a Starliner Crew Flight Test launch attempt on Sunday, June 2, to give the team additional time to assess a ground support equipment issue at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s Space Launch Complex-41 in Florida.

Saturday’s launch to carry NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams to and from the International Space Station was scrubbed due to an observation of a ground launch sequencer. The system was unsuccessful in verifying the sequencer’s necessary redundancy.

ULA will assess the ground support equipment overnight, and NASA will provide an update June 2 on next steps for the flight. The next available launch opportunities are Wednesday, June 5, and Thursday, June 6.

Watch a replay of the news conference here.

Source: StarlinerUpdates.com

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Flight 4 of Starship is now targeted to launch as early as June 6, pending regulatory approvalhttps://t.co/XjreI7nQOp pic.twitter.com/Pgg0IqlP24

— SpaceX (@SpaceX) June 1, 2024