NASA : NASA Administrator to View Orion Spacecraft and MAVEN Launch Preparations

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MAVEN Placed Atop Atlas V

Nov. 8, 2013 -- Crews guide NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile EvolutioN, or MAVEN, spacecraft, inside a payload fairing, into place atop a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket at the Vertical Integration Facility at Space Launch Complex 41.

Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

 

NASA Administrator to View Orion Spacecraft and MAVEN Launch Preparations

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will view the latest progress on NASA's Orion spacecraft and launch preparations for the next Mars mission at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sunday, Nov. 17.

Media are invited to meet with Bolden at 2:30 p.m. EST in Kennedy's Operations and Checkout Building where the Orion crew capsule is being prepared for its first flight test in 2014. At 3:30 p.m., media then can accompany Bolden to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station's Space Launch Complex 41 where NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft will launch aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket on a 10-month journey to the Red Planet on Monday, Nov. 18.

MAVEN launch credentials will be used for these events. For U.S. media who require new credentials to cover these events, contact the Kennedy Public Affairs Office at 321-867-2468. New credentialing for international media is closed.

Media will leave Kennedy's Press Site for the Operations and Checkout Building at 2 p.m. and return from Space Launch Complex 41 by 4:35 p.m. Media wishing only to attend the Orion event may return to the Press Site at 3 p.m. Journalists who plan only to attend the MAVEN event may depart from the Press Site at 2:30 p.m.

For information about NASA's programs and missions, including Orion and MAVEN, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

 

 

NASA Centers Host Public Viewing Events for Nov. 18 Mars Mission Launch

Five NASA centers around the United States will host events and activities Monday, Nov. 18, for the public to view the launch of the agency's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft and learn about its mission.

MAVEN, which is set to launch at 1:28 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, will take critical measurements of the Martian upper atmosphere to help scientists understand climate change over the Red Planet's history.

Here is a schedule of events at NASA facilities in Washington, Maryland, Mississippi, Alabama and West Virginia:

(All times Eastern)

11 a.m. -- NASA's Stennis Space Center, near Bay St. Louis, Miss.: The INFINITY Science Center located on I-10 Exit 2, will host a live viewing of the launch, science project discussions with featured speakers, conduct a parachute design and launch demonstration and a Mars habitat competition. Visitors also may have their photographs taken on a simulated Martian surface. For more information, call 228-533-9025, ext. 311.

Noon -- NASA Headquarters, Washington: Launch coverage will be available in the James Webb Auditorium at 300 E St. SW. Jim Garvin, chief scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt Md., will discuss Mars exploration plans and answer questions from the public. MAVEN materials and other handouts will be available.

Noon -- NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. and the U.S. Space & Rocket Center will host a pre-launch panel discussion with representatives from the Marshall Center titled "Deep Space Exploration: Mars and Beyond." There will also be educational activities for children. The event will be held in the U.S. Space & Rocket Center's Davidson Center Digital Theater located at One Tranquility Base, Huntsville, Ala., 35805. The event is open to the public and there will be signs directing the public where to park. The launch will be shown live in the theater at 1:28 p.m. For more information, contact Shannon Ridinger at 256-544-3774.

1 p.m. -- NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.: Goddard's Visitors Center auditorium located off ICESat Road (formerly Soil Conservation Road) will show the launch and have available a planetary scientist to answer visitors' questions. For more information, contact the Goddard newsroom at 301-286-8955.

1 p.m. -- NASA’s Independent Verification and Validation (IV&V) Facility, 5000 NASA Blvd. 5th Floor, Fairmont, W.Va: Events will include educational activities for students and educators before and after launch coverage. Take either elevator to the 5th floor. Media should use the South entrance. For more information contact Jennifer Neptune at: 304-367-8262.

For more details on MAVEN launch and mission activities, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/maven

 

LeVar Burton Shares MAVEN’s Story in a New NASA PSA

(Image Credit: NASA)

As NASA prepares for next week's launch of the agency's next Mars-bound spacecraft, the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN), actor LeVar Burton shares the excitement of the mission in a new NASA public service announcement (PSA).

The video, containing newly edited NASA animations, will be used at events around the country and shared on the web and social media. The goal is to educate the public about MAVEN and NASA’s efforts to better understand the Red Planet and the history of climate change there.

Burton has been a lifelong advocate of education through his many STEM initiatives and participation in educational programming. He is also known worldwide as Geordi LeForge, chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise on "Star Trek: The Next Generation," as Kunta Kinte in the breakthrough mini-series "Roots" and beloved by generations of children as the host and producer of the "Reading Rainbow" television series.

"NASA is thrilled to have LeVar Burton explain this mission to the greater public," said Bert Ulrich, NASA's multimedia liaison for film and TV collaborations. "Thanks to Burton’s engaging talents and passion for space exploration, audiences of all ages will be able to share in the excitement of NASA’s next mission to Mars."

MAVEN is targeted to launch Monday, Nov. 18 at 1:28 p.m. EST from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. The spacecraft will take critical measurements of the Martian upper atmosphere to help scientists understand climate change over the Red Planet's history. MAVEN is the first spacecraft devoted to exploring and understanding the Martian upper atmosphere.

To view the PSA, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/psa

For more information about NASA's MAVEN mission, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/maven

 

NASA Administrator Available for Satellite Interviews on Agency's Next Mars Mission

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden is available for live satellite interviews from 6-8 a.m. EST Monday, Nov. 18, the morning of launch for the agency's next mission to Mars. The interviews will be carried live on NASA Television.

NASA's Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution (MAVEN) spacecraft is scheduled to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 1:28 p.m. on a 10-month journey to the Red Planet. MAVEN is the first spacecraft devoted to exploring and understanding the Martian upper atmosphere. It will take critical measurements of the Martian upper atmosphere to help scientists understand climate change over the planet's history.

Bolden, who will be at NASA's Kennedy Space Center -- just a few miles from MAVEN's launch pad -- can talk about the importance of this mission, how it fits into the agency's exploration priorities, including sending astronauts to Mars in the 2030s.

To participate in the live satellite interviews, reporters should contact Guy Noffsinger at NASA Headquarters in Washington at 310-386-0972 (cell) no later than 4 p.m. Sunday.

For more information about MAVEN, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/MAVEN

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/nasatv

For information about NASA's programs and missions, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov

 

NASA

Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui

ayabaca@gmail.com

ayabaca@hotmail.com

ayabaca@yahoo.com

NASA - UPDATE: NASA Invites Media to View Orion Stationary Recovery Testing

Tenth Parachute Test for NASA's Orion Adds 10,000 Feet of Success
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A test version of the Orion capsule descends on two parachutes after being dropped from a C-17 35,000 feet above the Arizona desert on Wednesday, July 24.

Image Credit:  NASA

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A test version of the Orion capsule touches down in the Arizona desert following a parachute test on Wednesday, July 24.

Image Credit:  NASA

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A test version of the Orion capsule is righted following its touchdown after a parachute test. Although the parachute system is tested in the desert, Orion will land in the Pacific Ocean.

Image Credit:  NASA

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WASHINGTON -- A complicated, high-altitude test Wednesday demonstrated NASA's new Orion spacecraft could land safely even if one of its parachutes failed.

The 10th in a series of evaluations to check out the Orion multipurpose crew vehicle's parachute system dropped the test capsule from a C-17 aircraft at its highest altitude yet, 35,000 feet above the Arizona desert. One of three massive main parachutes was cut away early on purpose, leaving the spacecraft to land with only two. The test at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground was the highest-altitude test of a human spacecraft parachute since NASA's Apollo Program.

During previous tests, a mock capsule was dropped from a height of 25,000 feet and the parachutes deployed at no higher than 22,000 feet. The extra 10,000 feet of altitude at the beginning of Wednesday's test made the demonstration the best so far of Orion's parachute flight and landing.

"The closer we can get to actual flight conditions, the more confidence we gain in the system," said Chris Johnson, project manager for the Orion capsule parachute assembly system at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "What we saw today -- other than the failures we put in on purpose -- is very similar to what Orion will look like coming back during Exploration Flight Test-1's Earth entry next year."

During its return from space, Orion's parachute system will begin to deploy 25,000 feet above the ground.

Engineers gathered data on the effects of losing a parachute during the descent. The team already proved Orion can land with just two of its three main parachutes, but this was the first opportunity to study how one parachute pulling away in mid-flight might affect the remaining two.

"We wanted to know what would happen if a cable got hooked around a sharp edge and snapped off when the parachutes deployed," said Stu McClung, Orion's landing and recovery system manager at Johnson. "We don't think that would ever happen, but if it did, would it cause other failures? We want to know everything that could possibly go wrong, so that we can fix it before it does."

The test was part of a series of parachute tests that will enable NASA to certify Orion to carry humans into space. The system already has met the necessary requirements for Orion's first mission, Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1), in September 2014. During that flight, Orion will travel 3,600 miles into orbit then return to Earth at speeds as fast as 20,000 mph, putting the parachute system to the test again as it lands in the Pacific Ocean.

UPDATE: NASA Invites Media to View Orion Stationary Recovery Testing

NASA is offering media the opportunity to view key testing of splashdown recovery operations for the agency's Orion spacecraft on Thursday, Aug. 15, at Naval Station Norfolk in Virginia.

NASA and the U.S. Navy are conducting tests to prepare for recovery of the Orion crew module and forward bay cover on its return from deep space missions. The stationary recovery test will allow the teams to demonstrate and evaluate the recovery processes, procedures, hardware and personnel in a controlled environment before conducting a second recovery test next year in open waters.

A media briefing also will take place during a portion of the testing. The briefing participants include:

-- Scott Wilson, manager, Offline Processing and Infrastructure for Development, Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program
-- Jim Hamblin, landing and recovery element operations manager, GSDO Program
-- Navy Commander Brett Moyes, Future Plans Branch chief, U.S. Fleet Forces

International media who want to attend must respond by 4 p.m. EDT Friday, Aug. 9. U.S. media must respond by noon Wednesday, Aug. 14. To respond, contact Sasha Congiu by email at

 sasha.r.congiu@nasa.gov or by phone at 757-272-9859.

Journalists should arrive by 12:30 p.m. at the Naval Station Norfolk Tour & Information Center for transportation to the testing area. Live trucks should arrive no later than 10:30 a.m. The information center is located at 9079 Hampton Blvd. in Norfolk. Close-toed shoes and pants are required.

Orion is America's new spacecraft that will take astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and Mars. It will have an emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space. The first spacecraft will launch on Exploration Flight Test-1 in September 2014, an uncrewed mission that will allow engineers to examine many of Orion's systems.

For more information about the Orion Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/orion

For more information about the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program, visit:

http://go.nasa.gov/groundsystems

NASA

Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui

ayabaca@gmail.com

ayabaca@hotmail.com

ayabaca@yahoo.com

NASA - NASA Invites Media to View Space Launch System Progress

Artist illustration of the Gore Weld Tool (N
Artist illustration of the Circumferential Dome Weld Tool (NASA/MAF)
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Artist illustration of the Enhanced Robotic Weld Tool (NASA/MAF)
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Artist illustration of the Vertical Weld Center (NASA/MAF)
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Artist illustration of the Segmented Ring Tool (NASA/MAF)
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Artist illustration of the Vertical Assembly Center (VAC) (NASA/MAF)
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Space Launch System Stages Element (NASA)
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Space Launch System: Tooling Up to Build the World's Largest Rocket.-

 A wrench and hammer might be good for some building projects, but the nuts and bolts found in a standard garage toolbox definitely wouldn't hit the nail on the head when it comes to constructing a 321-foot, 5.5 million-pound rocket.

That's why engineers at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans are installing massive tools -- one more than 170 feet tall -- specifically designed and built to weld together pieces of the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) -- NASA's new heavy-lift rocket that will send humans to deep space destinations, including an asteroid and Mars.

"One of the challenges that we face in building this large core stage is to develop world-class tooling using modern manufacturing methods in an affordable way, while maintaining the scheduled first launch in 2017," said Tony Lavoie, manager of the Stages Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "This tool set that we've developed for Michoud to build the core stage is a perfect blend of those requirements and constraints."

Six substantial welding tools will be used to handle assembly of the new cryogenic core stage on SLS. Suppliers worked with NASA and The Boeing Company of Huntsville over the course of a year to design and build the tools. Boeing is the prime contractor for the SLS Core Stage, including avionics.

The tools include:

• The Circumferential Dome Weld Tool will be used to perform circumferential friction stir welds in the production of dome assemblies for the SLS core stage cryogenic tanks.
• The Gore Weld Tool will perform vertical conventional friction stir welds in the production of gore assemblies for the SLS core stage tanks. Gores are preformed aluminum alloy dome segments that are welded together to make the dome.
• The Circumferential Dome Weld and Gore Weld tools are special tooling for the Enhanced Robotic Weld Tool -- used to make dome components for SLS.
• The Vertical Weld Center is a friction-stir-weld tool for wet and dry structures on the SLS core stage. It will weld barrel panels together to produce whole barrels for the two pressurized tanks, the Intertank, the Forward Skirt and the Aft Engine Section. It stands about three stories tall and weighs 150 tons.
• The Segmented Ring Tool will use a friction-stir-weld process to produce segmented support rings for the SLS core stage. The rings connect and provide stiffness between domes and barrels.
• The Vertical Assembly Center (VAC), where domes, rings and barrels will be joined together to complete the tanks or dry structure assemblies. The tool also will perform nondestructive evaluation on the completed welds. The VAC, measuring 170 feet tall and 78 feet wide, is one of the world’s largest welding tools. It is anticipated to be completed in 2014.

"It’s an exciting time to be a part of NASA’s team," said Rick Navarro, Boeing operations manager at Michoud. "We’re already welding on the new tooling and are gathering information we’ll need to start production welding. That old saying, 'measure twice, cut once,' applies in spades when you’re building a 5.5 million-pound rocket. We do a lot of testing, validating and what we call ‘qualifying’ welds that ensure we have all the information we need to build with 100 percent quality assurance."

NASA and Boeing are designing, developing, building and testing the core stage and avionics. The rocket also will use proven hardware from other programs like the space shuttle -- a significant affordability benefit.

"We are one step closer to building the first core stage in what will hopefully be a long line of rockets to support future NASA missions," said Lavoie. For more information on SLS, see also:

• SLS Fact Sheet (http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/664158main_sls_fs_master.pdf)
• NASA SLS website (http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/)

Kimberly Henry
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034

NASA Invites Media to View Space Launch System Progress

 WASHINGTON -- NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations William Gerstenmaier and other agency officials will debut a new machine for manufacturing NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) and check on development progress with the heavy-lift rocket at the agency's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans Friday, June 21.

NASA is inviting media representatives to attend a 9:15 a.m. CDT ribbon-cutting ceremony for the vertical weld center, where friction-stir weld tooling will be used to assemble the SLS core stage, then join officials on a tour of the SLS assembly area and work in support of NASA's Orion spacecraft.

Michoud is critical to the construction and testing of SLS, which is managed and in development at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Officials of The Boeing Company of Huntsville, Ala., prime contractor for the SLS core stage and its avionics, will take part in the ribbon-cutting ceremony. The 200 foot-tall core stage will store cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen to feed the rocket's RS-25 engines. The vertical weld center will stand about three stories tall and weigh 165 tons.

Journalists who want to attend the event should contact Chip Howat at carl.j.howat@nasa.gov or 504-214-6745 no later than 4 p.m. Thursday, June 20. Media must report to 13800 Old Gentilly Road and enter Gate 11, which is located east of Building 101, by 8:30 a.m. June 21 for access to the facility. Official media credentials with photo identification are required for access.

NASA is developing the SLS rocket and Orion to provide an entirely new capability for human exploration. It will expand human presence beyond low-Earth orbit and enable new missions of exploration in the solar system, including to an asteroid and Mars.

For more information on NASA's SLS, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/sls

NASA

Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui

ayabaca@gmail.com

ayabaca@hotmail.com

ayabaca@yahoo.com

NASA - NASA's Orion Spacecraft Proves Sound Under Pressure

Final Orion Reaction Control System Pod Arrives

The last of eight reaction control system pods for NASA’s Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 arrived this week at Kennedy Space Center’s Operations and ...

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Orion Features

• 

  Built On A Solid Foundation

  Designating Orion as NASA's Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle provides our nation with an affordable solution for multiple mission capability by continuing the the NASA-industry team's technology innovations and spacecraft development.
  
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  Leading Edge Design and Engineering

  Drawing from more than 50 years of spaceflight research and development, the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is designed to meet the evolving needs of our nation's space program for decades to come.
  
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  Explore the Exploration Vehicle

  Explore the Launch Abort System, Crew Module and Service Module of the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle.
  
• 

  A NASA-Industry Team Effort

  The Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) design team has incorporated cutting-edge technology garnered through collaborative efforts with every NASA center and hundreds of industry experts across the country.
  

About Orion

The Orion MPCV (Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle) is based on the Orion design requirements for traveling beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). Orion will serve as the exploration vehicle that will carry the crew to space, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during the space travel, and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities.

• Spacecraft to serve as the primary crew vehicle for missions beyond LEO
• Capable of conducting regular in-space operations (rendezvous, docking, extravehicular activity) in conjunction with payloads delivered by the Space Launch System (SLS) for missions beyond LEO
• Capability to be a backup system for International Space Station cargo and crew delivery

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  Lockheed Martin engineers and technicians recently completed a series of pyrotechnic bolt tests on the Orion ground test vehicle.
  
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  The Orion crew module is being put through a series of tests that simulate the loads the spacecraft would experience during its mission.
  
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  Final Orion Reaction Control System Pod Arrives

  The last of eight reaction control system pods for NASA’s Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 arrived this week at Kennedy Space Center’s Operations and Checkout Building.
  
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  Exploration Flight Test-1 Fact Sheet

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  Orion Overview Fact Sheet

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  Orion Media B-Roll

NASA

Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui

ayabaca@gmail.com

ayabaca@hotanil.con

ayabaca@yahoo.com

NASA - Orion Crew Module at Kennedy Space Center

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Orion Crew Module at Kennedy Space Center

Astronaut Don Pettit watches as a technician works on the Orion crew module inside the Operations and Checkout Building high bay at Kennedy Space Center on March 21, 2013.

The last of eight reaction control system (RCS) pods for the first flight test of Orion has arrived at Kennedy Space Center's Operations and Checkout Building from the manufacturer, Aerojet, in Redmond, Wash. The pods will provide the critical maneuvers necessary for Orion's re-entry into Earth's atmosphere during Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1), scheduled to launch in 2014.

Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry humans farther into space than ever before. The spacecraft will provide emergency abort capability, sustain crews during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep-space return velocities.

› Read more about Orion

Image Credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

 NASA

Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui

ayabaca@gmail.com

ayabaca@hotmail.com

ayabaca@yahoo.com

NASA - Orion Parachutes

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Orion Parachutes

Three 300-pound main parachutes gently lower a mockup Orion capsule to the ground during a test at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona on Dec. 20. The test verified that the parachute design for the spacecraft – which will take humans farther than they’ve ever been before and return them to Earth at greater speeds than ever before – will work in the event of one of the capsule’s two drogue parachutes malfunctions.

Image Credit: NASA

 NASA Puts Orion Backup Parachutes to the Test

HOUSTON -- NASA completed the latest in a series of parachute tests for its Orion spacecraft Thursday at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in southwestern Arizona, marking another step toward a first flight test in 2014. The test verified Orion can land safely even if one of its two drogue parachutes does not open during descent.

Orion will take humans farther into space than ever before, but one of the most challenging things the multipurpose vehicle will do is bring its crew home safely. Because it will return from greater distances, Orion will reenter the Earth's atmosphere at speeds of more than 20,000 mph. After re-entry, the parachutes are all that will lower the capsule carrying astronauts back to Earth.

"The mockup vehicle landed safely in the desert and everything went as planned," said Chris Johnson, a NASA project manager for Orion's parachute assembly system. "We designed the parachute system so nothing will go wrong, but plan and test as though something will so we can make sure Orion is the safest vehicle ever to take humans to space."

Orion uses five parachutes. Three are main parachutes measuring 116 feet wide and two are drogue parachutes measuring 23 feet wide. The 21,000-pound capsule needs only two main parachutes and one drogue. The extra two provide a backup in case one of the primary parachutes fails.

To verify Orion could land safely with only one drogue parachute, engineers dropped a spacecraft mockup from a plane 25,000 feet above the Arizona desert and simulated a failure of one of the drogues. About 30 seconds into the mockup's fall, the second drogue parachute opened and slowed the mockup down enough for the three main parachutes to take over the descent.

The next Orion parachute test is scheduled for February and will simulate a failure of one of the three main parachutes.

In 2014, an uncrewed Orion spacecraft will launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on Exploration Flight Test-1. The spacecraft will travel 3,600 miles above Earth's surface. This is 15 times farther than the International Space Station's orbit and farther than any spacecraft designed to carry humans has gone in more than 40 years. The main flight objective is to test Orion's heat shield performance at speeds generated during a return from deep space.

For information about Orion, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/orion

NASA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
ayabaca@gmail.com
ayabaca@hotmail.com
ayabaca@yahoo.com

NASA - Beating Heart of J-2x Engine Finishes Year of Successful NASA Tests

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J-2X 'Puts a Bow' on a Year of Successful Testing

The J-2X powerpack assembly was fired up one last time on Dec. 13 at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, finishing a year of testing on an important component of America's next heavy-lift rocket. The powerpack assembly burned millions of pounds of propellants during a series of 13 tests during 2012 totaling more than an hour and a half. NASA engineers will remove the assembly from the test stand to focus on tests of the fully integrated engine. Installation on a test stand at Stennis will begin in 2013. The powerpack is a system of components on top of the engine that feeds propellants to the bell nozzle of the engine to produce thrust. The J-2X engine, designed and built by NASA and industry partner Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., will power the upper stage of the 143-ton (130-metric-ton) Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The SLS will launch NASA's Orion spacecraft and other payloads from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, providing an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. The program is managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Image credit: NASA/SSC

› View alternate test image

Beating Heart of J-2x Engine Finishes Year of Successful NASA Tests

 

 

WASHINGTON -- NASA on Thursday took another step toward human exploration of new destinations in the solar system. At the agency's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, engineers conducted the final test-firing of the J-2X powerpack assembly, an important component of America's next heavy-lift rocket.

The J-2X engine is the first human-rated liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen engine developed in the United States in decades. Designed and built by NASA and industry partner Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., the engine will power the upper stage of NASA's 143-ton (130-metric-ton) Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The powerpack is a system of components on top of the engine that feeds propellants to the bell nozzle of the engine to produce thrust.

"The determination and focus by teams at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and Stennis on designing and perfecting the J-2X engine helps show the great strides of progress made on the overall program," said SLS Program Manager Todd May. "We are inspired to stay the course and pursue our goal of exploring deep space and traveling farther than ever before."

The powerpack was worked out separately from the engine to more thoroughly test its limits. It also can be operated under a wider range of conditions. The tests provide a trove of data to compare with analytical predictions of the performance of several parts in the turbopump and flexible ducts.

"These tests at Stennis are similar to doctor-ordered treadmill tests for a person's heart," said Tom Byrd, J-2X engine lead in the SLS Liquid Engines Office at Marshall in Huntsville, Ala. "The engineers who designed and analyze the turbopumps inside the powerpack are like our doctors, using sensors installed in the assembly to monitor the run over a wide range of stressful conditions. We ran the assembly tests this year for far longer than the engine will run during a mission to space, and acquired a lot of valuable information that will help us improve the development of the J-2X engine."

The powerpack assembly burned millions of pounds of propellants during a series of 13 tests totaling more than an hour and a half in 2012. The testing team set several records for hot-firing duration at Stennis test stands during the summer. NASA engineers will remove the assembly from the test stand to focus on tests of the fully integrated engine. Installation on a test stand at Stennis will begin in 2013.

The SLS will launch NASA's Orion spacecraft and other payloads from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, providing an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. The program is managed at Marshall.

For more information about the J-2X engine and NASA's Space Launch System, including links to video and images of Thursday's test, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/sls

NASA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
ayabaca@gmail.com
ayabaca@hotmail.com
ayabaca@yahoo.com

NASA's Space Launch System Passes Major Agency Review, Moves to Preliminary Design

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SLS Architecture Reference Configuration

An artist rendering of the various configurations of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The flexible configuration, sharing the same basic core-stage, allows for different crew and cargo flights as needed, promoting efficiency, time and cost savings. The SLS enables exploration missions beyond low-Earth orbit and support travel to asteroids, Mars and other destinations within our solar system.
Image credit: NASA

› View 70t configuration
› View 130t configuration

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70t Crew Expanded View

An expanded view of an artist rendering of the 70-metric-ton configuration of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Launching astronauts on board the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, this vehicle will enable humans to explore our solar system farther than ever before, supporting travel to asteroids, the moon, Mars and other deep space destinations. NASA plans to launch an uncrewed test flight of this configuration in 2017.
Image credit: NASA

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130t Cargo Expanded View

An expanded view of an artist rendering of the 130-metric-ton configuration of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., shows the many different elements of the rocket design. Used primarily to launch heavy cargo, this two-stage vehicle will be the largest rocket ever built and will enable exploration missions beyond low-Earth orbit, supporting travel to asteroids, Mars and other deep space destinations.
Image credit: NASA

The rocket that will launch humans farther into space than ever before passed a major NASA review Wednesday. The Space Launch System (SLS) Program completed a combined System Requirements Review and System Definition Review, which set requirements of the overall launch vehicle system. SLS now moves ahead to its preliminary design phase.

The SLS will launch NASA's Orion spacecraft and other payloads, and provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit.

These NASA reviews set technical, performance, cost and schedule requirements to provide on-time development of the heavy-lift rocket. As part of the process, an independent review board comprised of technical experts from across NASA evaluated SLS Program documents describing vehicle specifications, budget and schedule. The board confirmed SLS is ready to move from concept development to preliminary design.

"This new heavy-lift launch vehicle will make it possible for explorers to reach beyond our current limits, to nearby asteroids, Mars and its moons, and to destinations even farther across our solar system," said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "The in-depth assessment confirmed the basic vehicle concepts of the SLS, allowing the team to move forward and start more detailed engineering design."

The reviews also confirmed the SLS system architecture and integration with the Orion spacecraft, managed by NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, and the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program, which manage the operations and launch facilities at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

"This is a pivotal moment for this program and for NASA," said SLS Program Manager Todd May. "This has been a whirlwind experience from a design standpoint. Reaching this key development point in such a short period of time, while following the strict protocol and design standards set by NASA for human spaceflight is a testament to the team's commitment to delivering the nation's next heavy-lift launch vehicle."

SLS reached this major milestone less than 10 months after the program's inception. The combination of the two assessments represents a fundamentally different way of conducting NASA program reviews. The SLS team is streamlining processes to provide the nation with a safe, affordable and sustainable heavy-lift launch vehicle capability. The next major program milestone is preliminary design review, targeted for late next year.

The first test flight of NASA's Space Launch System, which will feature a configuration for a 70-metric-ton (77-ton) lift capacity, is scheduled for 2017. As SLS evolves, a three-stage launch vehicle configuration will provide a lift capability of 130 metric tons (143 tons) to enable missions beyond low Earth orbit and support deep space exploration.

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the SLS program. Across the country NASA and its industry partners continue to make progress on SLS hardware that will be integrated into the final design. The RS-25 core stage and J-2X upper-stage rocket engine in development by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., for the future two-stage SLS, will be tested at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The prime contractor for the five-segment solid rocket boosters, ATK of Brigham City, Utah, has begun processing its first SLS boosters in preparation for an initial qualification test next year, ahead of their use for the first two exploration missions. The Boeing Co. in Huntsville is designing the SLS core stage, to be built at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans and tested at Stennis before being shipped to Kennedy.

For more information about the Space Launch System, including the newest proposed rocket configurations, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/sls

 

Trent J. Perrotto, 202-358-0321
Headquarters, Washington
Trent.J.Perrotto@nasa.gov

Kim Henry, 256-544-0034
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.

kimberly.m.henry@nasa.gov NASA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
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