Tag: Artemis
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Blue Origin loses lunar lander lawsuit; NASA says SpaceX work will resume ASAP
An artist’s conception shows SpaceX’s Starship rocket ship on the moon. (SpaceX Illustration) A federal judge today rejected Blue Origin’s challenge to a $2.9 billion contract that NASA awarded to SpaceX for building the lunar lander destined to carry astronauts to the moon. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ space venture had argued that NASA gave overly…
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Inside Artemis 1’s complex launch windows and constraints
When the flight hardware and ground systems are finally ready for the inaugural Artemis 1 launch to the Moon, NASA will also have to synchronize the timing of the flight with unique celestial mechanics. The Orion and Space Launch System (SLS) Programs in the Exploration Systems Development (ESD) division are working together to calculate when…
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SLS Program completes Block 1 design review, preparing to certify Artemis 1 vehicle
NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) program is preparing to serve its role in the agency’s first human spaceflight mission to the moon in nearly 50 years–Artemis 1. After completing a DCR (Design Certification Review) in late September, the program engineering groups are now organizing the data to certify SLS’s initial configuration for flight in a…
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Artemis 1 Orion joins SLS to complete vehicle stack
The Orion spacecraft that will fly to the Moon on NASA’s Artemis 1 mission was lifted atop its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on October 20, completing major assembly of the full vehicle stack. Integrated operations team members from the agency’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program and prime launch processing contractor Jacobs received the spacecraft…
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Work on Artemis I Orion nears completion, other Orions make progress
The Artemis I Orion spacecraft is currently undergoing final checkouts before the critical milestone of transportation to the Vehicle Assembly Building for final stacking, integration, and checkout ahead of launch. Meanwhile, the Orion crew modules for the Artemis II, III, and IV missions are also continuing assembly in their processing flows. Artemis I The Artemis…
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EGS, Jacobs completing first round of Artemis 1 pre-launch integrated tests prior to Orion stacking
NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program and prime launch support contractor Jacobs are working to complete the first round of Artemis 1 pre-launch testing before the end of September. The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for the lunar orbit mission is stacked on Mobile Launcher-1 (ML-1) in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building…
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Court filings shed light on Blue Origin vs. SpaceX lunar lander fight, with dark spots
An artist’s conception shows SpaceX’s Starship rocket ship on the moon. (SpaceX Illustration) Redacted versions of documents relating to Blue Origin’s federal lawsuit against the federal government and SpaceX lay out further details about the dispute over a multibillion-dollar NASA lunar lander contract, but the details that are left out are arguably just as intriguing.…
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NASA VIPER rover and Astrobotic Griffin lander select moon landing site for 2023
The NASA VIPER rover – a precursor mission to human landings in the south polar region of the Moon, and a mission started in 2019 under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program – has had its landing site selected for its 2023 mission. The rover, known as the Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover, is now…
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Blue Origin and four other companies win millions to keep lunar lander dreams alive
An artist’s conception shows an astronaut stepping onto the lunar surface. (NASA Illustration) Months after losing out to SpaceX, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin space venture and two of its partners in a lunar lander project will be getting fresh infusions of financial support from NASA, thanks to a follow-up program aimed at boosting capabilities for…
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Blue Origin launches NS-17 suborbital science mission
A month after New Shepard’s first flight carrying people into space, a science flight without crew onboard has launched from Blue Origin’s facility near Van Horn, Texas. The flight, the fourth of the year for the New Shepard program, was originally scheduled for August 25, 2021, but was delayed due to a payload integration issue.…