Tag: EM-2
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Navigating the twists and turns steering SLS Development
This year’s decision to increase and extend use of the initial “Block 1” operating configuration of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) booster also impacts the space agency’s near-term plans for evolution of the launch vehicle’s design. The Congressional commitment to a second Mobile Launcher for SLS, along with the ability of SLS Block 1 to…
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Boeing, NASA managing SLS Core Stage hardware traffic ahead of first vehicle stacking
A traffic jam of NASA Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage hardware that needs to be assembled is building at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Building (MAF) in New Orleans. Completed subsections of the first vehicle and structural test articles (STA) are lining up to be put together at the same time as structures for the second…
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Lockheed Martin readies Orion EM-2 Pressure Vessel for trip to KSC
The crew compartment for NASA’s first crewed Orion spacecraft is headed to its launch site in Florida this week after completion of structural assembly at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans. Late last month Orion prime contractor Lockheed Martin completed welding the crew module pressure vessel that will fly on Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2),…
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NASA digging into SLS Block 1 revival plans after getting second Mobile Launcher money
NASA has started updating plans and schedules for additional SLS Block 1 launches in the early 2020s after Washington added federal budget money for a second Mobile Launcher (ML) platform and umbilical tower in late March. Construction of a new Mobile Launcher frees the first ML from a three-year long downtime for teardown and reassembly…
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NASA’s realigning dual Mobile Launcher plan targets extra SLS Block 1 missions
Space Launch System (SLS) managers are now planning for the utilization of two Mobile Launchers (MLs), allowing for additional use of the rocket on both crewed and cargo-only missions. The first major cargo-only flight is being focused on the Europa Clipper mission now set to ride on a Block 1 SLS, a variant which may…
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Constructing the crewed Orion – EM-2 spacecraft deep into welding operations
Construction of the living and working area for the first crewed Orion spacecraft is well underway at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans. Building on lessons learned from previous construction, Orion prime contractor Lockheed Martin has already completed four of the seven welds necessary to assemble the crew module pressure vessel. Current schedules call…
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NASA evaluates EM-2 launch options for Deep Space Gateway PPE
While NASA engages spacecraft industry help in studying concepts for design, development, test, and evaluation of the Power Propulsion Element (PPE), it is also studying where the anchor component of the proposed Deep Space Gateway (DSG) would orbit the Moon and how it would get there when launched as a part of Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2).…
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SLS EM-1 & -2 launch dates realign; EM-3 gains notional mission outline
Following a series of issues over the last year with the Core Stage for the first flight of the Space Launch System rocket, the launch dates for both the EM-1 and EM-2 flights are beginning to align, with EM-1 now targeting No Earlier Than 15 December 2019 and EM-2 following on 1 June 2022. Additionally,…
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Piecing together NASA’s crewed Deep Space spacecraft
The first Orion spacecraft that will be capable of transporting NASA astronauts into deep space is now being constructed. Although it won’t launch until 2022 at the earliest, the Exploration Mission -2 (EM-2) Orion structural pieces are being constructed and readied at AMRO in California ahead of a trip to the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in…
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Orion STA undergoing pre-mission testing in Denver
With all the structural test articles (STA) of the Orion spacecraft at prime contractor Lockheed Martin’s Space Systems facility in the Denver area, work is underway to qualify the elements for the Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) and Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2) missions to the Moon. Testing of different combinations of spacecraft hardware in support of EM-1 and…