Tag: Orion
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Orion’s heat shield arrives at Kennedy for EM-1 mission preparations
Lockheed Martin has delivered the Orion crew vehicle’s heat shield for the upcoming EM-1 test flight to the Kennedy Space Center from its manufacturing facility in Denver, Colorado. The heat shield, upgraded from data received after Exploration Flight Test -1 (EFT-1) in 2014, will help protect Orion from the harsh environment of reentry at speeds…
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SLS critical flight paths refined for 2018 debut; thrust profiles updated
NASA’s Exploration Systems Development office has completed its review of progress to date as well as forward path activity on the development of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to the NASA Advisory Council. While several tasks and issues remain open, SLS continues a steady march toward its planned debut in late 2018 during the…
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NASA updates status and timetable of ambitious Asteroid Redirect Mission
NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations (HEO) standing committee has presented the NASA Advisory Council with a status update regarding the agency’s direction and execution of the upcoming Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM). Among the prominent updates include confirmation of new target launch dates and information on how NASA will handle partner payloads and the creation of…
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SLS Mission Trajectory – Mike Sarafin outlines the ride uphill for EM-1
NASA managers are closing in on a mission trajectory plan for the new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that is set to debut in 2018. Mike Sarafin, NASA’s mission manager for the first Orion/Space Launch System (SLS) mission, recently provided an early look at an outline of launch events and a high-level status of the process…
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Orbital ATK unveils cislunar habitat plan, potential missions for SLS and Orion
Orbital ATK has unveiled preliminary plans to place a four-person habitat in cislunar space by 2020. The announcement during testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Space would not only see the creation of a permanent human presence in lunar orbit by the start of the next decade, but would potentially provide a…
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Orbital ATK unveils cislunar habitat plan, potential missions for SLS and Orion
Orbital ATK has unveiled preliminary plans to place a four-person habitat in cislunar space by 2020. The announcement during testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Space would not only see the creation of a permanent human presence in lunar orbit by the start of the next decade, but would potentially provide a…
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Orion capsule put under pressure in Florida
Lockheed Martin engineers and technicians prepare the Orion pressure vessel for a series of tests inside the proof pressure cell in the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This capsule will fly on Exploration Mission-1 in 2018. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett The skeleton of NASA’s next Orion capsule,…
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Space Industry press forward with exploration hardware development
The multi-center, multi-partner effort is continuing to piece together the key hardware elements that will return NASA to deep space exploration. Recent progress has been made on items such as Orion’s Launch Abort System (LAS) and the design phase for the Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission (ARRM) spacecraft. SLS and Orion: The main focus continues to be…
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Record numbers apply to become a NASA astronaut
NASA astronaut Kjell Lindgren aboard the International Space Station last year. Credit: NASA A record number of would-be space travelers have applied to join NASA’s corps of astronauts to fly aboard the International Space Station, the Orion crew capsule, or commercial spaceships built by Boeing and SpaceX, the space agency announced Friday. NASA said more…
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18,300 applicants face 1-in-2,000 chance of being picked for astronaut job at NASA
NASA astronaut Scott Kelly snaps a selfie during a spacewalk at the International Space Station. (Credit: NASA) You think it’s hard to get into Harvard? Try making an impression when you’re among the record-high group of 18,300 people who applied to be an astronaut. NASA says that tally is three times as high as the number who…