Tag: SLS
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QM-2 booster pulled apart for examination as SLS pair continue to take shape
With a series of successful test firings completed by Orbital ATK, engineers are gaining confidence in how their five segment boosters will perform in their role in helping the Space Launch System (SLS) push through first stage flight. With the first two flight boosters in production, Orbital ATK is also disassembling the QM-2 motor, which…
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Pad hardware changes preview new era for Space Coast
Ongoing work at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral is continuing to lay the groundwork to once again launch American astronauts from home soil. While the huge Pad 39B equipment enters a critical period of testing at KSC for the Space Launch System, the Crew Access Arm and White Room is scheduled to be…
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NASA Lunar Imaging CubeSat – SkyFire – to ride with EM-1
NASA’s aim to provide a ride to numerous secondary payloads on the debut mission for the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion has resulted in Lockheed Martin signing a contract with NASA to deploy the SkyFire lunar flyby mission. The 6U CubeSat will join a team of 13 small spacecraft that will ride uphill on the…
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NASA exploration focuses on Deep Space Hab systems and crew health
As part of its comprehensive review to the NASA Advisory Council, the US space agency has presented its review of progress on the development of a Deep Space Habitat that will allow astronauts to perform multi-month and multi-year missions in deep space – all while guiding the agency towards its ambitious plan of landing humans…
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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 engine fired up following previous aborted test
The NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, and Syncom Space Services team at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi have conducted a “make-up” hot-fire test of a development RS-25 engine (E0528) on Friday. The test was deemed to be for the full duration of 650 seconds, as required, following problems with the A-1 test stand facility that resulted in…
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Engine 0528 begins RS-25 testing for SLS – suffers early shutdown
The latest RS-25 test at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi – aimed at continuing the certification effort to adapt the Space Shuttle era cryogenic rocket engine for the first Space Launch System (SLS) launch in two years time – has been conducted, albeit resulting in an early shutdown. The test involved development Engine 0528,…
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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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QM-2: Orbital ATK fires up SLS booster for final qualification test
Orbital ATK and NASA have conducted the last planned full-scale Space Launch System (SLS) solid rocket booster test firing prior to the first SLS launch in 2018. The five-segment solid rocket motor (RSRMV) for the Qualification Motor-2 (QM-2) test occurred at 9:05 am Mountain Time, 15:05 GMT, following a computer issue resulting in a slight…
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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…