Tag: SLS
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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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SLS Tail Service Masts undergoing construction ahead of LETF testing
Engineers have begun the construction of two huge Tail Service Masts that will play a crucial role with the Space Launch System (SLS) on launch day. The TSMUs (Tail Service Mast Umbilicals) will be tested on the Vehicle Motion Simulator (VMS) at the Kennedy Space Center, before being installed on the deck of the Mobile Launcher…
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SLS Tail Service Masts undergoing construction ahead of LETF testing
Engineers have begun the construction of two huge Tail Service Masts that will play a crucial role with the Space Launch System (SLS) on launch day. The TSMUs (Tail Service Mast Umbilicals) will be tested on the Vehicle Motion Simulator (VMS) at the Kennedy Space Center, before being installed on the deck of the Mobile Launcher…
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Renewing the famous Flame Trench, one brick at a time
Kennedy Space Center’s famous launch pads are continuing their regeneration work in preparation for hosting their first orbital launches since the end of the Space Shuttle Program. Pad 39B will host the most powerful of the new fleet of rockets, requiring a complete modernization of its Flame Trench – a process that includes replacing its…
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MSFC propose Aerojet Rocketdyne supply EUS engines
The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) has issued a “Justification for Other Than Full and Open Competition (JOFOC)” solicitation in support of sole sourcing RL10 engines for the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) from Aerojet Rocketdyne. The document calls for an initial order of 10 engines to cover the first two flights of the Space Launch…
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NASA examines options and flight paths for SLS EM-2 mission
As NASA and its contracted partner agencies press forward toward the debut launch of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in 2018, the U.S. space agency is beginning to look toward preliminary planning and test objectives for the EM-2 mission of the SLS Program, which is expected to take place sometime in the opening half…
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RS-25 veteran conducts Static Fire test ahead of SLS launch
NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne have conducted an opening test of the RS-25 rocket engine that will help power the Space Launch System (SLS) during launch. Engine 2059, a flight engine that helped launch five Space Shuttle missions, was test-fired on Thursday afternoon in the A-1 test stand at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi to continue…
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KSC testing the VS – designed to dampen SLS swaying on a windy pad
Engineers at the Kennedy Space Center are set to test the Vehicle Stabilizer (VS) via a motion simulator at the Launch Equipment Test Facility (LETF). The VS will have a key role during Space Launch System (SLS) pad flows, dampening out the loads on the huge structure as the monster rocket “sways” in the often-windy conditions…
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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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CT-2 completes Super Crawler modifications for SLS program
Crawler Transporter 2 (CT-2) has completed all of the necessary modifications to upgrade it to Super Crawler status. The new Super Crawler is now set to roll out of the VAB on 21 March 2016 ahead of a series of performance tests to validate the transporter’s readiness to handle the massive load of the SLS…