Tag: SLS
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NASA budget proposal to initiate Europa mission plan
NASA’s 2016 budget proposal has provided a small amount of funding to formate a plan to create a flagship Europa mission. The funding will allow for an Agency level KDP-A (Key Decision Point), prior to entering formulation in the coming months. Space Launch System (SLS) managers have already been working with JPL on providing the launch…
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NASA kicks off SLS engine testing in Mississippi
The RS-25 engine fires up for a 500-second test Jan. 9 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Credit: NASA A powerful space shuttle-era rocket engine ignited for more than eight minutes on a test stand in Mississippi last week, kicking off hotfire testing for NASA’s Space Launch System mega-rocket after contamination…
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Stennis conducts SLS engine firing marking RS-25 return
NASA’s Stennis Space Center has test fired the first RS-25 (unit E0525) of the Space Launch System (SLS) era on Friday, marking the beginning of a new career for the famous engine. Four of the former Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME) are set to power each SLS during the ride to orbit, opening with Exploration…
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NASA ready to power up the RS-25 engines for SLS
NASA is finally ready to begin the test fire and development program for the engines that will push the Space Launch System (SLS) uphill in 2018 and beyond. The RS-25 – formally known as the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) – will enjoy a test program that will also evaluate higher inlet pressures and a state…
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QM-1 Test Date Set: SLS Program Joy with Solid Solution
ATK’s test facility in Promontory, Utah is now officially looking forward to the next full-scale test of a five-segment solid rocket motor – set to take place at 9:30 am local time on March 11, 2015. The realigned date was set following a lengthy investigation – and resolution path – into problems found in the…
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Despite budget boost, Space Launch System will not fly before 2018
Artist’s concept of the Space Launch System lifting off from launch pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: NASA/MSFC NASA’s heavy-lifting mega-rocket and its ground support systems at Kennedy Space Center in Florida will not be ready for launches until at least mid-2018, even with extra funding approved by Congress, the space agency’s…
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John Grunsfeld speaks about Orion’s science goals
John Grunsfeld, Associate Administrator for the Science Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, speaks about the EFT-1 test flight and science opportunities made possible by the Orion capsule and its Space Launch System rocket.
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Orion’s crewed asteroid mission unlikely to occur prior to 2024
The proposed mission to send two astronauts to a captured asteroid near the Moon won’t occur until the middle of the next decade, according to an overview provided to NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP). Designated as Exploration Mission -2 (EM-2), it is likely alternative missions will be tasked to Orion and her Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, prior…
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SLS manifest targets Europa and Mars Sample Return missions
NASA is moving up a gear with its manifest planning for the Space Launch System (SLS). A new internal manifest portrays a tag team approach, alternating SLS between crewed missions for Orion and major flagship science missions that includes sending a spacecraft to Europa and conducting a Mars Sample Return mission, all before the middle…
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EFT-1 to boost ATK Launch Abort System test path
ATK’s Launch Abort System (LAS) – a key element for crew safety during the ride uphill on the Space Launch System and Orion – continues to make good progress during its test schedule. With the Exploration Flight Test -1 (EFT-1) flight set to provide key data ahead of the Ascent Abort (AA-2) test in 2019,…