Tag: SLS
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Affordable habitats means more Buck Rogers for less money says Bigelow
Robert Bigelow, founder and President of Bigelow Aerospace, believes that cost effective habitats and transportation systems are key to America’s space explorations ambitions throughout the solar system. In expansive documentation provided to NASA, Bigelow Aerospace presented a fleet of vehicles that could enable humanity’s ambitions. Inflated Aspirations: In the first of two reports recently issued…
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CT-2: Super Crawler taken for a test drive at KSC
Crawler Transporter -2 (CT-2) is enjoying a spin around the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) block, as engineers test the latest upgrades ahead of its role carrying the Space Launch System (SLS) to launch pad 39B. Both of NASA’s workhorses are being upgraded to the role of “Super Crawler”, with the ability to carry 14.2 million…
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SMAT fires up to open SLS acoustic testing
The Scale Model Acoustic Test (SMAT) – a mini-me version of the SLS – has fired up for the first time at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The tests are focused on providing data to engineering teams who are tasked with designing the Sound Suppression System that will protect the Heavy Lift Launch Vehicle…
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Praise for the MAF transition ahead of SLS production
NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden gained a close up and personal look at the ever-changing face of the famous Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) on Monday. The former birthplace of Saturn stages and Shuttle External Tanks is ramping up towards its new role, producing the giant core stages for the Space Launch System (SLS). MAF Transition: The…
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SPMT: Providing transport to SLS core stages
NASA teams are finalizing the details on the Self Propelled Module Transporter (SPMT) that will allow for Space Launch System Structural Test Articles (STAs) and the Integrated Core Stage (ICS) to depart the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) en route to shipping to various NASA hubs, including the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). SPMT: SPMT’s are used all…
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New SLS mission options explored via new Large Upper Stage
As NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket continues toward its initial debut in 2017, a Boeing proposal for a new Large Upper Stage for the rocket would see SLS gain the ability to perform more complex, long-range missions in a more cost-effective manner. New missions for SLS: As previously reported by NASASpaceflight.com, Boeing has brought…
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SLS upper stage proposals reveal increasing payload-to-destination options
With less than a year to go before the inaugural flight of NASA’s Orion crew capsule and just over four years until the debut of the SLS rocket in 2017, work on the massive Heavy Lift Vehicle continues with ongoing proposals and studies targeting the vehicle’s upper stage. Expanding SLS capabilities: As the Space Launch…
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Piecing together and blowing apart – EFT-1 Orion progress
NASA’s Orion spacecraft is deep into the business end of its preparations for the Exploration Flight Test -1 (EFT-1) next year, with associated hardware providing a glimpse into the future of the vehicle. While the stage adaptor test article prepares for pressure testing, Lockheed Martin successfully jettisoned the Service Module’s three protective fairing panels, certifying…
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ATK reach another milestone in SLS advanced booster drive
ATK announced they successfully completed the filament winding of a pathfinder Advanced Booster composite case. The milestone is part of their commitment to the NASA Research Announcement (NRA) Advanced Booster risk-reduction program, aimed at fostering booster options for the evolved versions of the Space Launch System (SLS). Advanced Booster: ATK – who provided the Reusable Solid Rocket…
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Industry leaders claim SLS capability could create new missions
Leaders of several major space industry companies have claimed that the unrivalled capability of the Space Launch System (SLS) may create a demand for additional missions, that will in turn increase the flight rate. Speaking at the 6th Wernher von Braun Memorial Symposium, a heavyweight panel of experts spoke of their optimism that SLS may…