Tag: SLS
-
SLS working to overcome supply chain, weld issues to complete Artemis II Core Stage this year
NASA is now planning for the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage assigned to the Artemis II lunar flyby mission to be completed in mid-December for subsequent delivery to its Kennedy Space Center (KSC) launch site. The four RS-25 core stage engines were installed in the stage in September at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF)…
-
Lack of SLS rockets limit NASA Artemis manifest
NASA and its advisory bodies remain concerned about the low flight rate planned for its crewed Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, but the space agency doesn’t have enough vehicles to fly more often this decade. Hardware to launch only two more SLS vehicles is available until development of the Exploration Upper Stage…
-
RS-25 engine installation into the Artemis II SLS Core Stage begins
Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies Company, is helping install four of its RS-25 liquid-propellant rocket engines in NASA’s second Space Launch System (SLS) core stage at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans. The beginning of installation of the upgraded former Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME) in Core Stage-2 at MAF on Sept.…
-
NASA finally admits what everyone already knows: SLS is unaffordable
In a new report, the federal department charged with analyzing how efficiently US taxpayer dollars are spent, the Government Accountability Office, says NASA lacks transparency on the true costs of its Space Launch System rocket program. Published on Thursday, the new report (see .pdf) examines the billions of dollars spent by NASA on the development…
-
Final ICPS arrives in Florida for Artemis III SLS launch
United Launch Alliance (ULA) delivered the last-ever Space Launch System (SLS) Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) from its Decatur, Alabama, factory to Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS) in early August for eventual use on the Artemis III lunar landing mission. ICPS-3 was also the last Delta hardware to depart Decatur and will support NASA’s…
-
Lockheed Martin, NASA working around the clock to finish Artemis II Orion assembly and hold 2024 launch date
The Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission is nearing final assembly and testing at prime contractor Lockheed Martin’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) production facility. After a final standalone test on the Orion crew module (CM), it is expected to be mated to the service module (SM) in mid-September. If there are no problems in…
-
A new report finds NASA has spent an obscene amount of money on SLS propulsion
An independent report published Thursday contained troubling findings about the money spent by the agency on propulsion for the Space Launch System rocket. Moreover, the report by NASA Inspector General Paul Martin warns that if these costs are not controlled, it could jeopardize plans to return to the Moon. Bluntly, Martin wrote that if the…
-
Artemis II Moon mission transitioning from planning to preparation
The first crewed Artemis mission is now the focus of NASA’s beyond-Earth orbit human spaceflight programs. Mission training for the recently-named crew for the Artemis II test flight is expected to begin in June, at just about the time that the mission integration review will be conducted. The space agency has been planning for the…
-
EGS launch team applying first SLS launch lessons to future Artemis missions
The NASA Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program is now working on collecting, analyzing, and applying lessons learned during the long Artemis I launch processing flow to streamline future launch campaigns, beginning with the launch of the first Artemis crew on the Artemis II mission in a couple of years. The first Space Launch System (SLS)…
-
EGS launch team looking forward to working with Artemis II crew
NASA Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) have been preparing and planning for the Artemis II launch since before the flight crew was announced on April 3. Teams at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida are looking forward to working closely with the four astronauts who will be the first to fly to the Moon in…