News NASA's Future: The News and Updates Thread

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Florida Today:

• NASA auditor backs modification of mobile launch tower at KSC:

  NASA’s decision to spend $54 million to repurpose a launch tower built for a cancelled rocket was appropriate, the agency’s internal watchdog concludes in a report released today.But the agency must ensure that the modified “mobile launcher” can support not only the first version of the Space Launch System rocket but larger planned versions, says the 30-page audit by NASA’s Office of Inspector General.
  
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• Audit supports retrofitting mobile launch tower at KSC

Aviation Week: IG: NASA Faces Integration Challenge With SLS Mobile Launcher

 

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Universe Today: Will NASA Really Build a “Gateway” L-2 Moon Base?:

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And NASA has now officially responded to the The Sentinel’s report and said… well, actually they didn’t really say much at all. Here’s the NASA statement:

“NASA is executing President Obama’s ambitious space exploration plan that includes missions around the moon, to asteroids, and ultimately putting humans on Mars. There are many options – and many routes – being discussed on our way to the Red Planet. In addition to the moon and an asteroid, other options may be considered as we look for ways to buy down risk – and make it easier – to get to Mars. We have regular meetings with OMB (Office of Management and Budget), OSTP(Office of Science and Technology) , Congress, and other stakeholders to keep them apprised of our progress on our deep space exploration destinations. This concept is a part of the Voyages document that we mentioned in an earlier Update posted on NASA.gov in June: http://go.nasa.gov/NASAvoyages.” Refer to page 26 of the chapter titled, “Habitation and Destination Capabilities.”​

And so NASA does not deny they are looking into building such a base, and in the document mentioned above, they do provide some interesting details about why exploring cis-lunar space would be important: for scientific reasons, for technological and economic growth and to pave the way for future exploration.

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[orb]

NASASpaceflight: ET-94: Fate unknown for the last remaining External Tank at MAF:

The last External Tank, known as ET-94, has been moved into Building 103 – known as the “thru aisle” – at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF), with its ultimate fate hanging in the balance. The tank – which was previous in storage inside MAF’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) – played a key role in the Return To Flight efforts following the Columbia disaster.

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The removal of ET-94 allows for construction crews to begin modifying the VAB to install new tools for manufacture of the core stage booster of the Space Launch System (SLS). This work will begin immediately.

“It’s a historic moment and the lift team performed flawlessly,” said Robert Champion, NASA deputy director of Michoud. “This is the last external tank to leave our VAB, and while it marks the final critical lift of external tanks at the facility, it clears the way for the facility modifications needed to build the Space Launch System rocket.”

There is some hope ET-94 won’t suffer the fate of ET-139-141, with MAF noting the tank is being kept in a climate-controlled environment and “monitored to preserve it for future testing or display.”

Technically, the tank could find a role with the SLS program, previously associated with the Sidemount SD HLV option, but now potentially as part of a Main Propulsion Test Article (MPTA) during ground testing in the coming years. However, no decision has been taken on an official level.

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Aviation Week: NASA IG: Cost, Schedule Challenges Aggravated By Budget Restraints:

NASA faces broad challenges in meeting major program cost and schedule projections, each with deep roots in the five-decade-old organization and currently exacerbated by a tough budget environment that is lowering buying power, the agency’s inspector general (IG) cautions.

Those challenges include a culture of optimism, technical obstacles, unstable budgets and a lack of small program opportunities for promising managers to gain experience, according to IG Paul Martin in his Sept. 27 report.

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[N_Molson]

NASA Celebrates 54 Years

Driven by the competition of the Cold War, on July 29, 1958, President Dwight D. Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space Act, providing for research into the problems of flight within Earth’s atmosphere and in space. The act inaugurated a new civilian agency designated the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). The agency began operations on Oct. 1, 1958.

http://www.nasa.gov/

 

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SPACE.com: NASA Mulls Deep-Space Station on Moon's Far Side:

There appears to be support within NASA to position astronauts at an Earth-moon libration point to bolster the space agency’s plans of pushing beyond low-Earth orbit with its Orion spacecraft design.

Anchoring hardware and a crew at the Earth-moon L2 "gateway" would offer many benefits, advocates say. One of them is building on multinational cooperation honed at the International Space Station (ISS).

Under review is use of Russian-supplied hardware at the L2 point, according to insiders contacted by SPACE.com. Surplus space shuttle gear and ISS-flight-ready spares are also in the mix.

Regarding the use of Russian space hardware, both the Multipurpose Laboratory Module and the Scientific-Power Module are new modules being developed in Russia. Both will add new capabilities to the ISS. A proposal on the table seeks to use a similar Russian-provided Scientific-Power Module in cislunar space as a base of operations for exploration missions.

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NASA: NASA Building a Better Solid Rocket Booster for Space Launch System Rocket

 

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Aviation Week: Three Companies Will Demonstrate SLS Booster Technology

 

[N_Molson]

NASA : Building Momentum

http://www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=153233911


NASA : SLS Monthly Highlights (September 2012)



› Space Launch Systems Monthly Highlights
September 2012 (PDF, 4.8 Mb)

 

[FADEC]

I get a déjà vu regarding these Monthly "Highlights". But the rocket somehow looks different.

 

[T.Neo]

But the rocket somehow looks different.

Nope... still the same unecessary, Saturn-evoking paintscheme.

 

[RGClark]

Just saw this posted by Orb:

NASA Weighs Early Deep-Space Tests With Orion.
By Frank Morring, Jr.
September 13, 2012


Even more than lunar flyby missions though, by carrying the 8.5 mT Orion capsule alone, not the service module, the interim 70 mT capacity SLS can do lunar landing missions.

Interestingly, then since the Falcon Heavy can also do such single launch Moon missions, the next Moon race may be between the commercial space providers and NASA.


Bob Clark

The interim, Block 0 SLS will use three SSME's, a standard sized ET, i.e., no tank stretch, and 4 segment SRB's. This will have a ca. 70 metric ton payload capability. The DIRECT teams version has similar payload capability:

http://www.directlauncher.org/docum....4000.08100_CLV_100x100nmi_29.0deg_090606.jpg

In reports on the Block 0 SLS, NASA discussed the option of it using 4 or 5 segment SRB's as if it were no big deal. But I was surprised when I looked at the 5 segment version on the DIRECT teams site, that the payload jumped to ca. 95 metric tons:

http://www.directlauncher.org/docum...1.5000.08100_CLV_30x100nmi_29.0deg_090608.jpg

A jump in payload of 25,000 kg is a big deal. It's the difference in payload for instance between the 105 metric ton Block I version, and the 130 metric ton Block II version of the SLS. It would also mean the Block 0 with 5-segment SRB's would be close to the "magic" 100 metric ton payload number. And with just the interim upper stage, it would certainly exceed that.
Judging by this Chris Bergin article, we would expect the 5 segment SRB's to be ready by the 2017 first flight of the Block 0 SLS:

ATK and NASA ground test their SLS-bound five segment motor.
September 8th, 2011 by Chris Bergin
Quote

As far as ATK’s role in SLS, documentation (L2) shows the Utah-based company have proposed a Firm Fixed Price (FFP) contract for 10 boosters, available between 2012-2015, whilst noting available assets that can support up to 11 SLS missions prior to asset depletion in 2020.

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2011/09/atk-and-nasa-ground-test-five-segment-motor/

With a 70 metric ton limit I could just get the Orion to the lunar surface and back, but with very slender margins. But with a 95 metric ton limit it's doable with quite a bit of leeway.


Bob Clark

 

[N_Molson]

The interim, Block 0 SLS will use three SSME's, a standard sized ET, i.e., no tank stretch, and 4 segment SRB's.

Where do you get that from ? :blink:

The first SLS (2017) will feature 2x 5-segments RSRM, the "base" core stage with 4 SSME, and an interim upper stage which will be quite close of the Delta-4 series upper stage (RL-10 based).

Yes the LEO payload capacity is 70 tons.

 

[orb]

SPACE.com: NASA Aims to Trim Giant Deep-Space Rocket's Cost

 

[RGClark]

Where do you get that from ? :blink:

The first SLS (2017) will feature 2x 5-segments RSRM, the "base" core stage with 4 SSME, and an interim upper stage which will be quite close of the Delta-4 series upper stage (RL-10 based).

Yes the LEO payload capacity is 70 tons.

It is generally acknowledged that the SLS is based on the DIRECT teams "Jupiter" launcher. Then their respective launchers closely mirror each other in their payload capabilities for versions with similar components.

The Block 0 SLS was initially planned to have a 70 mT payload capability, as mirrored by the corresponding DIRECT launcher. However, the current plan is to go directly to a Block 1 launcher, scheduled for a 2017 flight date. This will use 5-segment SRB's instead of the regular 4-segment ones planned for the Block 0. However, if you look at the DIRECT teams 5-segment version of their Jupiter rocket it has nearly a 95 mT capability. Moreover, NASA wants to give the Block 1 an additional SSME core engine and stretch the tank. Then it will have even greater payload than the 95 mT of the corresponding DIRECT teams launcher.

So NASA is still using the 70 mT payload number of the Block 0 in discussing this initial flight of the SLS when the actual payload capability will be 95+ mT.

I think NASA should be more clear about what the actual capabilities of that first version of the SLS to fly will actually be. Saying it will do 70 metric tons to LEO is misleading as to what that first version can actually do.

According to the reports that first version to fly will even have an interim cryogenic upper stage, and quite low cost by the reports if the Delta IV derived one is used. Presumably, this will improve the LEO capability, perhaps to the 100 to 105 metric ton range.

A launch capability this high raises the possibility of even doing lander missions not just lunar flyby's. This is important because it means we will have the capability of doing lunar lander missions not just in 2030 when the full SLS comes on line but just in 5 years.

This becomes even more important when you realize the necessary stages, the Centaurs, already exist to make the Earth departure/lander stages. ULA has written numerous reports on markedly reducing boiloff in the Centaurs so that we can consider that to be well understood, and essentially solved.

It has been complained that the SLS has no mission. NASA being direct, so to speak, about what the actual capabilities of that first version of the SLS to fly will make clear that the SLS does have an important mission, and in the very near term and at (comparatively) low cost: Return to the Moon.


Bob Clark

 

[orb]

Florida Today: Wolf plays key role in new course for NASA

 

[N_Molson]

NASA AND INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS APPROVE YEAR-LONG SPACE STATION STAY

Rachel Kraft & Josh Byerly

WASHINGTON -- NASA and its international partners have announced an agreement to send two crew members to the International Space Station on a one-year mission designed to collect valuable scientific data needed to send humans to new destinations in the solar system.

The crew members, one American astronaut and one Russian cosmonaut, will launch and land in a Russian Soyuz spacecraft and are scheduled to begin their voyage in spring 2015.

The space station serves as a laboratory for technological demonstrations and scientific research, including experiments that improve understanding of how the human body reacts and adaptsto the harsh environment of space. Data from a year-long expedition also will help inform assumptions about crew performance and health, and will help reduce the risks associated with future exploration.

"In order for us to eventually move beyond low Earth orbit, we need to better understand how humans adapt to long-term spaceflight," said Michael Suffredini, International Space Station program manager. "The space station serves as a vital scientific resource for teaching us those lessons, and this yearlong expedition aboard the complex will help us move closer to those journeys."

During the 12 years of permanent human presence aboard the space station, scientists and researchers have gained valuable, and often surprising, data on the effects of microgravity on bone density, muscle mass, strength, vision and other aspects of human physiology. This year-long stay will allow for greater analysis of these effects
and trends.

"We have gained new knowledge about the effects of spaceflight on the human body from the scientific research conducted on the space station, and it is the perfect time to test a one-year expedition aboard the orbital laboratory," said Julie Robinson, NASA's program scientist for the International Space Station. "What we will gain from this expedition will influence the way we structure our human research plans in the future."

The expedition also will serve as a test bed for future exploration technologies. Those innovative technologies, the logistics of the trip to and from the space station and the selection of the crew will be announced at a future time.

For more information about the International Space Station and its crew, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/station

 

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Florida Today: NASA gets VAB ready for the next generation

 

[RGClark]

It is generally acknowledged that the SLS is based on the DIRECT teams "Jupiter" launcher. Then their respective launchers closely mirror each other in their payload capabilities for versions with similar components.
The Block 0 SLS was initially planned to have a 70 mT payload capability, as mirrored by the corresponding DIRECT launcher. However, the current plan is to go directly to a Block 1 launcher, scheduled for a 2017 flight date. This will use 5-segment SRB's instead of the regular 4-segment ones planned for the Block 0. However, if you look at the DIRECT teams 5-segment version of their Jupiter rocket it has nearly a 95 mT capability. Moreover, NASA wants to give the Block 1 an additional SSME core engine and stretch the tank. Then it will have even greater payload than the 95 mT of the corresponding DIRECT teams launcher.
So NASA is still using the 70 mT payload number of the Block 0 in discussing this initial flight of the SLS when the actual payload capability will be 95+ mT.

Member Pipcard on this forum mentioned a proposal to the use the shuttle ET's as space stations on this thread, "Secret plan to privatize shuttle; now, to a next-generation shuttle"

This is interesting because they would have two and a half times the habitable volume of the ISS. And if the SLS really will have a 95+ mT payload capacity to orbit, the ET could be launched to LEO on a single launch with extra payload available for converting the ET into a habitable living space.
I tried to get it also to the Earth-Moon Lagrange points for the space stations NASA is considering but it is a bit too heavy while using propellant left over from the flight to LEO, instead of getting extra payload. However, I think it can be made to work if the shuttle ET was converted to common bulkhead design, to save weight.
Note that the ET's could also serve as quite large propellant depots at either location.


Bob Clark

 

[N_Molson]

A Powerful Line Up

Two J-2X engines and a power pack, developed for NASA by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, sit side-by-side at John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi as work continues on the Space Launch System.

Engine 10001, far left, has been removed from the A-2 test stand after being hot-fire tested 21 times, for a total of 2,697 seconds. The engine is now undergoing a series of post-test inspections.

A J-2X powerpack, center, has been removed from test stand A-1 to receive additional instrumentation. So far, the powerpack has been hot-fire tested 10 times, for a total of 4,162 seconds. Once it goes back into the test stand at Stennis, the powerpack will be hot-fire tested three more times, for a total of 6,000 seconds among its 13 planned tests.

Meanwhile, assembly on the second J-2X engine, known as Engine 10002 and located to the far right, has begun in earnest, with engine completion scheduled for this November. Engine 10002 is about 15 percent complete.

The J-2X is a highly efficient and versatile advanced rocket engine with the ideal thrust and performance characteristics to power the upper stage of NASA's Space Launch System, a new heavy-lift launch vehicle capable of missions beyond low-Earth orbit. Fueled by liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, the J-2X builds on heritage designs but relies on nearly a half-century of NASA spaceflight experience and technological and manufacturing advances to deliver up to 294,000 pounds of thrust, powering exploration to new destinations in our solar system. The J-2X is the first new liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen rocket engine developed in 40 years that will be rated to carry humans into space.

Image credit: NASA/SSC