September 2014 EFT-1 after 2-chute Orion test

Artist’s illustration of the EFT-1 Orion in orbit, following a planned launch atop a Delta-IV Heavy booster in September 2014 [NASA].

Ben Evans

AmericaSpace

In less than two years’ time, NASA intends to loft its first unmanned Orion spacecraft on the long-awaited Exploration Flight Test (EFT)-1 mission atop United Launch Alliance’s gigantic Delta IV Heavy booster. The mission, which will rise to a maximum altitude of 3,600 miles—the highest a human-capable vehicle has flown since the end of the Apollo era—will serve to wring out many of Orion’s systems in readiness for its first Exploration Mission in late 2017. NASA took one step toward the EFT-1 goal yesterday (Thursday), by completing the latest in a series of parachute drop tests of a mock-up vehicle at the US Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. The test confirmed that Orion could land safely even if one of its two parachutes failed to open during the critical final stages of descent.

Read the full article, HERE.

Checking in on the SLS (July 11, 2012)
Orion Drop Test (April 18. 2012)
EFT-1 2017 SLS/Orion lunar mission outlined (March 1, 2012)
Orion EFT1 Animation (No Narration)
Spudis: Double the Space Budget? (March 1, 2012)
NASA settles on SLS architecture (September 14, 2011)

NASA floats parking at Lagrange Point 2

One of many proposed configurations for the Gateway architecture, shown above the lunar farside "parked" at Lagrange Point 2 [NASA].

Mark K. Matthews

Orlando Sentinel

Top NASA officials have picked a leading candidate for the agency's next major mission: construction of a new outpost that would send astronauts farther from Earth than at any time in history.

The so-called "gateway spacecraft" would hover in orbit on the far side of the moon, support a small astronaut crew and function as a staging area for future missions to the moon and Mars.

At 277,000 miles from Earth, the outpost would be far more remote than the current space station, which orbits a little more than 200 miles above Earth. The distance raises complex questions of how to protect astronauts from the radiation of deep space — and rescue them if something goes wrong.

NASA Chief Charlie Bolden briefed the White House earlier this month on details of the proposal, but it's unclear whether it has the administration's support. Of critical importance is the price tag, which would certainly run into the billions of dollars.

Documents obtained by the Orlando Sentinel show that NASA wants to build a small outpost — likely with parts left over from the $100 billion International Space Station — at what's known as the Earth-Moon Lagrange Point 2, a spot about 38,000 miles from the moon and 277,000 miles from Earth.

At that location, the combined gravities of the Earth and moon reach equilibrium, making it possible to "stick" an outpost there with minimal power required to keep it in place.

To get there, NASA would use the massive rocket and space capsule that it is developing as a successor to the retired space shuttle. A first flight of that rocket is planned for 2017, and construction of the outpost would begin two years later, according to NASA planning documents.

Read the full article HERE.

Related Post:

AIAA Houston proposes Cis-Lunar NEXT (May 3, 2012)

Orion and SLS: Where Are They Now?

Amy Teitel
AmericaSpace.com

It’s been a little over a year since NASA announced its intention to build the Space Launch System or SLS, the rocket that will be bigger and more powerful than the Saturn V. Its payload is set to be the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, the Apollo-inspired capsule that is slated to take men to the Moon, Mars, and asteroids at some still-undefined point in the future. Last Wednesday, the Republican Subcommittee on Space and Aeronautics held a hearing to examine ongoing developments of Orion and SLS. The word from NASA is that both projects are moving forward. But schedules are starting to slip, and things will only get worse if the agency faces further budget cuts.

Testifying at the September 12 hearing were Cleon Lacefield, Vice President and Orion Program Manager from Lockheed Martin; Boeing Space Exploration Vice President and SLS Stages Program Manager Jim Chilton; NASA Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Development Daniel L. Dumbacher; and Matt Mountain, Director of the Space Telescope Science Institute.

Read the full article, HERE.

Another successful Orion drop test

The Orion team loads a test version of the spacecraft into a C-17 in preparation for a parachute drop test at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona. The main objective of the latest drop test is to determine how the entire system would respond if one of the three main parachutes inflated too quickly [NASA].

NASA completed another successful test Wednesday of the Orion crew vehicle's parachutes high above the Arizona desert in preparation for the spacecraft’s orbital flight test in 2014. Orion will carry astronauts deeper into space than ever before, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and ensure a safe re-entry and landing.

› Watch a video of the parachute drop test

A C-17 plane dropped a test version of Orion from an altitude of 25,000 feet above the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in southwestern Arizona. This test was the second to use an Orion craft that mimics the full size and shape of the spacecraft.

Orion's drogue chutes were deployed between 15,000 feet and 20,000 feet, followed by the pilot parachutes, which deployed the main landing parachutes. Orion descended about 25 feet per second, well below its maximum designed touchdown speed, when it landed on the desert floor.

Read the full NASA Feature article, HERE.

Checking up on the Space Launch System

The most recent publicly released artist's rendering of the Orion/SLS Block-1 architecture, now intended for a hoped-for 2017 debut. Success by streamlined commercial manned space companies filling America's low-Earth orbit manned spaceflight gap with the retirement of the Space Shuttle in 2011, the Space Launce System heavy-lift architecture will revive American manned spaceflight access to Cis-Lunar Space and beyond. Until then, NASA will utilize the work-horse Delta-IV heavy lift booster to begin unmanned flight testing of the Orion spacecraft beginning in 2014  [NASA].

Jason Davis

The Planetary Society Blog
 

When SpaceX's Dragon capsule returned from its historic trip to the International Space Station this May, it proved that -- in theory -- the idea of having private spaceflight companies relieve NASA of its low-Earth orbit taxi duties can succeed. Meanwhile, work continues on the Space Launch System, the next-generation deep space vehicle slated to take humans beyond Earth for the first time since 1972.

Orion arrives at KSC -- Amid much pomp and circumstance, the first space-bound Orion capsule arrived at Kennedy Space Center at the end of June. Orion sat naked during its official unveiling, baring its sea foam-green hull that was constructed using friction stir welding, a process in which metal is 'mixed' at the joint rather than melted (other space vehicles have used this technique, including SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket). NASA officials, astronauts and politicians attended the official unveiling, including U.S. Senator Bill Nelson, who is fond of referring to the SLS by a different moniker: the "Monster Rocket."

Read the complete post HERE.

Related:
Orion Drop Test (April 18. 2012)

EM1: 2017 SLS/Orion lunar mission outlined (March 1, 2012)

Orion EFT1 Animation (No Narration)
Spudis: Double the Space Budget? (March 1, 2012)

NASA settles on SLS architecture (September 14, 2011)