Aerojet and Boeing have signed an associate contractor’s agreement to build the upper stage of the Ares rocket for NASA’s Orion lunar program. The contract also involves four other companies: Hamilton Sundstrand, Jacobs Engineering Group, Moog Inc., and Teledyne Brown Engineering. Aerojet, a division of GenCorp, is based in Rancho Cordova, Calif.
Read the Sacramento Bee story here. Aerojet has also issued a press release.
NASA’s Langley Research Center has built a full-scale mock-up of the Orion spacecraft designed to replace the space shuttle and return astronauts to the moon. The mock-up will be used to test the escape system that would rocket astronauts to safety in the event of a booster failure.
The Daily Press has a story with video. The Associated Press also has a story. You can also read the official NASA press release.
The Orlando Sentinel has a story about the challenges faced by Florida’s Space Coast with the wind down of the shuttle program and potentially long gap before the Constellation program replaces it.
“According to Washington insiders, NASA — which until now has refrained from putting numbers on work-force losses — will announce in two weeks that 4,000 jobs will disappear with the shuttle in 2010,” the paper reports. “Experts anticipate another few thousand associated jobs will follow suit.”
The new Constellation program will require far fewer jobs than the space shuttle. In addition, Florida also is facing competition from Virginia, Texas and other states and countries.
SOURCE: PURDUE UNIVERSITY NEWS SERVICE
WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. - Purdue University engineers are conducting experiments using a new hydrogen facility to help NASA create designs to improve the cooling efficiency and performance of the J-2X rocket engine, critical for future missions to Mars and the moon.
More efficient cooling improves performance and reduces the need for costly overhauls, said William Anderson, an associate professor in Purdue’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics.
The new hydrogen facility allows Purdue researchers to study fundamental processes in hydrogen-oxygen engines, such as the J-2X and the engine that will be used by astronauts during their descent to the moon.
Continue reading ‘Purdue University Facility Works on Improving NASA Moon Engine’
NASA MEDIA ADVISORY : M08-055
CLEVELAND - Reporters are invited to NASA’s Glenn Research Center in Cleveland on Thursday, March 13 at 11 a.m. EDT to view a full-scale element of NASA’s Ares I-X rocket. The test launch and flight of the Ares I-X in April 2009 is a critical milestone in the development of NASA’s Constellation Program that will send astronauts back to the moon.
Reporters will be able to see and climb inside the 18-foot wide, 45-foot tall simulation of the Ares I upper stage, which was designed and manufactured at Glenn. The simulated element represents the size, outer shape and mass of the second stage of the Ares I rocket. Media also will receive an update of NASA’s Ares I-X Project and a tour of Glenn’s Fabrication Shop.
Continue reading ‘NASA Offers Ares I-X Media Opportunity at Glenn, March 13′
Alliant Techsystems reports progress on the first stage of NASA’s new Ares I vehicle, according to a story at Flight Global.
ATK has fabricated segments for ground vibration tests and expects to ship hardware to the Kennedy Space Center in July. The five-segment stage, based on the solid rocket boosters used for the space shuttle, will help launch NASA’s new Orion spacecraft.
With the retirement of the space shuttle only 2 1/2 years away, NASA officials and Congressional representatives are increasingly worried about a possible five-year gap in flight operations until a successor vehicle can take over.
In Congressional testimony, NASA Administrator Michael Griffin, who has lead the agency since 2005, referred to the gap as his “greatest regret and greatest concern….We will be largely dependent on the Russians, and that is terrible place for the United States to be. I’m worried, and many others are worried.”
NASA will not be able to independently reach a space station it has spent 25 years building. Instead, the space agency will be dependent upon Russian Soyuz spacecraft until it can bring its Ares/Orion system online around 2015.
Continue reading ‘Shuttle Gap Raises Concerns on Capitol Hill’
Steve Cook, manager of NASA’s lunar Ares program, says critics are wrong about the Ares I launcher being underpowered, poorly designed and behind schedule, according to a FlightGlobal.com article. Speaking during a recent conference in Denver, Cook said the vehicle has acceptable payload margins and that NASA engineers have oscillation and control issues well in hand.
“We have hit all our milestones and are on track to hit [the preliminary design review] milestone in August 2008. We won’t go into a review unless we’re ready,” Cook said.
Aviation Week reports that the Ares V rocket isn’t powerful enough to launch a human mission to the moon as currently designed. Ares V’s capacity is about 11-12 tones below the 75.1 metric tons (with margins) that it needs to launch into trans-lunar injection. It is several tons short without margins.
“The payload requirements are very driving and very difficult to get to, and frankly our vehicle today is close but doesn’t quite meet those mission requirements,” said Phil Sumrall, advanced planning manager in the Exploration Launch Projects Office at Marshall Space Flight Center.
Current plans are for the Ares V to launch the Altair lunar lander, followed by the liftoff of the smaller Ares I with a four-member crew in the Orion spacecraft. The crew would spent four days in low Earth orbit before heading off to the moon.
NASA is working to boost the Ares V’s capacity as well as shaving about three tons off the Altair lander. In another article, Aviation Week reports the space agency has an in-house design team working on a rough concept for Altair. The team will be joined by some industry partners which will help develop a “minimal functional” design.
For more detailed information about the Altair design process, you can also check out this NASASpaceFlight.com article.
Thousands of people could lose their jobs as NASA transitions from the space shuttle to its new Ares/Orion system beginning in 2010, NASA Administrator Mike Griffin warned this week.
“Our new systems will require and should require fewer people to operate the shuttle which is an expensive system,” Griffin said.
Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo mothership faces rudder problem
Flight International
Virgin Galactic’s WhiteKnightTwo may need to have its rudder and yaw stability improved to counter issues such as the greater fishtail effect that would be expected with a twin fuselage aircraft.
Witnesses to the 21 December maiden flight told Flight International that they noticed some yawing during take-off, indicating [...]
Report: Virgin Galactic Commercial Flights Set for 2011
Virgin Galactic on course to begin commercial space flights in 2011
Zaywa.com
The world’s first and only private space-liner Virgin Galactic will begin its commercial flights into space in 2011 with 300 passengers already booked for the gravity-defying journeys.
Virgin Galactic CEO Stephen Attenborough, who is also Commercial Director of Virgin Group of Sir Richard Branson, during a [...]
More on the Richardson Investigation
Richardson Withdraws Name for Cabinet (with Video)
MSNBC
NBC’s Lisa Myers reported last month: “The allegations now being investigated by a federal grand jury involve whether Richardson as governor steered state bond business to a firm whose founder made substantial contributions to Richardson’s political action committee. Two former state officials involved in the bond deals told NBC [...]
Spacehab to Support MRM1 for International Space Station
SPACEHAB PRESS RELEASE
SPACEHAB Incorporated, a leading provider of commercial space services, reached an agreement in principal with RSC Energia, Russia’s largest manufacturer of aerospace and space equipment, to provide facilities and support services for [...]
Spend $25 Grand to See a Man Boldly Go Where He’s Already Gone Before
Space Adventures Books Junket
Aviation Week
“Space Adventures, the Virginia firm that arranges for well-heeled tourists to fly to the International Space Station on Russian Soyuz vehicles, is booking a “VIP Launch Tour” for slightly less well-heeled tourists who want to see Charles Simonyi off on its second orbital trip. For $16,000-$24,000 a person, the company will [...]
Forgot Someone on the Old Christmas List? Buy Them a Walk in Space for $45 Million
The headline says it all. We now know how much it will cost to become the first private citizen to walk in space. Virginia-based Space Adventures is now advertising spacewalks at ISS for $45-$55 million. Meanwhile, if you just want to go up there for a little vacation, the price tag has soared to $35-$45 [...]
