View from the International Space Station of the SpaceX Dragon spacecraft as the robotic arm moves Dragon into place for attachment to the station May 25, 2012. (Credit: NASA)

By Jessica Eagan
International Space Station Program Science Office

He described it as “snow white.” But NASA astronaut Don Pettit was not referring to the popular children’s fairy tale.

Rather, he was talking about the white coating of the Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) Dragon spacecraft that reflected from the International Space Station’s light. As it approached the station for the first time in May 2012, the Dragon’s trunk might have been described as the “fairest of them all,” for its pristine coating, allowing Pettit to clearly see to maneuver the robotic arm to grab the Dragon for a successful nighttime berthing.

This protective thermal control coating, developed by Alion Science and Technology Corp., based in McLean, Va., made its bright appearance again with the March 1 launch of SpaceX’s second commercial resupply mission. Named Z-93C55, the coating was applied to the cargo portion of the Dragon to protect it from the rigors of space.

“For decades, Alion has produced coatings to protect against the rigors of space,” said Michael Kenny, senior chemist with Alion. “As space missions evolved, there was a growing need to dissipate electrical charges that build up on the exteriors of spacecraft, or there could be damage to the spacecraft’s electronics. Alion’s research led us to develop materials that would meet this goal while also providing thermal controls. The outcome of this research was Alion’s proprietary Z-93C55 coating.”

Kenny said Alion thoroughly tested the newly formulated coatings in the lab and provided them for NASA’s Materials International Space Station Experiments (MISSE)-1 and 2 for further evaluation. MISSE-1 and 2, a test bed for materials and coatings flown on the outside of the station, evaluated the effects of atomic oxygen, direct sunlight, and extremes of heat and cold. The experiment allowed the development and testing of new materials to better withstand space environments, and the results provided an improved understanding of the durability of various materials when they are exposed to the space environment.

“Z-93C55 performed beyond expectations on MISSE, so it is now a viable alternative to the standard thermal control coatings,” said Kenny. “The flight data provided through the MISSE experiments was essential to its development.”

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., was responsible for performing the pre- and post-flight measurements of these coating materials.

Miria Finckenor, materials engineer at the Marshall Space Flight Center, removes a sample from a Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) Passive Experiment Container at Langley Research Center. Approximately 35 members of the MISSE team traveled from across the country to witness the “grand opening” of MISSE-1 and 2 in 2005. (Credit: NASA/Jeff Caplan)

“We measured the optical properties the same as we would for flight hardware, before and after the MISSE flight,” said Miria Finckenor, Marshall engineer and MISSE investigator. “We also looked for any mass loss, any cracking or flaking, and any changes in fluorescence due to space environmental effects.”

“The optical properties needed to be stable,” added Finckenor. “If the coating darkened, then the capsule would be warmer, causing any active thermal control system to work harder, which could limit the life of the thermal control system and thus the life span of the spacecraft.

Z-93C55 is a two-part system consisting of a pigment and a binder solution. Special additives enhance electrical conductivity without affecting thermal control properties, so the cured coating can handle high temperatures and survive the stresses of launching.

“The coating is actually an improved version of our Z-93P coating, which has had a long history in the aerospace industry,” said Kenny. “It was used on Apollo missions, the station’s radiators and many other missions. Z-93C55 is a thoroughly tested and qualified material, having gone through extensive testing in space simulation chambers and experimental missions.”

The coating also was used on NASA’s Juno, Gravity Recovery and Interior (GRAIL) and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter missions, among others.

Because shipping aerospace hardware to coating facilities is often challenging, costly and time consuming, the Alion engineers created a portable coatings application system.

This unit can be easily transported to anywhere in the world efficiently and is much more cost-effective. Experts sprayed more than 250 square feet of coatings — about 10 gallons for each trunk — onsite at SpaceX facilities in California and Florida to prepare for launch.

“When most people think about coatings, they’re probably thinking about paint that makes their bedroom or kitchen look good, or a shiny coat of wax for their car,” said Kenny. “But we get to work on coatings that help critical systems perform better and last longer, in space and here on Earth. And that means we’re helping important missions of all kinds succeed, every day.”

A pogo z-baffle for an RS-25 engine, built using state-of-the-art Selective Laser Melting, is inspected with a structured light scan. The part was created at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., which also manages the agency’s Space Launch System, or SLS, which will use RS-25s to reach beyond low-Earth orbit. (Credit: NASA/MSFC)

By Bill Hubscher
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center

The latest in cutting-edge manufacturing is already making a significant impact in the future of space exploration.

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., the prime contractor for the J-2X engine, recently used an advanced 3-D printing process called Selective Laser Melting, or SLM, to create an exhaust port cover for the engine. SLM uses lasers to fuse metal dust into a specific pattern to build the cover, which is essentially a maintenance hatch for the engine’s turbo pumps.

On March 7, this part was exposed to the strenuous conditions of a rocket engine firing during a test at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, and will be a part of the rest of this test series. The J-2X is undergoing rigorous testing in support of the agency’s Space Launch System Program, or SLS, managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

“The successful test of this part built with new technology helps prove the concept of selective laser melting,” said Todd May, SLS Program manager. “As we pursue America’s next heavy-lift rocket, our engineers are proactively looking for methods like SLM that will make the rocket more affordable. For example, the new part cost 35 percent of what it would cost to make the same part using conventional methods. That is significant savings and something we hope to spread over the rest of the program.”

The J-2X engine before installation at the Stennis Space Center. The engine’s new turbo pump exhaust port cover (detailed inset) was recently built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., using a pioneering manufacturing process called Selective Laser Melting. (Credit: NASA/SSC)

The port cover is exposed to intense temperature and exhaust conditions during the engine firings. After the successful run of the engine, test conductors open this cover to check the torque on the turbo pump and visually inspect the cover itself. Initial conclusions are that it performed exactly as expected.

Andy Hardin, SLS subsystem manager for liquid engines, compares the process of creating a rocket engine part using traditional manufacturing and welding, at right, and making one using Selective Laser Melting, or SLM, at left. The new z-baffle for the RS-25 engine was created by fusing metal dust with a high-power laser using the machine in the background. (Credit: NASA/MSFC)

“This is the first time a SLM part has been hot-fire tested during a full-scale engine test,” said Mike Kynard, manager of the SLS Liquid Engines Office. “Though the port cover is a relatively simple part of a complex liquid engine, it allows us to develop design standards, inspection techniques, materials characteristics among other specifications which lead us to the ultimate goal of using a SLM manufactured part on a human-rated liquid rocket engine: the RS-25 on SLS’s first flight in 2017.”

The Marshall Center also recently proved how this technology would save on the SLS budget by shaving months off the construction of certain engine parts. One such part is the pogo z-baffle of the RS-25 engine. Four RS-25s will help drive the core stage of the SLS into orbit and the baffles help reduce the potentially violent vibrations the engine experiences during flight.

“Traditionally, the forming, machining and welding of this baffle would take nine to ten months,” said Andy Hardin, SLS subsystem manager for liquid engines. “After creating the part using computer-aided design, we built this baffle with SLM in nine days, obviously significant time and cost savings. The lack of a traditional weld also makes this part more structurally sound.”

Selective Laser Melting is one of several cutting-edge technologies and concepts being studied by the SLS Advanced Development Office, which is researching ways to evolve SLS into the world’s most powerful launch vehicle safely, affordably and sustainably. For more on the SLM technique, visit here.

“The successful J-2X test paves the way for us to design and manufacture more complex SLM-created parts to be installed on the J-2X and RS-25 engines ultimately providing a significant cost and schedule savings,” said Kynard.

The first test launch of the SLS from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 2017 will send an uncrewed Orion spacecraft around the moon. A collection of four RS-25s will launch the capsule into orbit on the SLS core stage.

The core stage preliminary design review (PDR) was held Thursday at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., and included representatives from the agency and The Boeing Co. Boeing’s Exploration Launch Systems in Huntsville is the prime contractor for the core stage and its avionics. Marshall manages the SLS Program.

“Passing a preliminary design review within 12 months of bringing Boeing on contract shows we are on track toward meeting a 2017 launch date,” said Tony Lavoie, manager of the SLS Stages Element at Marshall. “We can now allow those time-critical areas of design to move forward with initial fabrication and proceed toward the final design phase — culminating in a critical design review in 2014 — with confidence.”

The first flight test of the SLS, which will feature a configuration for a 70-metric ton lift capacity and carry an uncrewed Orion spacecraft beyond the moon, is scheduled for 2017. As the SLS evolves, a two-stage launch vehicle using the core stage will provide a lift capability of 130-metric tons to enable missions beyond low-Earth orbit and to support deep space exploration.

The purpose of the PDR was to ensure the design met system requirements within acceptable risk and fell within schedule and budget constraints. An important part of the PDR was to prove the core stage could integrate safely with other elements of the rocket’s main engines and solid rocket boosters, the crew capsule and the launch facilities at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Core stage designers provided an in-depth assessment to a board of engineers comprised of propulsion and design experts from across the agency and the aerospace industry.

“Each individual element of this program has to be at the same level of maturity before we can move the program as a whole to the next step,” SLS Program Manager Todd May said. “The core stage is the rocket’s central propulsion element and will be an optimized blend of new and existing hardware design. We’re building it with longer tanks, longer feed lines and advanced manufacturing processes. We are running ahead of schedule and will leverage that schedule margin to ensure a safe and affordable rocket for our first flight in 2017.”

The core stage will be built at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans using state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment. The plant continues modifying its facilities and ordering materials for construction of the rocket. Michoud has built components for NASA’s spacecraft for decades, most recently, the space shuttle’s external tanks.

For more information about the Space Launch System, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/sls

To join the online conversation about SLS on Twitter, follow @NASA_SLS. To learn more about all the ways to connect and collaborate with NASA, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/connect

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (NASA PR) — The “Mighty Eagle,” a NASA robotic prototype lander, is soaring high again for a series of tests being conducted at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Since its last round of tests in 2011, the Mighty Eagle team has made significant updates to the guidance controls on the lander’s camera, furthering its autonomous capabilities. The three-legged “green” lander is fueled by 90 percent pure hydrogen peroxide and receives its commands from an onboard computer that activates its onboard thrusters to carry it to a controlled landing using a pre-programmed flight profile. It is 4 feet tall and 8 feet in diameter and, when fueled, weighs 700 pounds.

In this series of tests, which will continue through September, the lander prototype will autonomously fly and hover at 30 feet for two tests, and up to 100 feet for another two tests, and then move sideways, to safely land 30 feet away from the launch pad. The test demonstrates what it will take to perform the final descent of an autonomous controlled landing on the moon, asteroids or other airless bodies.

“These lander tests provide the data necessary to expand our capabilities to go to other destinations,” said Dr. Greg Chavers, engineering manager and warm gas test article lead at the Marshall Center. “It also furthers our knowledge of the engineering components needed for future human and robotic missions.” NASA will use the Mighty Eagle to mature the technology needed to develop a new generation of small, smart, versatile robotic landers capable of achieving scientific and exploration goals throughout the solar system.

Watch the video of the Mighty Eagle flight on Aug. 8, at the Marshall Center:

The Mighty Eagle prototype lander was developed by the Marshall Center and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Md., for NASA’s Planetary Sciences Division, Headquarters Science Mission Directorate. Key partners in this project include the Von Braun Center for Science and Innovation, which includes the Science Applications International Corporation, Dynetics Corp. and Teledyne Brown Engineering Inc., all of Huntsville.

For more information on NASA’s robotic landers, visit:

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., June 21, 2012

The combined System Requirements Review (SRR) and System Definition Review (SDR), held at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville with independent consultants from previous successful programs, validated that Boeing and NASA have developed solid system requirements for the cryogenic stages and supporting hardware. A cryogenic rocket engine uses liquefied gas stored at very low temperatures for optimal rocket efficiency.

While SRR is a contractual requirement, Boeing simultaneously pursued the SDR to enable a higher quality of requirements as the team enters the design phase. The reviews, completed well ahead of the scheduled August time frame for SRR, enabled a more aggressive path to core stage delivery to NASA, and validated the stage’s design concept and production approaches.

NASA’s plan uses existing elements for the boosters, crew capsule, and engines, but the cryogenic stages are new elements that require significantly more design and development. That makes successful, timely reviews essential to the progress of the entire SLS program.

“The Boeing and NASA team is demonstrating the value of our integrated approach to developing requirements,” said Jim Chilton, vice president and program manager for Boeing Exploration Launch Systems.

“SRR locks in requirements and serves as the basis for our estimates and performance metrics,” said Chuck Hanes, Boeing SLS business manager. “The understanding we reach at SRR and SDR is a firm commitment to the rocket’s requirements, design and resources.”

Boeing is designing, developing and producing part of SLS, the United States’ next-generation, human-rated rocket to transport people to deep space, enabling the next step in space exploration. Boeing is responsible for the SLS cryogenic stages and avionics. Design work for the cryogenic stages is performed in Huntsville, with production at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

Visit www.beyondearth.com for more information about the future of human space exploration.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world’s largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world’s largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $32 billion business with 61,000 employees worldwide. Follow us on Twitter: @BoeingDefense.

The Composite Crew Module being rolled into the vacuum chamber at Marshall's Environmental Test Facility. The test will continue through the end of the summer. (Credit: NASA/MSFC/Emmett Given)

Huntsville, Ala. (NASA PR — This week, engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., moved a Composite Crew Module (CCM) into the Environmental Test Facility vacuum chamber to gauge how well a space structure fabricated with composite materials will react in a simulated space environment. Data gained during this test series will aid in the design and development of future in-space composite habitable structures.

During the vacuum test, the chamber is sealed and purged to a level a vehicle would encounter on orbit to evaluate the composite material’s integrity. The crew module is filled with helium gas to allow engineers to detect any leaks that may occur as pressure increases. Vacuum testing will yield a leak rate for the entire structure, then the team works to repair small leaks that may arise to improve the hardware’s performance.

The test team includes members from the Marshall Center; NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va.; Goddard Space Flight Center in Md.; Kennedy Space Center in Fla.; and the Boeing Company in Huntsville. To date, the team has completed ten tests and will continue testing through the end of the summer.

The crew module was designed to test new materials and fabrication techniques that may be used in future space structures, which will be constructed of both metals and composites. The Composite Crew Module Project is led by NASA’s Engineering and Safety Center at Langley.

Fabricated at Alliant Techsystems in Iuka, Miss., the CCM was constructed in two parts using a hand layup technique, which combines carbon fiber epoxy and an aluminum honeycomb core. The two parts were joined together and then bonded in a unique process developed at the Marshall Center for the crew module. The project team is a partnership between NASA and industry and includes design, manufacturing, testing, inspection, and tooling expertise.

A reusable Falcon 9 first stage comes in for a landing. (Credit: SpaceX)

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (NASA PR) – NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., completed wind tunnel testing for Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) of Hawthorn, Calif., to provide Falcon 9 first stage re-entry data for the company’s advanced reusable launch vehicle system.

Under a Reimbursable Space Act Agreement, Marshall conducted 176 runs in the wind tunnel test facility on the Falcon 9 first stage to provide SpaceX with test data that will be used to develop a re-entry database for the recovery of the Falcon 9 first stage. Tests were conducted at several orientations and speeds ranging from Mach numbers 0.3, or 228 miles per hour at sea level, to Mach 5, or 3,811 miles per hour at sea level, to gauge how the first stage reacts during the descent phase of flight.

“Marshall’s aerodynamics team has vast experience in launch vehicle design and development and our wind tunnel offers an affordable, quick-turn solution to companies who are looking to generate aerodynamic test data on early launch vehicle design configurations,” said Teresa Vanhooser, manager of the Flight Programs and Partnerships Office at Marshall. “We believe that providing technical expertise enables development of new and innovative technologies that aid the industry as a whole and helps NASA to continue with our deep space exploration mission.”

A reusable Falcon 9 second stage re-enters the atmosphere. (Credit: SpaceX)

Marshall’s Aerodynamic Research Facility’s 14-square-inch trisonic wind tunnel is an intermittent, blow-down tunnel that operates from high-pressure storage to either vacuum or atmospheric exhaust. The facility is capable of conducting tests in the subsonic, transonic, and supersonic mach ranges using its two interchangeable test sections. Subsonic Mach numbers are below Mach 1, the speed of sound, or 760 miles per hour at sea level, while transonic speeds approach and are slightly above Mach 1. The facility can achieve a maximum supersonic Mach number of 5, or five times the speed of sound.

In addition to wind tunnel testing, Marshall is providing propulsion engineering support to SpaceX in the development of the SuperDraco Launch Abort System (LAS) and on-orbit propulsion systems. Marshall is supplying SpaceX with Reaction Control Systems lessons learned that will be incorporated into the Dragon spacecraft’s design for steering and attitude control. Marshall engineers also are providing technical insight in the development of materials and processes to support future improvements of the Falcon 9 and Dragon to be used in the SpaceX Commercial Crew Development Program.

“Since 2007, Marshall has supported the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Program by providing engineering expertise and technical insight to aid our commercial partners in developing their transportation capabilities,” stated Vanhooser. “The Marshall Center has over 50 years of spaceflight experience and propulsion expertise to draw upon to help our commercial partners solve the complex challenges of space travel.”

Marshall has been engaged throughout the development in evaluating the Falcon 9 launch vehicle and Dragon spacecraft systems’ design under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Program led by the Johnson Space Center in Houston for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate (HEOMD) in Washington. The Marshall team supported various design reviews, flight readiness reviews, post-flight reviews and special studies.

The Marshall Center also provides SpaceX technical support as requested under the Commercial Crew Program (CCP) led by the Kennedy Space Center for HEOMD. Engineers from the Marshall Center have been engaged with SpaceX by serving as the CCP launch vehicle systems lead and by providing discipline support to the partner integration teams.

Dream Chaser cockpit simulator. (Credit: Sierra Nevada Corporation)

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (NASA PR) – NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., successfully completed wind tunnel testing for Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) Space Systems of Louisville, Colo. The test will provide aerodynamic data that will aid in the design of the new Dream Chaser® Space System.

During tests at Marshall’s wind tunnel facility, a scale model of SNC’s Dream Chaser orbital crew vehicle was mounted on a scale model of the United Launch Alliance’s Atlas V launch vehicle. Over 400 data runs were performed at subsonic, transonic and supersonic speeds to study the effects of how air moves past the model. Nine full-stack configurations were tested over a Mach range of .4, or 304 miles per hour at sea level, to Mach 5, or 3,800 miles per hour at sea level, at various launch vehicle roll angles.

The data generated from this test series, coupled with data from computational fluid dynamics studies, will define the aerodynamic characteristics of the Dream Chaser – Atlas V launch stack during the ascent phase of flight. Obtaining this data will enable higher-fidelity loads analysis, better definition of launch vehicle performance, and will aid in further refining Dream Chaser’s trajectory design for orbital vehicle launches.

“We’re glad Marshall could support SNC in completing these wind tunnel tests quickly and affordably and early in the design phase,” said Teresa Vanhooser, manager of the Flight Programs and Partnerships Office at Marshall. “Our trisonic wind tunnel and engineering staff helps partners understand the aerodynamic integrity and stability of spacecraft and launch vehicles, like the Dream Chaser, over a variety of wind speeds and phases of flight.”

Mark Sirangelo, corporate vice president and head of SNC’s Space Systems, said: “The Dream Chaser Program is grateful for the opportunity to leverage the experience, expertise, and resources of Marshall, made possible by the unique government-commercial partnership created through NASA’s Commercial Crew Development Program. Sierra Nevada Corporation looks forward to expanding our successful relationship with Marshall, as well as creating new business opportunities in the Huntsville area.”

Marshall’s Aerodynamic Research Facility’s 14-inch trisonic wind tunnel is an intermittent, blow-down tunnel that operates from high-pressure storage to either vacuum or atmospheric exhaust. The facility is capable of conducting tests in the subsonic, transonic and supersonic mach ranges using its two interchangeable test sections. Subsonic Mach numbers are below Mach 1, the speed of sound, or 760 miles per hour at sea level, while transonic speeds approach and are slightly above Mach 1. The facility can achieve a maximum supersonic Mach number of 5, or five times the speed of sound.

SNC is currently one of the NASA Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) partners awarded funding under a Space Act Agreement to mature their Dream Chaser orbital crew transportation system. NASA’s CCDev effort is being led by NASA’s Kennedy Space Center and supported by NASA technical experts across the agency, including the Marshall Center for a variety of technical areas.

The effort to define the aerodynamic characteristics of the Dream Chaser Space System is being conducted under a reimbursable Space Act Agreement funded by SNC and executed with the support of aerodynamicists and wind tunnel experts from the Marshall Center and United Launch Alliance.

Working with Boeing Exploration Launch Systems and NASA Marshall Space Flight Center, Aerojet successfully completed environmental and hot-fire performance testing of the MR-104H in Redmond, Wash. The MR-104 product line matured under NASA’s Constellation program and is applicable for future space vehicles.

Aerojet has helped conduct a series of tests over the past three years that has advanced the thruster’s demonstrated capabilities for modern missions, including verifying that the engine is capable of generating up to 200 lbf thrust.

“We have worked with our partners to mature the thruster from its flight-proven spacecraft application toward a human-rated application,” said Dr. Scott Miller, executive director, Aerojet Space and Launch Systems. “We are looking forward to this technology supporting a new generation of U.S. space exploration.”

Adapting the heritage thrusters for NASA included incorporating a modern valve on the engine, changing the thruster nozzle configuration to improve packaging, and developing insulation which allows burying the engine inside of a vehicle — a design modification that allows the MR-104H to be readily incorporated into other vehicle concepts for human spaceflight.

The MR-104H has increased capabilities from the heritage thruster, including an upgraded dual-seat valve, higher vibration capability and improved configuration for integration. The heritage MR-104 thruster was originally flown on the Voyager spacecraft and has helped enable mission success on 10 spacecraft including NASA’s Magellan mission to Venus.

Aerojet is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader principally serving the missile and space propulsion, defense and armaments markets. GenCorp is a leading technology-based manufacturer of aerospace and defense products and systems with a real estate segment that includes activities related to the entitlement, sale, and leasing of the company’s excess real estate assets. Additional information about Aerojet and GenCorp can be obtained by visiting the companies’ websites at http://www.Aerojet.com and http://www.GenCorp.com .

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (NASA PR) –

Partnering on this effort will strengthen mutual organizational goals, including reduced development and total life cycle costs, cross agency collaboration for rocket propulsion system development and strengthen competitive growth in the nation’s rocket propulsion industrial base.

“This joint approach allows both parties to benefit from our entrusted resources and engage the top rocket propulsion experts and organizations to help solve these very complex propulsion challenges,” said Dale Thomas, Associate Director for Technical Issues at Marshall. “In recent years, it’s become apparent that the rocket propulsion industry is in a state of distress; collaborating — especially in a time of declining budgets — helps to grow and strengthen the knowledge base which is important for our nation’s technical preeminence.”

NASA and the Air Force are interested in the outcome of a requirements study of the Affordable Upper Stage Engine Program (AUSEP) liquid rocket engine for use on upper stages of medium- and heavy-class launch vehicles, including the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) family of launch vehicles.

The AUSEP study will identify the most cost effective and technically mature alternatives to the current Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle upper stage engines. NASA is interested in the study as the AUSE could be a candidate to power the SLS cryogenic propulsion stage for in-space applications to enable exploration to multiple destinations beyond low-Earth orbit.

As part of the NASA Research Announcement, the SLS Program is pursuing advanced developments for the evolved SLS vehicle in the areas of concept development, propulsion, structures, materials, manufacturing and avionics, and software.

Marshall is leading the design and development of the SLS on behalf of the agency. The new heavy-lift launch vehicle will expand human presence beyond low-Earth orbit and enable new missions of exploration across the solar system.

For more information about the SLS Advanced Development NRA, visit: http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/eps/synopsis.cgi?acqid=149905

Editor’s Note: This is interesting news. I understand the purpose of developing an advanced stage for the Space Launch System. However, the connection to the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicles (EELVs), i.e., Atlas V and Delta IV, is a bit of a puzzle.

United Launch Alliance (ULA) is already developing a new engine for the Centaur upper stage in collaboration with XCOR to fly on the Atlas V and Delta IV. The new engine, coupled with upgrades that ULA is making in the Centaur, would reduce the costs of these launch vehicles. The Centaur would also be well suited for in-space propulsion duties. So, why exactly are they doing this AUSEP study?

The other problem is that nobody has ever associated NASA Marshall or the U.S. Air Force with the word “affordable.” This combination does not appear to be ideal for achieving the stated goal. But, that’s probably the way Congress likes it. The question is whether they will be able to recognize affordable options when they receive proposals from industry under the NRA?

Just how big? Try two 747s put together big. With six jumbo jet engines, a gross weight of 1.2 million pound, and a wingspan of more than 380 feet. And how super bad is the dream team behind it? Try Microsoft billionaire co-founder Paul Allen; aviation legend Burt Rutan and Scaled Composites; Elon Musk and SpaceX; and Huntsville’s own Dynetics.

The headquarters for this new Stratolaunch Systems venture? Huntsville, Alabama. NewSpace City.

Pretty epic, huh?

The Huntsville Times has some details about local operations and reactions in a story today titled, With one press conference, Paul Allen puts Huntsville in commercial space race:

The new company’s headquarters will be in Huntsville’s Cummings Research Park, and it will grow from about 40 employees now to more than 100 in the coming months. Future growth depends on the market for its products…

After the press conference, Steve Cook, director of space technologies for Dynetics, called the new company “one of the most ambitious commercial space programs ever attempted.” It puts Huntsville in the private space race, Cook said.

Mayor Tommy Battle agreed, calling the new company “a great opportunity for Huntsville” late Tuesday. Battle said the city will now a player in low-earth orbit flights with Stratolaunch and deep-space missions with NASA’s new heavy-lift rocket being developed at Marshall. “We have the synergy here for rocket propulsion,” Battle said.

Cook said Dynetics will build and assemble the hardware needed to mate the rockets to the plane at a 226,000-square-foot structure under construction in Huntsville. The company will also do the systems engineering to control the launches, he said.

Dynetics Vice President David King, a former Marshall director and space shuttle launch director, is also on the new company’s board, along with executives from SpaceX and Allen’s investment company.

Stratolaunch will not lack for people with launch experience: the company is relying heavily upon veterans of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville. CEO Gary Wentz is a former chief systems engineer at the space center. Dynetics outlined some of the other ties and its business plans to provide integration services in a press release:

“Dynetics has a world class team of launch, propulsion and aircraft experts leading this program, including David King, a former Shuttle launch director and Marshall Space Flight Center director; Steve Cook, former Ares Launch Vehicle projects manager; Mark Fisher, former Marshall Space Flight Center liquid engines program manager and the technical director for this project, Jim Halsell, former U.S. Air Force test pilot, SR-71 pilot and Shuttle pilot and commander,” said Dynetics CEO Marc Bendickson.

Work on the air launch system will be accomplished in Dynetics’ new state-of-the-art, 226,500-square-foot prototyping center in Huntsville.

Dynamic Concepts, Inc. and Tri Vector Services Inc. are currently working with Dynetics on this project. “We are proud to have two local small businesses supporting our efforts,” said Bendickson.

Although Huntsville will see job growth, other cities will benefit as well. The carrier aircraft will be built and tested in Mojave, Calif., while the booster rocket will be built by SpaceX at his facility in Hawthorne, Calif. Stratolaunch officials say they are in discussions with several spaceports to serve as a base of operation, including the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. KSC has a 15,000 foot runway used for space shuttle flights that is longer than the 12,000 foot runway required for the carrier aircraft.

* Tough guy actor Charles Bronson

Marshall will perform wind tunnel tests for Sierra Nevada’s Dream Chaser orbital crew vehicle, a spacecraft that looks like a small space shuttle. The tests will simulate speeds ranging from Mach .2, or 152 mph at sea level, to Mach 5, or 3,811 mph at sea level, to provide Sierra Nevada with aerodynamic data about how the vehicle reacts at varying speeds and atmospheric conditions. Marshall will provide engineering support and data processing throughout the test series. The agreement could lead to joint development, testing and operations of advanced space systems — including innovative design and fabrication techniques.

“Helping our commercial partners be successful is a top priority, and we are pleased to be working with Sierra Nevada on Dream Chaser,” said Teresa Vanhooser, manager of the Flight Programs and Partnerships Office at Marshall. “Our experienced workforce and unique wind tunnel offers our partners a proven, quick, and affordable way to test their Dream Chaser vehicle, and will aid in the development of the capability to transport astronauts to the International Space Station.”

Marshall’s 14-square-foot wind tunnel is capable of conducting tests at subsonic, transonic and supersonic wind speeds. Transonic speeds are close to Mach 1, the speed of sound, or 760 mph at sea level, and the facility can achieve wind speeds as great as Mach 5.

“We are extremely pleased to be adding the Marshall Space Flight Center to our Dream Chaser Orbital spacecraft team, which now includes seven NASA centers. Marshall has been at the forefront of many significant aerospace programs, and we are fortunate to have their terrific people and valuable technical capabilities assisting us in the development of our vehicle. Our partnership will enable us to reach low-Earth orbit sooner and safer. We look forward to a long and mutually rewarding relationship and to expanding our presence in Alabama,” said Mark Sirangelo, head of Sierra Nevada Space Systems.

For more information about NASA Commercial Crew Program, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew

The Honorable Barack H. Obama
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, D.C. 20500

Dear Mr. President:

Thank you for supporting NASA Administrator Bolden’s recent announcement to move forward on the Space Launch System (SLS). As you know, our communities have been deeply affected by the retirement of the Space Shuttle Program and the cancellation of the Constellation Program. Collectively, the Houston, Texas and Huntsville, Alabama communities have faced the loss of thousands of jobs in the aerospace industry, which has been devastating, particularly at a time when the economy struggles to recover.

Americans have always explored the unexplored – it is in our DNA to do so – and we will not accept anything less than our best efforts. The lack of direction for the next generation’s human space flight program led to uncertainty within our highly skilled workforce. The Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and Johnson Space Center (JSC) workforce and contractor community have dedicated their talent and years of hard work to an incredible success story.

While we all agree that commercial space ventures are critical to the future of human space flight, they cannot come at the expense of NASA’s role in ensuring access to space. They cannot come at the expense of seeing all the amazing, cutting edge expertise gathered together at MSFC and JSC being dispersed around the world – lost to this country and our own space efforts.

Your support for SLS and the Multi Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV) is critical to the stabilization of the aerospace industry and the economic recovery for our respective communities. We ask you to urge Administrator Bolden to move forward as expeditiously as possible on all relevant contracts.Speed is imperative to protect the workforce and to ensure our nation’s global leadership in space and in technological advancement.

Sincerely,

Annise D. Parker
Mayor
[Houston, Texas]

Tommy Battle
Mayor
[Huntsville, Alabama]

The selected company will design and manufacture two lightweight composite cryogenic propellant tanks. The demonstration effort will use advanced composite materials and manufacturing techniques to develop new technologies that could be applied to multiple future NASA missions, including human space exploration beyond low Earth orbit. The Composite Cryotank Technologies Demonstration effort is part of NASA’s Space Technology Program.

Participants will be:

• Michael Gazarik, director of NASA’s Space Technology Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington
• Robert Lightfoot, director of NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
• John Vickers, project manager of NASA’s Composite Cryotank Technology Demonstration effort at Marshall

Audio of the call will be streamed live at:  http://www.nasa.gov/newsaudio

By investing in high payoff, disruptive technology that industry does not have today, NASA matures the technology required for its future missions while proving the capabilities and lowering the cost of government and commercial space activities.

For more information about NASA’s Space Technology Program, which is part of the Office of the Chief Technologist, visit: http://www.nasa.gov/oct

Video Caption: On Monday, June 13, the robotic lander mission team was poised and ready when the lander prototype in the adjacent building lifted itself off the ground and rose unrestrained higher and higher. Applause broke out in the control room when the lander gently sat back down. This marks the first free flight of this prototype for the Robotic Lunar Lander Development Project managed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The robotic lander flew up to 7 feet for 27 seconds.