22.02.2020
SLS debut slips to April 2021, KSC teams working through launch sims
Preparations continue at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the first launch of the Space Launch System, or SLS rocket – NASA’s gigantic rocket the agency hopes to use to launch humans to the lunar surface and to the commercial-rocket constructed Lunar Gateway.
But while Kennedy prepares for the rocket’s arrival and first mission, various NASA centers are now actively planning for a No Earlier Than 18 April 2021 launch for the rocket’s debut.
KSC launch teams practice countdown and launch ops:
An important part of any rocket’s launch campaign, especially a maiden voyage, is the Launch Team undergoing numerous practice runs and countdown simulations of the launch campaign.
This month, under the direction of Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis 1 Launch Director, the Florida launch team simulated critical portions of the SLS countdown to ensure everyone is ready to handle any situation launch day throws their way.
The simulation occurred on 3 February inside the newly revamped Firing Room 1 at the Launch Control Center, located next to the Vehicle Assembly Building.
The practice countdown focused on the critical Terminal Count — the final portion of the countdown that begins when the clocks and systems come out of the Built-In Hold at T-10mins.
From there, the count continues through swing arm retractions, fuel tank pressurizations for flight, ignition of the four RS-25 liquid fueled Core Stage engines to T0 and the moment of Solid Rocket Booster ignition and liftoff.
Solid Rocket Separation on Artemis 1. (Credit: Mack Crawford for NSF/L2)
In all, SLS’s countdown is 45 hours 40 minutes long, about a day shorter than the Space Shuttle’s countdown.
The SLS count has two Built-In Holds — one before fueling operations commence and a 30 minute hold at T-10mins.
While anything can happen at any point in the count the launch team would have to react to, the critical T-10 minute to T0 terminal count is a complex and time-constrained period right before liftoff where last minute issues have to be identified, worked, discussed, and a path forward determined under extreme pressure for the team.
Especially when the given day’s launch window might result in very little time to solve an issue before having to launch or scrub.
Charlie Blackwell-Thompson is a veteran of such counts. She served as the NASA Test Director and Assistant Launch Director at the end of the Shuttle Program when all launches were constrained to 5-minute Station launch windows.
Regarding the recent SLS terminal count simulation, Blackwell-Thompson said, “These are always great days as our team gets an opportunity to learn together. Our team got to work through a variety of problems while also completing the work steps in the launch countdown to get to T-zero.”
The sims not only give the team an opportunity to practice the actual procedures they will use on launch day but are also an opportunity to test the team’s ability to handle various anomalies and ground and vehicle hiccups and test the team’s responsiveness and ability to learn and know their systems inside and out.
Artemis 1 launch team members seated at their consoles during a countdown simulation in Firing Room 1 on 3 February 2020. (Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)
These issues are devised by an independent simulation team — a small group who plans the anomalies and situations and when to “introduce” them in the count to the launch team.
While the Launch Director and NASA Test Director have some input on the types of issues to throw at their team, they too are kept in the dark — as they would be on launch day — of the specific issues and timing of those issues the sim planners will actually give them.
The launch team must then solve the issues in real-time with a ticking clock to meet the simulated launch window.
“Each time you do a sim, you learn something and grow as a team,” added Blackwell-Thompson.
Moreso, the sims allow the team to find actual issues with ground systems and software.
According to NASA, occasionally, an anomaly pops up that’s not engineered by the sim team. When an actual problem is uncovered, managers and controllers will document it and collect any beneficial data to help understand and resolve the issue after the simulation.
Artemis 1 Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson (left) stands at the launch console inside the Launch Control Center’s Firing Room 1 at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida during a countdown simulation. (Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett)
If necessary, a “sim anomaly” will be declared so the launch team knows it’s a real issue and not part of the exercise.
Once a sim is complete, the team remains on console to debrief on the day’s events and discuss any issues they have with how the sim unfolded or that they personally encountered.
“We do a team debrief on the net and talk every problem, what we did well, what we need to improve upon, and any changes to procedures or requirements,” Blackwell-Thompson said.
All of this will help the team be in top shape for the first launch of SLS and Orion on their uncrewed Artemis 1 test flight — which NASA is now publicly confirming will not happen this year.
SLS debut slips to NET 18 April 2021:
The 20 February 2020 NASA press release regarding the KSC launch team’s performance of Artemis 1 countdown and launch simulations was the first NASA release to publicly confirm SLS will not fly this year, noting “NASA is preparing for the first uncrewed flight test next year of the agency’s powerful new rocket and spacecraft in development for the Artemis lunar exploration program.”
The previous NASA-provided No Earlier Than (NET) November 2020 launch date of Artemis 1 was always viewed as political in nature and not an accurate reflection of the rocket’s readiness.
To this end, the Kennedy Space Center is now actively planning for a NET 18 April 2021 launch, and the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, has been given direction from mission planners to begin developing trajectory data for Launch Period 7, stretching from 18 April to 4 May 2021.
Trajectory analysis for Launch Period 7 has not yet begun and, according to the Flight Readiness Analysis Cycle, will not begin until July 2020.
At Kennedy, realigning to this new NET launch date includes shifting timelines for the rocket’s constituent component arrivals as well as stacking operations in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building.
At present, only the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage provided by United Launch Alliance for Artemis 1 is at the Kennedy Space Center and in storage awaiting stacking.
Moreover, the gigantic Core Stage is currently at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi preparing for its Green Run full-duration hot fire test.
NASA has not revealed a target date for that test, but NASASpaceflight understands Stennis is preparing for that full-duration hot fire test No Earlier Than August 2020.
As of early-January, the Core Stage was not expected to arrive at the Kennedy Space Center from Stennis until January 2021.
Most of those notes continue to indicate a Summer 2021 “realistic” launch timeline, but make clear NASA has not given up on the Spring opportunity — which would match Marshall now receiving direction for launch and lunar trajectory planning for the 18 April to 4 May 2021 time frame.
Quelle: NS
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Update: 26.02.2020
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Fired Up! Final Test of Orion Motor Critical to Astronaut Safety a Spectacular Success
When NASA astronauts blast off for their voyage to the Moon on the Orion spacecraft during Artemis missions, they’ll have protection in the form of the launch abort system (LAS). The LAS is designed to carry crew to safety in the event of an emergency during launch or ascent atop the agency’s Space Launch System rocket.
On Feb. 25, NASA successfully tested the attitude control motor (ACM), which is built by Northrop Grumman and provides steering for Orion’s LAS during an abort, at the company’s facility in Elkton, Maryland. The 30-second hot fire was the third and final test to qualify the motor for human missions, beginning with Artemis II.
During the test, eight high pressure valves directed more than 7,000 pounds of thrust generated by the solid rocket motor in multiple directions while firing at freezing conditions, providing enough force to orient Orion and its crew for a safe landing.
The LAS consists of three solid rocket motors: the abort motor pulls the crew module away from the launch vehicle; the ACM steers and orients the capsule; then the jettison motor ignites to separate the LAS from Orion prior to parachute deployment and to ensure a safe crew landing. Last year, NASA demonstrated the LAS in a full-stress test known as Ascent Abort-2. During the test, a booster sent a representative Orion to an altitude of 31,000 feet to demonstrate the motors system worked as planned during the point of launch when the spacecraft experiences the greatest aerodynamic forces. In 2010, NASA tested the LAS’ functionality in Pad Abort-1, a test that showed the motors can work if there’s a problem on the pad before the rocket launches. These tests serve to assess and refine many of the systems critical to the safety of astronauts who will travel in Orion.
NASA has qualified the jettison motor, and has completed two of the three tests to qualify the abort motor. All three motors on the LAS will be qualified for crewed flights following the final abort motor test ahead of Artemis II, another step that brings NASA and Orion closer to sending the first woman and next man to the Moon by 2024.
Quelle: NASA
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Northrop Grumman Completes Final Qualification Test for NASA’s Orion Launch Abort System Attitude Control Motor
Milestone demonstrates motor’s readiness for Artemis II mission
ELKTON, Md. – Feb. 25, 2020 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC), along with NASA and Lockheed Martin, successfully completed its third and final qualification test of the Attitude Control Motor (ACM) for NASA’s Orion spacecraft Launch Abort System (LAS).
“The qualification test is a critical step toward Artemis II, Orion’s first flight with astronauts,” said Pat Nolan, vice president, missile products, Northrop Grumman. “Completion of this milestone emphasizes Northrop Grumman’s commitment to deliver innovative and reliable technology that will keep our astronauts safe during launch.”
The test was performed under cold operating conditions, to complement the earlier tests conducted at nominal and high-temperature conditions. In an effort to demonstrate worst case conditions, the motor was ignited using one of the two initiators and simulated high altitude vacuum conditions.
Preliminary results showed excellent performance, meeting the stringent design criteria for this critical application. All eight high thrust valves operated nominally over the 35 second motor burn time. The valves provided more than 7,000 lbs. of thrust during the high thrust portion of the duty cycle.
The ACM is one of three motors comprising Orion’s LAS. The system is designed to carry astronauts inside the spacecraft to safety if an emergency arises on the launch pad or during Orion’s climb to orbit. In the unlikely event of an abort, the attitude control motor would steer the Orion crew module away from the launch vehicle. The ACM also orients the capsule for parachute deployment once the crew module is clear of all hazards.
NASA is working to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024. Orion is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Space Launch System rocket and Gateway in orbit around the Moon. Orion will sustain astronauts in deep space, provide emergency abort capability, and support a safe re-entry from lunar return velocities.
Exploring the Moon helps create a vibrant future and advance technologies, capabilities and new opportunities for future missions to Mars. Northrop Grumman is responsible for the LAS ACM through a contract with Lockheed Martin, prime contractor for Orion.
Northrop Grumman solves the toughest problems in space, aeronautics, defense and cyberspace to meet the ever evolving needs of our customers worldwide. Our 90,000 employees define possible every day using science, technology and engineering to create and deliver advanced systems, products and services.
Quelle: Northrop Grumman
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Update: 4.03.2020
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First SLS launch now expected in second half of 2021
WASHINGTON — A top NASA official said Feb. 28 he expects the first flight of the Space Launch System to take place in the second half of 2021, a later date than prior agency statements.
Speaking at the kickoff meeting of the Lunar Surface Innovation Consortium at the Applied Physics Laboratory in Laurel, Maryland, NASA Associate Administrator Steve Jurczyk said that all of the elements needed for the Artemis 3 2024 human lunar landing are either under development or will soon be under contract.
That includes the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft. The SLS core stage for the Artemis 1 uncrewed test flight is currently at the Stennis Space Center for a “Green Run” static-fire test scheduled for later this year, while the Orion spacecraft for that mission is wrapping up testing at NASA’s Plum Brook Station.
The SLS core stage, he said, should arrive at the Kennedy Space Center in late summer or early fall, allowing teams to begin “integrating for a launch hopefully in the mid ’21 timeframe, mid to late ’21 timeframe for Artemis 1.”
NASA has yet to provide a new formal launch date for that mission, which has slipped by several years. In December, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said that launch would take place in 2021after the agency had been holding on a November 2020 launch. Doug Loverro, the agency’s new associate administrator for human exploration and operations, commissioned a review of NASA’s exploration plans when he started work in December, including setting a new date for Artemis 1. The outcome of that review should be released in the coming weeks.
Jurczyk said NASA is moving ahead with other elements of its exploration plan, including development of modules and related systems for the lunar Gateway. NASA is in negotiations with Northrop Grumman for a contract for the Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO) module, after the agency announced last summer its intent to sole-source the module with that company. He added that the agency is “getting ready to award” a contract for Gateway logistics services, a cargo delivery service similar to the International Space Station’s commercial cargo program.
What’s left to award are study contracts for the Human Landing System program. NASA is expected to issue several such contracts for initial studies of commercially developed lunar landers for carrying astronauts to the lunar surface and back, and later select one or two companies to proceed in full development.
“We’ve very close to awarding, most likely, multiple contracts,” he said. Those awards will come “within weeks,” he added. That’s in line with a Feb. 10 procurement update from NASA, which projected making awards in late March or early April.
The next nine to 12 months, he said, “will be critical to nail down the requirements and get to a preliminary design review,” he said of that program. He noted later in his talk that NASA plans to gets those lunar lander requirements finalized with companies that win awards within 90 days. Companies can either elect to use NASA technical standards or offer an equivalent alternative. “But after 90 days, if we can’t get agreement, you’re going to use ours.”
Jurczyk said NASA is not neglecting planning for the second, “sustainable,” phase of the Artemis program for missions after Artemis 3. He said he was in a four-hour “pre-acquisition strategy meeting” the previous day to discuss what centers would lead various elements of that second phase of Artemis, and what would be developed in-house at NASA versus outside the agency.
Details about those plans, he said, should be released within a month. “If I was here a month from now, I would be doing that presentation on the current plan for Artemis phase 2.”
Quelle: SN
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Update: 10.03.2020
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Artemis I Spacecraft Returns to Kennedy after Successful Ohio Tests
Media are invited to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to watch the arrival of the Orion spacecraft for Artemis I. The crew and service module stack will be offloaded from NASA’s Super Guppy aircraft after its return flight home from NASA’s Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio. The offloading activity will happen the morning of March 24 at the Launch and Landing Facility at Kennedy, operated by Space Florida. Arrival and offloading are dependent on favorable weather conditions and are subject to change.
The recently completed spacecraft spent the last several months in the world’s premier space environments test facility undergoing thermal vacuum and electromagnetic environment testing to certify the vehicle for Artemis missions to the Moon. Engineers and technicians at Kennedy stand ready to welcome the spacecraft back and begin performing final processing and integration for the launch of the Artemis I mission.
Quelle: NASA
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Update: 15.03.2020
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Orion has aced all its tests at NASA Glenn Research Center’s Plum Brook Station
PERKINS TOWNSHIP, Ohio — Orion has aced tests in Ohio en route to the moon
The spaceship earned perfect grades and completed four months of tests in the world’s biggest thermal vacuum chamber, housed at NASA Glenn Research Center’s Plum Brook Station in Perkins Township, near Sandusky. The dull-gray, 48,000-pound ship endured vibrations, electromagnetic interference, heat up to 300 degrees Fahrenheit and chills down to minus 250 degrees in the chamber, which is about 120 feet tall and 100 feet across.
In November, a big cargo plane called the Super Guppy flew Orion from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center to Mansfield Lahm Airport. Then a flatbed truck hauled it to Plum Brook on a road widened and cleared of overhead lines and other obstacles.
Next Saturday, if weather permits, Orion will be trucked back to the airport and flown back to Kennedy. There it will be attached to a space launch system created with NASA Glenn’s help.
Orion is expected to launch next year without a crew and circle the moon in the first flight of the Artemis mission.
“Artemis ushers in a new era of space exploration,” Marla Perez-Davis, head of NASA Glenn, said during a celebration Saturday at Plum Brook.
The mission aims to return astronauts to the moon by 2024 and prepare an eventual launch from there to Mars.
At Saturday’s event, U.S. Rep. Marcy Kaptur said, “We celebrate the vision and genius and adventure of the American spirit.” The Toledo Democrat also celebrated NASA Glenn, which helps research, design and test equipment and technology for air and space.
Quelle: cleveland.com
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Update: 18.03.2020
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Test Version of Orion Capsule Recovered in the Pacific Ocean
With the USS John P. Murtha (LPD 26) in the distance, helicopters from the HSC-23 squadron fly by a test version of an Orion capsule during Underway Recovery Test-8 in the Pacific Ocean. During this first full mission profile test of the recovery procedures for Artemis I, NASA’s Landing and Recovery team met their objectives.
Artemis I, formerly Exploration Mission-1, will be the first integrated flight test of NASA’s Deep Space Exploration Systems: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System rocket, with the newly upgraded Exploration Ground Systems at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. The primary goal of the mission is to assure a safe crew module entry, descent, splashdown and recovery. Artemis will land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024.
Quelle: NASA
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Update: 19.03.2020
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Report finds delays and cost overruns in SLS mobile launch platform development
WASHINGTON — NASA will spend nearly $1 billion on a mobile launch platform for the Space Launch System that will be used for no more than four launches, a NASA report released March 17 revealed.
The report by NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG), the second in as many weeks about NASA’s exploration programs, blamed both changing NASA requirements and poor performance by one contractor for the issues with the Mobile Launcher 1 (ML-1) platform, and that a second platform may also face cost and schedule problems.
The ML-1 platform, which will be used for the assembly, transport and launch of the SLS, was originally built for the Constellation program at a cost of $234 million. NASA decided to modify ML-1, designed for the smaller Ares 1 rocket, for the SLS after a NASA study determined that would be cheaper than either modifying a shuttle mobile launch platform or building a new one.
That study estimated that modifying ML-1 for SLS would cost just $54 million, but by the time the agency developed a formal cost estimate for that work in 2014, the cost had increased to $384.7 million. Even after that formal estimate, the cost continued to grow, with NASA now estimating it will reach $692.8 million. That includes $30 million of work to be performed in 2020 through 2022 to prepare it for the first crewed launch, Artemis 2.
“Unanticipated design and construction problems were the primary drivers behind the ML-1 project’s cost and schedule increases,” OIG stated in the report. Part of the reason was “immature or undefined SLS and Orion requirements” that required changed to the design. “NASA’s finalization of requirements late in the development cycle resulted in significant rework of the ML-1 structure and key components such as the umbilicals that interface with SLS and Orion.”
Another issue was poor coordination among several contractors involved in the design and construction work on ML-1. NASA, OIG concluded, “had no comprehensive process to incorporate work from the different contractors into a single master design.” In one case mentioned in the report, NASA had to spend $1.8 million to reroute cryogenic piping in the way of ducting used by an environmental control system and move other piping to mitigate leaks.
The report also singled out one contractor, Vencore, responsible for subsystem designs for ground support equipment and other services. NASA selected the company, which already did a range of work at the Kennedy Space Center, “because they provided the most flexibility and affordability,” the report stated.
However, OIG said that Vencore suffered from high employee turnover and relied on a small number of subject matter experts, which “contributed to its design errors and slow response when correcting mistakes.” Vencore was taken off the ML-1 project in 2017 because of its poor performance, although the company received ratings ranging from “good” to “excellent” on its cost-plus contract for the ML-1 work.
NASA addressed some those issues when setting up the ML-2 project to build a second mobile launch platform for use by the Block 1B version of SLS. That effort, projected to cost $486 million, will use a single contractor, Bechtel, to handle both the design and construction of the platform. That will allow the company to be more involved in the design process and offer more cost-effective approaches.
However, OIG warned that ML-2 could still face cost and schedule challenges, in part because of the potential for changes in the design of the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) used by the SLS Block 1B. “Although NASA expects fewer changes for ML-2 than during development of ML-1 due to the second launcher’s design-build approach, ML-2 will likely experience changes such as those that may be required as the new EUS design matures,” the report states.
The use of a cost-plus contract for ML-2, the report added, also provides limited motivation for the contractor to reduce costs. The report cited as evidence both the experience with Vencore on the ML-1 project as well as Boeing on development of the SLS core stage, which has suffered years of delays.
NASA, in a response included in the report, accepted four recommendations by OIG, including identifying any immature technical requirements for ML-2 that could pose cost and schedule risks and to set up an “agency baseline commitment” for the cost of the new platform.
The report noted that, when including original construction costs from the Constellation program, NASA will have spent $927 million on the ML-1 platform. NASA currently expects to use the platform only for the first three Artemis missions as well as, potentially, the launch of the Europa Clipper mission, before retiring it as it shifts to the SLS Block 1B and its ML-2 platform.
Quelle: SN
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Update: 22.03.2020
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Orion spacecraft for Artemis I mission successfully completes major testing
Plum Brook Station, Sandusky, Ohio, 16 March 2019 – The Orion spacecraft for NASA’s Artemis I mission has successfully completed several months of simulated space environment System level testing in the NASA-owned thermal vacuum chamber at Plum Brook Station in Ohio. The tests were conducted in two phases; a 47 day thermal vacuum test and a 14 day electromagnetic compatibility and interference test in ambient conditions which both simulate the conditions the spacecraft will encounter during its voyage to the Moon and back to Earth.
Andreas Hammer, Head of Space Exploration at Airbus, said: "Today marked an important milestone for the Artemis I mission to the Moon. We proved to our customers ESA and NASA that the European Service Module, designed and built by our engineers in Bremen – supported by companies in 10 European countries - meets the requirements to withstand the harsh conditions in space. The Artemis programme will land the first woman and next man on the Moon and bring them back safely to Earth, we are proud to contribute to this endeavour with all our know-how, expertise and passion.”
The engineering teams from Airbus, the European Space Agency (ESA), Lockheed Martin and NASA are pleased with the results of this crucial test, which proves that the spacecraft is suitable to navigate safely through the extreme conditions that it will experience in space.
Orion will be transported back to the Kennedy Space Center to undergo further testing and prepare the spacecraft for integration with the Space Launch System rocket, beginning the next era of exploration.
ESA's European Service Module built by Airbus under an ESA contract, will provide propulsion, power, air and water for the astronauts, as well as thermal control of the entire spacecraft. Artemis I will travel around the Moon and back to Earth. Airbus in Bremen is already building the second Orion Service Module for Artemis II, where astronauts will fly to the Moon and back to Earth for the first time.
About the European Service Module (ESM)
More than 20,000 parts and components will be installed in the ESM, from electrical equipment to engines, solar panels, fuel tanks and life support materials for the astronauts, as well as approximately 12 kilometres of cables. The first service module, which just finished the thermal-vacuum testing, was delivered to NASA in November 2018. The second service module is currently being integrated and tested by Airbus in Bremen.
During the development and construction of the ESM, Airbus has drawn on its experience as prime contractor for ESA’s automated transfer vehicle (ATV), which provided the crew on board the International Space Station with regular deliveries of test equipment, spare parts, food, air, water and fuel.
The ESM is cylindrical in shape and about four meters in diameter and height. It has four solar arrays (19 metres across when unfurled) that generate enough energy to power two households. The service module’s 8.6 tonnes of fuel can power one main engine and 32 smaller thrusters. The ESM weighs a total of just over 13 tonnes. In addition to its function as the main propulsion system for the Orion spacecraft, the ESM will be responsible for orbital manoeuvring and position control. It also provides the crew with the central elements of life support such as water and oxygen, and regulates thermal control while it is docked to the crew module. Furthermore, the service module can be used to carry additional payload(s).
Quelle: AirbusSpace