30.07.2022
Boeing takes another Starliner charge against its earnings
Boeing said the $93 million charge was primarily caused by launch manifest updates and additional costs associated with OFT-2, the uncrewed test flight the company conducted in May. Credit: NASA TV
WASHINGTON — Boeing said July 27 it will take another charge against its earnings because of the CST-100 Starliner commercial crew program as the company and NASA get closer to a first flight of the vehicle with astronauts on board.
Boeing, in its second quarter financial results release, said it recorded a $93 million charge in the quarter from its commercial crew program, “driven by launch manifest updates and additional costs associated with OFT-2,” the second uncrewed test flight of the vehicle that took place in May.
The company did not elaborate on the specific issues that caused the charge, and only briefly mentioned the program during an earnings call with financial analysts dominated by the company’s commercial airliner programs.
“It was important. It was an emotional ‘up’ for all of us at Boeing to get back on track,” David Calhoun, president and chief executive of Boeing, said in the call, referring to the OFT-2 test. He later called the mission “a pivotal and emotional test for The Boeing Company and we feel good about it and we’re ready for the crewed flight.”
Boeing has now recorded $688 million in charges related to development of Starliner. The company took a $410 million charge in January 2020, a month after the original and unsuccessful Orbital Flight Test mission, to cover the costs of investigating the problems and flying a second mission. The company took an additional $185 million charge against earnings in October 2021 after a valve problem delayed the OFT-2 launch last August.
The six-day OFT-2 mission in May, though, was largely successful, with no major issues reported during the spacecraft’s launch, docking with the International Space Station and return to Earth. That leaves open the possibility of proceeding with Starliner’s first flight with astronauts on board, called the Crew Test Flight (CFT), before the end of the year.
“You saw the Starliner dock with the ISS, setting the stage for the Crew Flight Test later this year and achieving the domestic redundancy that is so important to the ISS mission,” John Mulholland, vice president and program manager for the ISS at Boeing, said in remarks July 26 at the ISS Research and Development Conference here.
NASA announced June 16 that CFT will fly two astronauts, Suni Williams and Butch Wilmore, rather than the three originally planned to fly the mission. Williams was moved up to CFT from Starliner-1, the first operational Starliner mission. Nicole Mann, who has originally been assigned to CFT, was reassigned last year to SpaceX’s Crew-5 mission launching in September. Mike Fincke, also previously assigned to CFT, will train as a backup for CFT and be available for future flight assignments.
The CFT mission, NASA announced then, will last two weeks after earlier proposing to keep it at the station for up to six months. A two-week mission, the agency said, “is sufficient to meet all NASA and Boeing test objectives for CFT,” and a longer stay is not needed since Crew Dragon is now handling crew rotation missions.
If CFT is successful, Starliner could start operational missions as soon as the fall of 2023, after the SpaceX Crew-6 mission launching in the spring of 2023. That will be the first of six missions under its Commercial Crew Transportation Capabilities, or CCtCap, contract awarded in 2014. NASA has already added three flights to the six awarded to SpaceX under its own CCtCap contact, and announced June 1 its intent to add five more.
Quelle: SN
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Update: 17.07.2023
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These 3 Orion spacecraft will carry Artemis astronauts to the moon (photo)
A trio of mooncraft met in an assembly room.
From left to right: The Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 2, Artemis 3 and Artemis 4 moon missions at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (Image credit: NASA/Marie Reed)
Three crew-carrying spacecraft are getting ready for their big moon missions.
The Orion capsules for the Artemis 2, Artemis 3 and Artemis 4 moon missions are coming together at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida under stewardship of contractor Lockheed Martin.
"The future of @NASA_Orion is looking pretty good," Lockheed officials wrote on Twitter Friday (July 14) of the three spacecraft, each of which is expected to ferry astronauts to the moon starting in late 2024 or so.
Artemis 2 will send Orion the moon in November 2024 with an already-named crew of four astronauts, while we are still awaiting word of who will fly the Artemis 3 and 4 missions for later in the decade.
Artemis 2 includes NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover and Christina Koch, along with Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen. Artemis 3 and 4 will both include astronauts from NASA and the European Space Agency.
Artemis 3 is currently scheduled to launch in 2025 or 2026, pending readiness of the SpaceX Starship system that will ferry some of the crew to the surface. Artemis 4 would then follow later in the 2020s, if current schedules hold.
Lockheed Martin is under contract to deliver Orion spacecraft for future Artemis moon missions across several delivery orders. In recent years, the orders for Artemis 3 through 5 had values of $2.7 billion, while Artemis 6 through 9's order is worth $1.9 billion. Lockheed officials previously stressed that building the spacecraft in groups allows them the company realize cost savings via production efficiencies.
Not shown in the new picture is the Orion spacecraft for Artemis 1, which aced an uncrewed trip to lunar orbit late last year to prepare for these human missions. Nor is the first-ever Orion produced for space visible; it circled Earth in 2014 on a test flight.
NASA and 26 other nations are signed on to the Artemis Accords, which aim to establish norms for peaceful lunar exploration. Canada and the European Space Agency have both committed to providing hardware for Artemis and the planned Gateway space station that NASA plans for the moon in the 2020s.
Quelle: SC
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Update: 20.10.2023
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NASA Conducts 1st Hot Fire of New RS-25 Certification Test Series
NASA conducted the first hot fire of a new RS-25 test series Oct. 17, beginning the final round of certification testing ahead of production of an updated set of the engines for the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. The engines will help power future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.
test series to support future SLS (Space Launch System) missions to deep space as NASA explores the secrets of the universe
for the benefit of all.
Operators fired the RS-25 engine for more than nine minutes (550 seconds), longer than the 500 seconds engines must fire during an actual mission, on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Operators also fired the engine up to the 111% power level needed during an SLS launch. The hot fire marked the first in a series of 12 tests scheduled to stretch into 2024. The tests are a key step for lead SLS engines contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies company, to produce engines that will help power the SLS rocket, beginning with Artemis V.
The test series will collect data on the performance of several new key engine components, including a nozzle, hydraulic actuators, flex ducts, and turbopumps. The components match design features of those used during the initial certification test series completed at the south Mississippi site in June. Aerojet Rocketdyne is using advanced manufacturing techniques, such as 3D printing, to reduce the cost and time needed to build the new engines. Four RS-25 engines help power SLS at launch, including on its Artemis missions to the Moon.
Through Artemis, NASA is returning humans, including the first woman and the first person of color, to the Moon to explore the lunar surface and prepare for flights to Mars. SLS is the only rocket capable of sending the agency’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.
Quelle: NASA
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Update: 1.12.2023
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NASA Tests In-Flight Capability of Artemis Moon Rocket Engine
NASA conducted the third RS-25 engine hot fire in a critical 12-test certification series Nov. 29, demonstrating a key capability necessary for flight of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket during Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.
NASA is conducting the series of tests to certify new manufacturing processes for producing RS-25 engines for future deep space missions, beginning with Artemis V. Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies Company and lead engines contractor for the SLS rocket, is incorporating new manufacturing techniques and processes, such as 3D printing, in production of new RS-25 engines.
Crews gimbaled, or pivoted, the RS-25 engine around a central point during the almost 11-minute (650 seconds) hot fire on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The gimbaling technique is used to control and stabilize SLS as it reaches orbit.
During the Nov. 29 test, operators also pushed the engine beyond any parameters it might experience during flight to provide a margin of operational safety. The 650-second test exceeded the 500 seconds RS-25 engines must operate to help power SLS to space. The RS-25 engine also was fired to 113% power level, exceeding the 111% level needed to lift SLS to orbit.
The ongoing series will stretch into 2024 as NASA continues its mission to return humans to the lunar surface to establish a long-term presence for scientific discovery and to prepare for human missions to Mars.
Four RS-25 engines fire simultaneously to generate a combined 1.6 million pounds of thrust at launch and 2 million pounds of thrust during ascent to help power each SLS flight. NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne modified 16 holdover space shuttle main engines, all proven flightworthy at NASA Stennis, for Artemis missions I through IV.
Every new RS-25 engine that will help power SLS also will be tested at NASA Stennis. RS-25 tests at the site are conducted by a combined team of NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne, and Syncom Space Services operators. Syncom Space Services is the prime contractor for Stennis facilities and operations.
Quelle: NASA
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Update: 14.03.2024
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NASA Expanding Lunar Exploration with Upgraded SLS Mega Rocket Design
As NASA prepares for its first crewed Artemis missions, the agency is making preparations to build, test, and assemble the next evolution of its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. The larger and power powerful version of SLS, known as Block 1B, can send a crew and large pieces of hardware to the Moon in a single launch and is set to debut for the Artemis IV mission.
“From the beginning, NASA’s Space Launch System was designed to evolve into more powerful crew and cargo configurations to provide a flexible platform as we seek to explore more of our solar system,” said John Honeycutt, SLS Program manager. “Each of the evolutionary changes made to the SLS engines, boosters, and upper stage of the SLS rocket are built on the successes of the Block 1 design that flew first with Artemis I in November 2022 and will, again, for the first crewed missions for Artemis II and III.”
Early manufacturing is already underway at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, while preparations for the green run test series for its upgraded upper stage are in progress at nearby Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
New Upgrades for Bolder Missions
While using the same basic core stage and solid rocket booster design, and related components as the Block 1, Block 1B features two big evolutionary changes that will make NASA’s workhorse rocket even more capable for future missions to the Moon and beyond. A more powerful second stage and an adapter for large cargos will expand the possibilities for future Artemis missions.
“The Space Launch System Block 1B rocket will be the primary transportation for astronauts to the Moon for years to come,” said James Burnum, deputy manager of the NASA Block 1B Development Office. “We are building on the SLS Block 1 design, testing, and flight experience to develop safe, reliable transportation that will send bigger and heavier hardware to the Moon in a single launch than existing rockets.”
The in-space stage used to send the first three Artemis missions to the Moon, called the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS), uses a single engine and will be replaced by a larger, more powerful four-engine stage called the exploration upper stage (EUS). A different battery is among the many changes that will allow EUS to support the first eight hours of the mission following launch compared to the current ICPS two hours. All new hardware and software will be designed and tested to meet the different performance and environmental requirements.
The other configuration change is a universal stage adapter that connects the rocket to the Orion spacecraft. It also offers more than 10,000 cubic feet (286 cubic meters) of space to carry large components, such as modules for NASA’s future Gateway outpost that will be in lunar orbit to support crew between surface missions and unique opportunities for science at the Moon.
Together, those upgrades will increase the payload capability for SLS from 59,000 pounds (27 metric tons) to approximately 84,000 pounds (38 metric tons). The four RL10 engines that will be used during the exploration upper stage green run test series at Stennis are complete, and work on the Artemis IV core stage is in progress at nearby Michoud.
More Opportunities
The evolved design also gives astronaut explorers more launch opportunities on a path to intercept the Moon. With four times the engines and almost four times the propellant and thrust of ICPS, the EUS also enables two daily launch opportunities compared to Block 1’s more limited lunar launch availability.
Among other capabilities, both astronauts and ground teams will be able to communicate with the in-space stage and safely control it while using Orion’s docking system to extract compenents destined for Gateway from the stage adapter.
NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon and commercial human landing systems, next-generation spacesuits, and rovers on the lunar surface. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.
Quelle: NASA
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Update: 15.03.2024
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Evolved Adapter for Future NASA SLS Flights Readied for Testing
A test version of the universal stage adapter for NASA’s more powerful version of its SLS (Space Launch System) rocket arrived to Building 4619 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, Feb. 22 from Leidos in Decatur, Alabama. The universal stage adapter will connect the rocket’s upgraded in-space propulsion stage, called the exploration upper stage, to NASA’s Orion spacecraft as part of the evolved Block 1B configuration of the SLS rocket. It will also serve as a compartment capable of accommodating large payloads, such as modules or other exploration spacecraft. The SLS Block 1B variant will debut on Artemis IV and will increase SLS’s payload capability to send more than 84,000 pounds to the Moon in a single launch.
In Building 4619’s Load Test Annex High Bay at Marshall, the development test article will first undergo modal testing that will shake the hardware to validate dynamic models. Later, during ultimate load testing, force will be applied vertically and to the sides of the hardware. Unlike the flight hardware, the development test article has flaws intentionally included in its design, which will help engineers verify that the adapter can withstand the extreme forces it will face during launch and flight. The test article joins an already-rich history of rocket hardware that has undergone high-and-low pressure, acoustic, and extreme temperature testing in the multipurpose, high-bay test facility; it will be tested in the same location that once bent, compressed, and torqued the core stage intertank test article for SLS rocket’s Block 1 configuration. Leidos, the prime contractor for the universal stage adapter, manufactured the full-scale prototype at its Aerospace Structures Complex in Decatur.
NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft and Gateway in orbit around the Moon and commercial human landing systems, next-generational spacesuits, and rovers on the lunar surface. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.
Quelle: NASA
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Update: 30.03.2024
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I Am Artemis: Mat Bevill
Significant events in history keep finding Mat Bevill. As the associate chief engineer for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) Program, Bevill assists the program chief engineer by interfacing with each of the element chief engineers and helping make critical decisions for the development and flight of the SLS mega rocket that will power NASA’s Artemis campaign. With the launch of Artemis II, the first crewed test flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft, Bevill’s technical leadership and support for the SLS Chief Engineer’s Office will place him, once again, at a notable moment in time.
“Think of me as the assistant coach. While the head coach is on the front line leading the team, I’m on the sidelines providing feedback and advising those efforts,” said Bevill. As a jack-of-all-trades, he enables progress in any way that he can, something he’s familiar with after 37 years with NASA. And, on Nov. 16, 2022, as the SLS rocket roared to life for the first time with the Artemis I test flight, Bevill couldn’t help but reflect on a lifetime of experiences and lessons that led to that moment.
Bevill began his NASA career while he was still attending the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. During his sophomore year as a mechanical engineer student, he applied for the agency’s internship program at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
Just a few months before Bevill began his journey with NASA, the Challenger accident occurred, taking the lives of all seven crewmembers in January 1986. Bevill joined the Solid Motor Branch at Marshall as teams across the agency worked to understand the cause of the accident. It was a fast-paced environment, and Bevill had to learn quickly about the solid rocket boosters.
“It was a surreal experience, but I was privileged to work with those people. We were figuring out tough lessons together and working toward a common goal,” Bevill recalls.
Those tough lessons provided Bevill with tremendous hands-on experience related to the solid rocket booster hardware that would not only shape his career, but, later, the SLS rocket. The five-segment solid rocket boosters that provide more than 75% of thrust for SLS to go to the Moon are based on the same four-segment design that powered 135 shuttle missions to low Earth orbit. His experience from his time with the shuttle led him to deputy chief engineer for the SLS Boosters Office.
Just as for Artemis I, Bevill will be standing by and serving as the “assistant coach” for Artemis II as the SLS rocket, once again, takes flight and sends the first crewed Artemis mission around the Moon. “SLS has been the crowning jewel of my career, and I consider myself blessed to be a part of NASA’s history,” Bevill said.
SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with the Orion spacecraft, advanced spacesuits and rovers, the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single launch.
Quelle: NASA