posted 06-11-2020 01:10 PM               

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020.

The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher.

posted 08-27-2020 12:56 PM               

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, NASA also completed a detailed cost and schedule assessment for Artemis I and established a new agency commitment for launch readiness by November 2021. While it is too early to predict the full impact of COVID-19, we are confident a November 2021 date is achievable with the recent pace of progress, and a successful Green Run hot fire test will enable us to better predict a target launch date for the mission.

Taking this new launch readiness date into account, NASA also aligned the development costs for the SLS and Exploration Ground Systems programs through Artemis I and established new cost commitments. The new development baseline cost for SLS is $9.1 billion, and the commitment for the initial ground systems capability to support the mission is now $2.4 billion. NASA’s cost and schedule commitment for Orion currently remains within original targets and is tied to demonstrating the capability to fly crew on the Artemis II mission by 2023.

NASA has notified Congress of these new commitments, and we are working at the best possible pace toward launch, including streamlining operational flow at Kennedy and assessing opportunities to further improve the efficiency of our integration activities. Now that the majority of the design development is done, as well as the first time build and an extensive test program, a lot of effort is behind us.

posted 11-30-2020 11:04 PM               

To get to the PDU, Lockheed Martin could remove the Orion crew capsule from its service module, but it’s a lengthy process that could take up to a year. As many as nine months would be needed to take the vehicle apart and put it back together again, in addition to three months for subsequent testing, according to the presentation.

Lockheed has another option, but it’s never been done before and may carry extra risks, Lockheed Martin engineers acknowledge in their presentation. To do it, engineers would have to tunnel through the adapter’s exterior by removing some of the outer panels of the adapter to get to the PDU. The panels weren’t designed to be removed this way, but this scenario may only take up to four months to complete if engineers figure out a way to do it.

A third option is that Lockheed Martin and NASA could fly the Orion capsule as is. The PDU failed in such a way that it lost redundancy within the unit, so it can still function. But at a risk-averse agency like NASA, flying a vehicle without a backup plan is not exactly an attractive option.

posted 12-17-2020 08:25 PM               

During their troubleshooting, engineers evaluated the option to "use as is" with the high-degree of available redundancy or remove and replace the box.

They determined that due to the limited accessibility to this particular box, the degree of intrusiveness to the overall spacecraft systems, and other factors, the risk of collateral damage outweighed the risk associated with the loss of one leg of redundancy in a highly redundant system. Therefore, NASA has made the decision to proceed with vehicle processing.

posted 04-29-2021 06:08 PM               

Ready to rocket! See the enormous NASA Space Launch System Core Stage 1 offload at NASA Kennedy and move to the iconic NASA Vehicle Assembly Building. The 212-foot Core Stage 1 is the backbone of the rocket for the Artemis​ I mission.

posted 06-10-2021 07:44 PM               

The lift has begun.

The Space Launch System's core stage has been lifted out of its stand! It will soon be raised to a vertical position and placed on the mobile launcher in between the two solid rocket boosters.

posted 06-11-2021 02:26 PM               

Things are looking up around here!

Teams have rotated the Space Launch System core stage — the largest part of the rocket — into a vertical position. Soon, they will lift up the core stage and lower it down into High Bay 3 to join the twin solid rocket boosters on the mobile launcher.

posted 06-12-2021 12:58 PM               

Teams successfully lowered the Space Launch System core stage down onto the mobile launcher in between the already assembled twin solid rocket boosters.

Weighing more than 188,000 pounds without fuel and standing 212 feet, the core stage is the largest element of the SLS rocket.

posted 06-14-2021 05:41 PM               

The Space Launch System rocket core stage for the first Artemis mission was lifted and stacked in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center. The core stage was placed in between the already stacked twin solid rocket boosters on the mobile launcher.

posted 07-06-2021 09:51 AM               

The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) has been lowered into place on the Space Launch System rocket!

Once in orbit, the ICPS and its single RL-10 engine will provide nearly 25,000 pounds of thrust to send the Orion spacecraft on a precise trajectory to the moon.

posted 09-01-2021 10:22 AM               

NASA engineers have not discovered any major problems during the SLS testing, but key milestones leading up to the Artemis 1 launch have been steadily sliding to the right in NASA's processing schedule.

Before NASA raised the Boeing-made SLS core stage onto its mobile launch platform inside High Bay 3 of the VAB in June, managers hoped to connect he Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 1 mission on top of the rocket in August. That's now expected this fall.

The first rollout of the 322-foot-tall (98-meter) rocket from the VAB to launch pad 39B was scheduled no earlier than September. That's now expected in late November, at the soonest, according to [senior vehicle operations manager for NASA's exploration ground systems program, Cliff] Lanham.

The schedule slips, while not significant amid the history of SLS program delays, have put a major crunch on NASA's ambition to launch the Artemis 1 mission this year. The agency is evaluating Artemis 1 launch opportunities in the second half of December, multiple sources said, but that would require NASA to cut in half the time it originally allotted between the SLS fueling test and the actual launch date.

posted 09-22-2021 09:46 AM               

On Sunday, Sept. 19th, teams with Exploration Ground Systems and Jacobs successfully completed the Umbilical Release and Retract Test (URRT) with the mobile launcher and the Space Launch System inside of High Bay 3 in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center.

posted 10-18-2021 02:34 PM               

Watch live as the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis I mission rolls from Kennedy Space Center's Launch Abort System Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building ahead of stacking atop the already assembled Space Launch System rocket.

The move will take place overnight (EDT) October 18th into the 19th.

Please be advised, after the spacecraft departs the LASF and ahead of approaching the VAB the feed will be stopped and started again as the spacecraft approaches the VAB doors.

posted 10-20-2021 09:17 AM               

The final "Up & Over" as Orion and its Launch Abort System are lifted out of High Bay 4 in the Vehicle Assembly Building and lowered down into High Bay 3 to join the Space Launch System just past midnight [EDT] on the morning of Oct. 20, 2021.

posted 12-17-2021 07:04 PM               

After performing a series of inspections and troubleshooting, engineers determined the best course of action is to replace the engine controller, returning the rocket to full functionality and redundancy while continuing to investigate and identify a root cause. NASA is developing a plan and updated schedule to replace the engine controller while continuing integrated testing and reviewing launch opportunities in March and April.

posted 01-18-2022 09:31 AM               

The April window, if needed, opens on April 8.

posted 02-02-2022 08:56 AM               

The agency will roll the combined Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft out of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for testing no earlier than March 2022.

While the teams are not working any major issues, NASA has added additional time to complete closeout activities inside the VAB prior to rolling the rocket out for the first time.

Engineers are conducting final integrated tests of Orion and SLS along with the ground equipment, prior to rolling the rocket and spacecraft to the launch pad for a final test, known as the wet dress rehearsal. This final test will run the rocket and launch team through operations to load propellant into the fuel tanks and conduct a full launch countdown.

Following a successful rehearsal, NASA will roll the stack back into the VAB for final checks and set a target date for launch.

posted 02-02-2022 01:07 PM               

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way...

There are no railroad tracks going that far, which is ironic when you consider that facility is within sight of the where the golden spike was driven (which though symbolically completing the transcontinental railroad in 1869, it didn't in fact as there were still two gaps at the time, but that's another subject).

The rails through there were yanked out during WW2 in favor of a nearby route that now crosses the Great Salt Lake.

posted 02-24-2022 02:41 PM               

quote:

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Originally posted by p51:
I do wonder how they get them to the railhead. I assume by truck? Do they load them on at Ogden's freight yard?

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posted 02-24-2022 02:46 PM               

The vehicle will spend about a month out at the pad (including a brief pause in work while SpaceX launches the Axiom 1 crew from Pad 39A) and then will return to the VAB for final preparations for launch.

posted 03-02-2022 07:20 PM               

Add your name here to have it included on a flash drive that will fly aboard Artemis I.

posted 03-07-2022 10:31 AM               

quote:

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Originally posted by p51:
Do they load them on at Ogden's freight yard?

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posted 03-16-2022 12:15 PM               

Platform retraction: COMPLETE.

All of the platforms surrounding the Space Launch System and Orion have been retracted in preparation for rollout. On March 17, the Artemis I stack will begin the journey to Launch Complex 39B ahead of the wet dress rehearsal test.

posted 03-16-2022 07:46 PM               

One thing to keep in mind though, the $4.1 billion price tag was determined by OIG based on its own assessment; it was not based on NASA's actual expenditures.

posted 03-17-2022 11:34 AM               

Watch as the rocket and spacecraft for our Artemis I mission around the Moon move to their launchpad at Kennedy Space Center.

posted 03-18-2022 04:38 AM               

Rocket rollout: How NASA's first Artemis Space Launch System move stacks up against Saturn V

posted 03-19-2022 10:55 AM               

From left to right, NASA Associate Administrator Bob Cabana, Reid Wiseman, Chief of the Astronaut Office, Apollo Astronaut Tom Stafford, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, and NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy pose for a photo as the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard rolls out of High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building for the first time, Thursday, March 17, 2022, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

posted 03-21-2022 06:04 PM               

The #Artemis I launch is getting closer. We just captured the SLS rocket on its launch pad with our Pléiades Neo hi-res satellite.

We can't wait to see the Orion spacecraft propelled by European-built service module in space!

posted 03-25-2022 11:10 PM               

To support the fueling of NASA's SLS rocket, Kennedy Space Center began construction of a new liquid hydrogen storage tank at Pad 39B that utilized refrigerated techniques known as Integrated Refrigeration and Storage, or IRaS, to reduce liquid boiloff losses. This idea stemmed from the Zero-Boil-Off proposal in the early 1990's, by Ergenics Inc.

After completion of the shuttle program, the KSC Propellant Management Group performed a study of LH2 acquisition, use and loss over the life of the program. It found the agency's two largest users of liquid hydrogen, KSC and SSC, lose approximately 50% of hydrogen purchased because of a continuous heat leak into storage and transportation vessels, transient chilldown of warm cryogenic equipment, liquid bleeds to maintain interface temperature, ullage losses during venting, and operational methods. These losses were quantified and grouped into three general categories: replenish loss, storage loss, and load loss.