Latest Project Constellation Stories

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., May 22, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The second demonstration mission for NASA's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program is under way as SpaceX's Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft lifted off Tuesday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida at 3:44 a.m. EDT. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) "I want to congratulate SpaceX for its successful launch and salute the NASA team that worked alongside them...

The retirement of the Space Shuttle program has left NASA with few options for launching Americans into space, except through the Russian space agency which charges more than $60 million per person for rides to the International Space Station (ISS). But NASA is hoping to end its reliance on Russia and get future rides to and from the ISS on a US-developed spacecraft, and hoping that ride could come as early as 2017. “We’re making steady progress and we’re hitting our marks as we...

LOS ANGELES and ARLINGTON, Va., May 9, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ATK (NYSE: ATK) announced today it has developed Liberty into a complete commercial crew transportation system, including the spacecraft, abort system, launch vehicle, and ground and mission operations, designed from inception to meet NASA's human-rating requirements with a potential for the first test flight in 2014 and Liberty crewed flight in 2015. The company also announced Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) will provide...

A multi-purpose NASA spacecraft originally designed as part of the cancelled Constellation program is currently undergoing rigorous testing in preparation for a scheduled 2014 test flight, the US space agency has announced. The Orion service module, a low earth orbit manned vehicle being built by Lockheed Martin based on the now-cancelled return voyage to the moon, is currently being tested by engineers at the Marshall Space Flight Center in order to make sure that it will be able to...

TROY, Mich., May 8, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Altair ProductDesign has been honored by the NASA Engineering and Safety Center for its contribution to the water drop-testing of the Orion Crew Module. The company, which serves as Altair's multi-disciplinary product development consultancy, successfully developed modeling methods and performed dynamic water impact simulations to help improve the safety systems and structure of the module. The Orion Crew Module houses NASA astronauts during...

HAMPTON, Va., April 30, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In addition to giving visitors a glimpse into NASA's past, a new summer exhibit at the Virginia Air & Space Center (VASC) will focus on the future. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) A full-scale test version of NASA's Orion spacecraft is scheduled to arrive at the museum by 6 a.m. Tuesday, May 1. The 18,000-pound Orion test vehicle, built at NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., was...

GREENBELT, Md., April 26, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ARES Technical Services has been selected by NASA to provide safety and mission assurance services to Goddard Space Flight Center's SMA Directorate under the Safety and Mission Assurance Services (SMAS) contract. ARES and its teammates will provide system safety, mission assurance, risk and reliability, software assurance and institutional assurance in support of current and future NASA programs, including the James Webb Space Telescope,...

BURLINGAME, Calif., April 24, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ARES Software Corporation, a leading project management solutions provider, today announced that Sinclair Knight Merz (SKM) is standardizing on PRISM G2 to manage their enterprise project cost management and engineering deliverable needs for their global mining and metals projects. SKM plans to roll-out PRISM G2 across all of their sectors including Infrastructure, Power and Energy, and Water and Environment. (Logo:...

NASA today successfully conducted a drop test of the Orion crew vehicle's entry, descent and landing parachutes high above the Arizona desert in preparation for the vehicle's orbital flight test, Exploration Flight Test -1, in 2014. Orion will carry astronauts deeper into space than ever before, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and ensure a safe re-entry and landing. A C-130 plane dropped a dart-shaped test vehicle with a simulated Orion parachute...

HOUSTON, April 17, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA today successfully conducted a drop test of the Orion crew vehicle's entry, descent and landing parachutes high above the Arizona desert in preparation for the vehicle's orbital flight test, Exploration Flight Test -1, in 2014. Orion will carry astronauts deeper into space than ever before, provide emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and ensure a safe re-entry and landing. (Logo:...