Latest Space Launch System Stories
NASA on Thursday took another step toward human exploration of new destinations in the solar system. At the agency's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, engineers conducted the final test-firing of the J-2X powerpack assembly, an important component of America's next heavy-lift rocket. The J-2X engine is the first human-rated liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen engine developed in the United States in decades. Designed and built by NASA and industry partner Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of...
Michael Harper for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online NASA has been steadily working on Orion, the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, (or MPCV) and preparing it for its first journey beyond low Earth orbit in 2014. It’s first trip will be unmanned and meant to test the re-entry performance of the Orion capsule. When Orion is completed, it will be used to send astronauts farther away than any other spacecraft. Yesterday, NASA posted an update detailing the progress of Orion’s assembly,...
WASHINGTON, Dec. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA on Thursday took another step toward human exploration of new destinations in the solar system. At the agency's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, engineers conducted the final test-firing of the J-2X powerpack assembly, an important component of America's next heavy-lift rocket. (Logo - http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) The J-2X engine is the first human-rated liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen engine...
WASHINGTON, Dec. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Recent engineering advances by NASA and its industry partners across the country show important progress toward Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1), the next step to launching humans to deep space. The uncrewed EFT-1 mission, launching from NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 2014, will test the re-entry performance of the agency's Orion capsule, the most advanced spacecraft ever designed, which will carry astronauts farther...
Lee Rannals for redOrbit.com – Your Universe Online The year 2012 has proved to be a historic one on the space exploration front, with many accomplishments across the board at NASA. During the past year, the space agency landed the most sophisticated rover on Mars, carried out the first commercial mission to the International Space Station, and work has gone underway for NASA's next generation spacecraft and rocket. After surfing through space for nearly nine months, NASA's...
NASA announced Monday the next step in its plan to launch American astronauts from U.S. soil, selecting three companies to conduct activities under contracts that will enable future certification of commercial spacecraft as safe to carry humans to the International Space Station. Advances made by these American companies during the first contract phase known as the certification products contracts (CPC) will begin the process of ensuring integrated crew transportation systems will meet...
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Dec. 10, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- NASA announced Monday the next step in its plan to launch American astronauts from U.S. soil, selecting three companies to conduct activities under contracts that will enable future certification of commercial spacecraft as safe to carry humans to the International Space Station. (Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20081007/38461LOGO) Advances made by these American companies during the first contract phase known...
DECATUR, Ala., Nov. 28, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden today discussed the state of the nation's space agency, including science and human exploration, during his visit to the United Launch Alliance (ULA) production facility in Decatur, Ala., where ULA manufactures both Atlas and Delta launch vehicles. Joined by ULA President and CEO Michael Gass, Bolden viewed hardware being prepared for future NASA missions and hosted a town hall meeting with ULA's...
BOULDER, Colo., Nov. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. has been selected to develop its S-Band phased array antenna for the next-generation U.S. Space Launch System (SLS) under a NASA Research Announcement. The Ball Reliable Advanced Integrated Network (BRAIN) will deliver a single-solution prototype antenna that allows for sustained high data rate downlink from launch through mission completion. The high-performance antenna is operative for only...
[ Watch video of the SLM machine and see it in action ] NASA NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. is using a method called selective laser melting, or SLM, to create intricate metal parts for America's next heavy-lift rocket. Using this state-of-the-art technique will benefit the agency by saving millions in manufacturing costs. NASA is building the Space Launch System or SLS -- a rocket managed at the Marshall Center and designed to take humans, equipment and...
