Lockheed Martin has teamed up with NASA to begin construction work on the components of an Orion spacecraft that is expected to take off by 2022 to perform the crewed Exploration Mission-2, NASASpaceFlight reported Monday. Four astronauts aboard the Lockheed-built Orion will perform a lunar flyby as part of the EM-2 test flight.
NASA Receives Airbus-Built Service Module for Orion EM-1 Spacecraft
The Airbus-built service module for NASA’s uncrewed Lockheed Martin-built Orion spacecraft has arrived at Kennedy Space Center to undergo a series of tests and integration work in preparation for the Exploration Mission-1 program. NASA said Tuesday its engineers will assess the service module’s elements, connect fluid lines for gases, and fuel and …
Read More »Aerojet Rocketdyne Tests Reaction Control Thruster for Orion Crew Capsule; Eileen Drake Quoted
Aerojet Rocketdyne has concluded a test of a thruster system for NASA’s Orion spacecraft that will launch aboard the Space Launch System rocket as part of Exploration Mission-1. The company said Monday it conducted the qualification test at its Redmond, Wash.-based facility to demonstrate the reaction control system’s capability to …
Read More »Lockheed Considers Making Room for Experiments Aboard Orion Capsule; Rob Chambers Quoted
Lockheed Martin’s space business has begun to consider the possibility of providing companies and researchers a chance to fly experiments aboard NASA’s Orion spacecraft, the Denver Business Journal reported Thursday. Orion is scheduled to launch in 2020 atop the Space Launch System for an unmanned flight test as part of …
Read More »Report: First Orion Service Module Scheduled for Delivery to US in Late October
Representatives from NASA, the European Space Agency and industry have announced that the first service module for the Orion spacecraft will be delivered to the U.S. in late October, Space News reported Wednesday. Mike Hawes, vice president and Orion program manager at Lockheed Martin, said during the 69th International Astronautical …
Read More »Jacobs Moves NASA’s EM-1 Mobile Launcher to Launch Pad at Kennedy Space Center
Jacobs Engineering Group has transported to a launch pad at Kennedy Space Center in Florida a 380-foot-tall mobile launcher designed to support NASA’s Exploration Mission-1. The company said Tuesday it moved ML atop Crawler Transporter-2 toward launch pad 39B for interface fit checks and then transported the launcher back to the …
Read More »Lockheed, NASA Install Orion Spacecraft Heat Shield
Technicians at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center have installed a Lockheed Martin-built heat shield technology at the bottom of a crew module designed for the Orion spacecraft. The installation team performed a fit check of the heat cover before securing it on the vehicle to ensure all of the bolt fittings were …
Read More »Mike Hawes: Lockheed Eyes Cost Reduction on Orion Spacecraft Through Reuse
Lockheed Martin plans to reduce the production cost of the Orion crew capsule for future missions through reuse of the vehicle structure and other components of the spacecraft, SpaceNews reported Friday. “We have the internal component reuse that will start even between [Exploration Mission] 1 and 2, but then when …
Read More »Lockheed, PADT, Stratasys Collaborate on 3D Printing for NASA Spacecraft Parts
Lockheed Martin‘s space business, Stratasys and Phoenix Analysis & Design Technologies have partnered to engineer 3D-printed parts for spacecraft NASA intends to use on deep-space exploration missions. Stratatys said Tuesday it will provide advanced materials to the project such as the company’s ULTEM 9085 resin and an electrostatic dissipative variant of the Anterro 800NA thermoplastic. …
Read More »NASA to Test StemRad’s Radiation Protection Vest During Unmanned Orion Flight
NASA and the Israel Space Agency have agreed to launch a radiation protection vest from StemRad on the first unmanned flight test of the Orion spacecraft with the Space Launch System. StemRad said Tuesday intends for its AstroRad vest to measure the potential impact of radiation exposure on humans through the Matroshka AstroRad …
Read More »NASA, Media Fusion Develop SLS Flight Virtual Reality Software
NASA has collaborated with Media Fusion to produce a virtual reality software platform that will allow users to experience the scale of the Space Launch System. The software is designed to run on Oculus Rift VR headsets and simulate the SLS rocket’s Exploration Mission-1 flight from a launch pad located at NASA’s Kennedy Space …
Read More »NASA Reviews Launch Schedule for 1st Integrated Orion-SLS Flight Test
NASA has concluded a comprehensive review of the potential launch schedule for an integrated flight test of Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. The space agency said Thursday it assessed the impact of manufacturing and supply challenges on Orion’s first European service module as well as tornado damage that affected the …
Read More »Aerojet Rocketdyne-Built Engines for NASA Space Launch System Now Ready for Integration
Aerojet Rocketdyne has developed four engines that will support NASA‘s maiden flight for the Space Launch System. The company said Wednesday that the RS-25 engines are now ready to be integrated on the SLS rocket’s core stage in preparation for the Exploration Mission-1 mission. “These four EM-1 engines have … powered …
Read More »Orbital ATK Conducts SLS Rocket Booster Avionics Qualification Test
Orbital ATK has finished a qualification test on the avionics system of solid rocket boosters that the company is producing for NASA‘s Space Launch System. The test series validated the avionics system’s performance in expected and abnormal conditions as well as the platform’s capacity to start booster ignition, control the booster during …
Read More »NASA, Lockheed Activate Orion Crew Module for Initial Power-On Test; Mike Hawes Comments
NASA and Lockheed Martin have powered up the company-built Orion crew module at the space agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for the first time. Engineers installed and tested vehicle management computers, power and data units and flight software on the spacecraft as part of the initial power-up event, Lockheed said Tuesday. “Orion was …
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