Boeing composite cryogenic tank loaded on test stand. (Credit: NASA/MSFC)
HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (NASA PR) — Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, recently began the first in a series of tests of one of the largest composite cryotanks ever built. The 18-foot-diameter (5.5-meter) cylinder-shaped tank was lowered into a structural test stand at the Marshall Center.
A video tour of the Moon Express Propulsion Test Facility in Huntsville, Ala.
RD-180 test firing. (Credit: NASA)
Centennial, Colo., June 16, 2014 (ULA PR) – United Launch Alliance (ULA) has signed commercial contracts with multiple American companies to investigate next-generation liquid oxygen/hydrocarbon first stage propulsion concepts. In collaboration with ULA, each company will conduct technical feasibility analysis, develop high fidelity plans, identify schedule, cost and technical risks, as well as cost estimates to meet aggressive recurring cost targets. All concepts will support a first launch by 2019.
“As the nation’s steward of the launch industrial base and the only company certified to launch our nation’s most critical missions, it is incumbent upon ULA to bring forward the best solutions to preserve that capability for the future,” said Michael Gass, ULA president and CEO.
NASA workers at the agency’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, wearing clean room “bunny suits,” prepare the LDSD test article for shipment later this month to Hawaii. LDSD will help land bigger space payloads on Mars or return them back to Earth. (Credit: NASA/JPL)
NASA LDSD Program Update
Thursday, June 12
June 12, 2014 – 2:55 PM EDT
NASA did not conduct the flight test of the agency’s Low-Density Supersonic Decelerator (LDSD) from the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range in Kauai, Hawaii, during its designated launch period. The project’s reserved range time at the range will expire Saturday, June 14, with NASA unable to fly the test because of continuing unfavorable weather conditions.
Mark Adler, the Low Density Supersonic Decelerator project manager and Ian Clark, principal investigator on the project, both from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, participated in a media teleconference this morning and addressed questions on the project.
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL. (June 16, 2014) – The Board of Directors for the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) today announced it has designated Lt. General James A. Abrahamson as the group’s Chairman. CASIS is the nonprofit organization tasked with promoting and managing research onboard the International Space Station (ISS) U.S. National Laboratory.
As Chairman, Abrahamson will serve as the CASIS Board spokesperson, and will preside over future Board meetings. Before Lt. Gen. Abrahamson’s designation, Dr. Lewis Duncan, President of Rollins College, served as the interim Chairman for the CASIS Board of Directors.
Artist’s conception of Ariane 6. (Credit: ESA)
AMSTERDAM/ PARIS, June 16, 2014 (Airbus/Safran PR) — Airbus Group (stock exchange symbol: AIR) and Safran (stock exchange symbol: SAF) are further strengthening their relationship to propose a new family of competitive, versatile and efficient space launchers, to serve both commercial and institutional needs.
I’m on The Space Show this evening. Here’s the schedule for the week: 1. SPECIAL TIME: Monday, June 16,2014: 7-8:30 PM PDT (10-11:30 PM EDT, 9-10:30 PM CDT): DOUG MESSIER of www.parabolicarc.com returns for Virgin Galactic and space news updates with us. 2. Tuesday, June 17, 2014:, 7-8:30 PM PDT (10-11:30 PM EDT, 9-10:30 PM CDT): We welcome both AARON OSTERLE & SARA JENNINGS to discuss the upcoming NewSpace 2014 […]
After years of flat and declining budgets, it looks like NASA will get a funding boost this year from an unexpected source — Congress.
The FY 2015 budget measures coming out of the Senate and House actually boost the President’s proposed $17.46 billion spending plan by about $400 million. The Senate would spend an even $17.9 billion, while the House spending plan is just slight under that level at $17.896 billion.
Silicon Valley, CA (SFF PR) — The Space Frontier Foundation calls upon Americans to stop efforts by US Senator Richard Shelby (R, AL) to critically damage the emerging commercial spaceflight industry. The Senate FY 15 budget proposals calls for excessive and costly bureaucratic oversight that would not only increase costs for private launch companies exponentially, but delay the Commercial Crew Program by months, if not years.
“There is a reason the NASA COTS program worked so quickly and efficiently, and that reason was not due to paperwork and hard-nosed oversight,”said Foundation President James Pura. “Taxpayers could save billions of dollars by letting NASA fly lean, commercial U.S. rockets, and if that means loosening up traditional oversight practices, so be it. Lean, milestone-based payment systems are the way of the future, and let’s enable that process, instead of hindering it.”
NASA has issued a request for information (RFI) on two CubeSat challenges it is eying for the moon and deep space: The Centennial Challenges program seeks input on two challenges being considered for start in 2014. The two challenges described in this RFI are based upon feedback to an earlier CubeSat Challenges RFI (https://go.usa.gov/BBSj ) released in February 2014. The challenges build, deliver, and operate flight-qualified small spacecraft capable of […]
