Orion

Автор Agent, 28.07.2009 07:35:14

« назад - далее »

0 Пользователи и 1 гость просматривают эту тему.

V.B.

Это видео уже было на предыдущей странице, но теперь с переводом на русский: https://youtu.be/majAV3Kx93k

tnt22

Цитировать NASA_SLS‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_SLS 29 мин. назад

No ghosts for #NASASLS & #Orion this #Halloween, just skeletons! This is the heat shield skeleton of @NASA_Orion! (Credit: @LockheedMartin)

tnt22

Цитировать Orbital ATK‏Подлинная учетная запись @OrbitalATK 2 ч. назад

Our launch abort motor for @NASA_SLS launch abort system has completed acceptance hydro-testing in preparation for its next test fire

tnt22

https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/tests-ensure-astronaut-ground-crew-safety-before-orion-launches
ЦитироватьNov. 3, 2017

Tests Ensure Astronaut, Ground Crew Safety Before Orion Launches



NASA is performing a series of tests to evaluate how astronauts and ground crew involved in final preparations before Orion missions will quickly get out of the spacecraft, if an emergency were to occur on the pad prior to launch. This testing took place the week of Oct. 30, 2017, using the Orion mockup in the Space Vehicle Mockup Facility at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. In this photo, engineers used fake smoke to imitate a scenario in which astronauts must exit the capsule when their vision is obscured.
Спойлер
Before astronauts launch to space in Orion, they will cross the Crew Access Arm, 300 feet above the ground, and climb inside the crew module. Ground personnel trained to help them strap into their seats and take care of last-minute needs will assist. For testing, markings on the ground indicate where the Crew Access Arm would be located and help guide the crew.

This testing is a collaborative effort between the Orion and Ground Systems Development and Operations programs. It is helping engineers evaluate hardware designs and establish procedures that would be used to get astronauts and ground crew out of the capsule as quickly as possible. Flight and ground crew are required to get out of Orion within two minutes, to protect for a variety of failure scenarios that do not require the launch abort system to be activated, such as crew incapacitation, fire or the presence of toxins in the cabin. Previous egress testing at Johnson and in the Gulf of Mexico has evaluated how crew will exit the spacecraft at the end of their missions.

The first crewed test flight for the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket, Exploration Mission 2 (EM-2), is targeted to launch from NASA's modernized spaceport at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida in 2021. The mission's primary goals are to demonstrate Orion's crew capabilities and the upgraded SLS rocket.

Image Credit: NASA/Rad Sinyak
[свернуть]
Last Updated: Nov. 3, 2017
Editor: Sarah Loff

tnt22

ЦитироватьOrion Forward Bay Cover Timelapse

LockheedMartinVideos

Опубликовано: 1 нояб. 2017 г.

On its next flight, Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), NASA's Orion will come screaming into the atmosphere from the Moon at a whopping 24,700 mph. The aeroshell – composed of critical heatshield and back shell components – protects the capsule from harm during extreme conditions of re-entry.
Спойлер
Then, a series of 11 parachutes deploy 24,000 ft. above the ground and carry Orion to a soft water landing. However, in order for that to happen, a portion of the back shell must jettison off at precisely the right time, revealing the drogue parachutes and the three main, 300-lb. parachutes that slow Orion's speed.

This piece of hardware is called the forward bay cover – and this crucial component for EM-1 was recently moved from its home in Denver to Orion's Operations & Checkout Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

There, it will be integrated with Orion in preparation for the spacecraft's 2019 test flight.
[свернуть]
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqRN3b-vq0chttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqRN3b-vq0c (0:49)

tnt22

https://www.lockheedmartin.com/us/news/features/2017/orion-test-space.html
ЦитироватьHow Does Orion Protect Its Parachutes?



On its next flight, Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), Orion will come screaming into the atmosphere fr om the Moon at a whopping 24,700 mph. The aeroshell – composed of critical heatshield and back shell components – protects the capsule from harm during extreme conditions of re-entry.
Спойлер
Then, a series of 11 parachutes deploy 24,000 ft. above the ground and carry Orion to a soft water landing. However, in order for that to happen,a portion of the back shell must jettison off at precisely the right time, revealing the drogue parachutes and the three main, 300-lb. parachutes that slow Orion's speed.

This piece of hardware is called the forward bay cover – and this crucial component for EM-1 was recently moved from its home in Denver to Orion's Operations & Checkout Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

There, it will be integrated with Orion in preparation for the spacecraft's 2019 test flight.



Parachutes aren't built to withstand the 5,000-degree temperatures upon re-entry – they would be too heavy and unable to generate enough drag to slow the spacecraft down – so the forward bay cover protects them until just the right moment.

For Orion's next test flight, the forward bay cover is made out of titanium – a material that is the apex of feather-weight and herculean strength. It's perfect for spaceflight, wh ere every additional pound is more costly.

The forward bay cover is affixed above the portion of the back shell that houses the parachutes, and it's attached with fasteners controlled by a mechanism. At the exact altitude when the parachutes must deploy, the mechanism activates and the forward bay cover is jettisoned off in an impressive fashion.
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqRN3b-vq0c
(youtube.com/watch?v=EqRN3b-vq0c)

During an actual test flight, this jettison is followed by parachute deployment, and Orion floats down and gently lands on the ocean's surface.

As you can see to the right, the jettison mechanism is quick and powerful – generating thrust equal to 26,250 lbs. of force, launching the 1000-lb. forward bay cover away from the capsule. During separation, the cover accelerates to a speed of almost 30 mph in a little over half a second.

In the greater context of the landing sequence, the jettison and parachute deployment are the last major events to occur before splashdown. Once Orion lands on the ocean's surface, inflatable up-righting bags deploy, orienting the capsule to a stable configuration for crew recovery. All of these are features of the spacecraft's Landing and Recovery System.

The forward bay cover was born in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, built at Lockheed Martin in Denver. At the beginning of this summer, the team carefully moved the component into its shipping container, and it was then sent to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for integration with the full spacecraft.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hvfJzNnrSBs
(youtube.com/watch?v=hvfJzNnrSBs)




Phil Marcilliat, an Orion engineer specializing in the forward bay cover, shares what it's like to work on humankind's next deep space exploration vehicle:

Q: Describe your role on the Orion team.

I've been a part of the Orion thermal protection team for about 10 years, and for the last few years, I've served as the certified principal engineer of the forward bay cover, leading its design, build and assembly.

Q: What was your favorite part about working on the forward bay cover?

Of the three major parts of the thermal protection system, the forward bay cover is the only one that jettisons after re-entry. This creates a unique challenge for us: designing hardware that can both protect against extreme heat and withstand high jettison forces. I also love participating in the prerequisite ground jettison testing to prove its performance is fit for flight!

Q: What's it like to ship a critical component like the forward bay cover?

It's a long journey from Denver to Kennedy Space Center, so you're anxiously awaiting confirmation of delivery. After all the time put in to design, build and assemble the cover, knowing it safely continued its Orion journey is an unforgettable milestone.

Q: What are you most looking forward to on the Orion program in the coming years?

It's always satisfying to see hardware you worked on integrated into the spacecraft. Seeing the forward bay cover come together with all of the other Orion Crew Module components puts into perspective the scope of what you and all of your peers have worked so hard to produce.  Further down the road, experiencing launch and watching the test flight mission unfold will be the ultimate payoff.

Q: As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

As a kid, I would spend hours stacking wooden blocks to build giant towers, but I never thought about becoming an engineer. Instead, I was convinced I'd play in the NBA, but once I realized basketball was just a fun, recreational activity for me, I went back to what I knew best: building things. Spaceships seemed like a fun step up from my wooden block towers!

The forward bay cover is just one of many parts that must function flawlessly in order to send humans further into space than ever before. Lockheed Martin is making that journey possible, one component at a time.
[свернуть]

tnt22

ЦитироватьOrion Evacuation Evaluation

NASA Johnson

Опубликовано: 8 нояб. 2017 г.

The latest in a series of tests to evaluate how well astronauts and ground crew can get out of the Orion spacecraft in an emergency on the launch pad was completed recently at NASA/Johnson Space Center's Space Vehicle Mockup Facility. Data gathered in a series of test runs will help engineers evaluate the design of the capsule and refine procedures to make sure everyone will be evacuated as quickly as possible in cases where the launch abort system is not required to be activated, such as crew illness or the presence of fire or toxins in the crew cabin. The first crewed test flight of Orion and the Space Launch System is targeted for the early 2020s.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIYfox8wjPkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIYfox8wjPk (2:03)

tnt22

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-completes-review-of-first-sls-orion-deep-space-exploration-mission
ЦитироватьNov. 8, 2017

NASA Completes Review of First SLS, Orion Deep Space Exploration Mission

NASA is providing an update on the first integrated launch of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft after completing a comprehensive review of the launch schedule.

This uncrewed mission, known as Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) is a critical flight test for the agency's human deep space exploration goals. EM-1 lays the foundation for the first crewed flight of SLS and Orion, as well as a regular cadence of missions thereafter near the Moon and beyond.
Спойлер
The review follows an earlier assessment where NASA evaluated the cost, risk and technical factors of adding crew to the mission, but ultimately affirmed the original plan to fly EM-1 uncrewed. NASA initiated this review as a result of the crew study and challenges related to building the core stage of the world's most powerful rocket for the first time, issues with manufacturing and supplying Orion's first European service module, and tornado damage at the agency's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

"While the review of the possible manufacturing and production schedule risks indicate a launch date of June 2020, the agency is managing to December 2019," said acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot. "Since several of the key risks identified have not been actually realized, we are able to put in place mitigation strategies for those risks to protect the December 2019 date."

The majority of work on NASA's new deep space exploration systems is on track. The agency is using lessons learned fr om first time builds to drive efficiencies into overall production and operations planning. To address schedule risks identified in the review, NASA established new production performance milestones for the SLS core stage to increase confidence for future hardware builds. NASA and its contractors are supporting ESA's (European Space Agency) efforts to optimize build plans for schedule flexibility if sub-contractor deliveries for the service module are late.

NASA's ability to meet its agency baseline commitments to EM-1 cost, which includes SLS and ground systems, currently remains within original targets. The costs for EM-1 up to a possible June 2020 launch date remain within the 15 percent lim it for SLS and are slightly above for ground systems. NASA's cost commitment for Orion is through Exploration Mission-2. With NASA's multi-mission approach to deep space exploration, the agency has hardware in production for the first and second missions, and is gearing up for the third flight. When teams complete hardware for one flight, they're moving on to the next.

As part of the review, NASA now plans to accelerate a test of Orion's launch abort system ahead of EM-1, and is targeting April 2019. Known as Ascent-Abort 2, the test will validate the launch abort system's ability to get crew to safety if needed during ascent. Moving up the test date ahead of EM-1 will reduce risk for the first flight with crew, which remains on track for 2023.

Technology Advancements

On both the rocket and spacecraft, NASA is using advanced manufacturing techniques that have helped to position the nation and U.S. companies as world leaders in this area. For example, NASA is using additive manufacturing (3-D printing) on more than 100 parts of Orion. While building the two largest core stage structures of the rocket, NASA welded the thickest structures ever joined using self-reacting friction stir welding.

SLS has completed welding on all the major structures for the mission and is on track to assemble them to form the largest rocket stage ever built and complete the EM-1 "green run," an engine test that will fire up the core stage with all four RS-25 engines at the same time.

NASA is reusing avionics boxes from the Orion EM-1 crew module for the next flight. Avionics and electrical systems provide the "nervous system" of launch vehicles and spacecraft, linking diverse systems into a functioning whole.

For ground systems, infrastructure at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is intended to support the exploration systems including launch, flight and recovery operations. The center will be able to accommodate the evolving needs of SLS, Orion, and the rockets and spacecraft of commercial partners for more flexible, affordable, and responsive national launch capabilities.

EM-1 will demonstrate safe operations of the integrated SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, and the agency currently is studying a deep space gateway concept with U.S. industry and space station partners for potential future missions near the Moon.

"Hardware progress continues every day for the early flights of SLS and Orion. EM-1 will mark a significant achievement for NASA, and our nation's future of human deep space exploration," said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA's Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate in Washington. "Our investments in SLS and Orion will take us to the Moon and beyond, advancing American leadership in space."
[свернуть]
Last Updated: Nov. 8, 2017
Editor: Sarah Loff

tnt22

Цитировать Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust 5 мин. назад

Gerst: 33-month gap between EM-1 and 2 to modify mobile launcher. Should discuss if it's advantageous to have a second mobile launcher.

4 мин. назад

Gerst: no impact of EM-1 delay on SLS launch of Europa Clipper; later determine if it launches after EM-1 or after EM-2.

tnt22

Цитировать Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust 2 мин. назад

Gerst: know ESA has committed extra funding to keep Orion service module on track; issued with helium valves being worked.

2 мин. назад

Gerst: service module delivery date is April 2018; likely to slip to May or June. [I've heard "summer"...]

tnt22

ЦитироватьHearing - An Update on NASA Exploration Systems Development (EventID=106609)

House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology

Трансляция началась 2 часа назад

Date: Thursday, November 9, 2017 - 9:30am Location: 2318 Rayburn House Office Building

Witnesses:

Mr. William Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator, Human Exploration and Operations Directorate, NASA
Dr. Sandra Magnus, Executive Director, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqxybZPeKF0https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqxybZPeKF0 (1:38:14)

tnt22

http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Human_Spaceflight/Orion/The_road_to_Orion_s_launch
ЦитироватьThe road to Orion's launch

9 November 2017
NASA's Orion spacecraft aims to send humans further into space than ever before, and ESA's European Service Module will provide the essentials for keeping the astronauts alive and on course.

A review of the programme by NASA to assess progress is now showing a launch date fr om December 2019 to June 2020.
Спойлер

Orion with European Service Module

The first Exploration Mission-1 will circle the Moon without astronauts to lay the foundation and prove the technology for a second mission with a crew.

In Bremen, Germany, integration of the service module is well under way, with work already starting on the second.

More than 11 km of cables are being laid and connected to send the megabytes of information from the solar panels, fuel systems, engines, and air and water supplies to the module's central computers.

Recently, the Orion's 24 orientation thrusters were installed, complementing the eight larger engines that will back up the main engine.

The module's complex design requires 1100 welds for the propulsion system alone, with only 173 left to complete.


European Service Module

Teams in Bremen at the Airbus integration room are on eight-hour shifts to keep work running 24 hours a day, aiming for a shipment of the completed module to the USA in the summer of 2018.

It will be flown to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, wh ere it will be combined with the crew module before they are moved to NASA's Plum Brook station in Ohio for extensive tests to ensure they are ready for launch and the voyage into deep space.

The service module is based on technology from ESA's tried-and-tested Automated Transfer Vehicles that flew to the International Space Station on five missions. For Orion, the design is more complex with more systems but the technology behind it has been miniaturised to fit into the smaller Orion structure.

ESA's David Parker, Director of Human Spaceflight and Robotic Exploration, says: "The Orion spacecraft and service module is an inspiring international cooperation at the forefront of technology and humanity's drive for exploration. All the teams involved are justly proud to be part of such a complex and important project."
[свернуть]

tnt22

ЦитироватьNASA's Ascent Abort-2 Test of Orion

NASA Johnson

Опубликовано: 9 нояб. 2017 г.

In a test targeted for April 2019 known as Ascent Abort-2, NASA will verify the Orion spacecraft's launch abort system, a tower on top of the crew module, can steer the capsule and astronauts inside it to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during ascent for deep-space missions. The test is quick, fast and high, lasting less than three minutes with the test crew module reaching an average speed of Mach 1.5, roughly 1020 miles per hour, at approximately 32,000 feet in altitude.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HK9G7feXEkhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HK9G7feXEk (1:38 )

tnt22

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/nasa-moves-up-critical-crew-safety-launch-abort-test
ЦитироватьNov. 10, 2017

NASA Moves Up Critical Crew Safety Launch Abort Test

NASA's Orion spacecraft is scheduled to undergo a design test in April 2019 of the capsule's launch abort system (LAS), which is a rocket-powered tower on top of the crew module built to very quickly get astronauts safely away fr om their launch vehicle if there is a problem during ascent.
Спойлер

NASA will test Orion's launch abort system in high-stress ascent conditions during an April 2019 test called Ascent Abort-2.

This full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort Test 2 (AA-2), will see a booster, provided by Orbital ATK, launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000 pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 32,000 feet at Mach 1.3 (over 1,000 miles an hour).  At that point, the LAS' powerful reverse-flow abort motor will fire, carrying the Orion test vehicle away from the missile. Timing is crucial as the abort events must match the abort timing requirements of the Orion spacecraft to the millisecond in order for the flight test data to be valid.

NASA is accelerating the timeline of the test to provide engineers with critical abort test data sooner to help validate computer models of the spacecraft's LAS performance and system functions.

"This will be the only time we test a fully active launch abort system during ascent before we fly crew, so verifying that it works as predicted, in the event of an emergency, is a critical step before we put astronauts on board," said Don Reed, manager of the Orion Program's Flight Test Management Office at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. "No matter what approach you take, having to move a 22,000-pound spacecraft away quickly from a catastrophic event, like a potential rocket failure, is extremely challenging."

The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts inside to safety in the event of an issue with a Space Launch System rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into or beyond orbit for deep-space missions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6HK9G7feXEk
(youtube.com/watch?v=6HK9G7feXEk, 1:38 )
In a test targeted for April 2019 known as Ascent Abort-2, NASA will verify the Orion spacecraft's launch abort system. The test will last less than three minutes with the test crew module reaching an average speed of Mach 1.5, roughly 1020 miles per hour, at approximately 32,000 feet in altitude.

The LAS is divided into two parts: the fairing assembly, which is a shell composed of a lightweight composite material that protects the capsule from the heat, wind and acoustics of the launch, ascent, and abort environments; and the launch abort tower, which includes the system's three motors. In an emergency, those three motors – the launch abort, attitude control, and jettison motors –  would work together to pull Orion away from a problem on the launch pad or during SLS first stage ascent, steering and re-orienting for LAS jettison, and pulling the LAS away from the crew module. During a normal launch, only the LAS jettison motor would fire, once Orion and the Space Launch System clear most of the atmosphere, to clear the LAS from Orion and allow the spacecraft to continue with its mission.

Engineers at several NASA centers already are building the Orion test article that has many of the design features and the same mass as the capsule that will carry crew. Because the test is designed to evaluate Orion's launch abort capabilities, the crew module used for AA-2 will not deploy parachutes after the abort system is jettisoned, nor will it have a reaction control system with thrusters needed to help orient the capsule for a parachute-assisted descent and splashdown after the LAS is jettisoned.

The AA-2 test development and execution is a partnership between Orion Program and the Advanced Exploration Systems Division, the technology advancement organization in the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington.

NASA Johnson is responsible for producing the fully assembled and integrated crew module and separation ring, including development of unique avionics, power, software and data collection subsystems and several elements of ground support equipment.

The agency's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, will build the primary structure of the crew module test article and a separation ring that connects the test capsule to the booster and provides space and volume for separation mechanisms and instrumentation.

Critical sensors and instruments used to gather data during the test will be provided by NASA's Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California. The integrated test article will be delivered to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, wh ere it will be processed before launch.

NASA's prime contractor, Lockheed Martin, is providing the fully functional Orion LAS, and the crew module to service module umbilical and flight design retention and release mechanisms.

In 2010, an earlier version of Orion's LAS was tested to evaluate the performance of the system in during Abort Test Booster-1 at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. For Exploration Mission-1, NASA's first integrated flight test of Orion atop the powerful SLS -- the abort system will not be fully active since astronauts will not be inside the spacecraft. NASA is working toward a December 2019 launch for EM-1.
[свернуть]
Last Updated: Nov. 10, 2017
Editor: Mark Garcia

tnt22

Цитировать Airbus Space‏Подлинная учетная запись @AirbusSpace 5 ч назад

Assembly of #OrionESM makes progress : At @AirbusSpace in Bremen the clusters reaction control engines of @NASA_Orion European Service Module were just assembled and a pressure test was performed successfully . @esa

tnt22

https://spaceflightnow.com/2017/11/20/nasa-expects-first-space-launch-system-flight-to-slip-into-2020/
ЦитироватьNASA expects first Space Launch System flight to slip into 2020
November 20, 2017 Stephen Clark


Artist's illustration of the Space Launch System on launch pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Credit: NASA

The maiden unpiloted flight of NASA's Space Launch System, a heavy-lift human-rated rocket and one of the agency's core programs, will likely not be ready for takeoff until 2020, officials said recently.
Спойлер
NASA officials until earlier this year aimed to launch the first SLS test flight in late 2018, but the space agency acknowledged in April that the huge super-booster's first flight would be delayed until at least 2019.

After a multi-month assessment of the program's recent progress, managers set a best-case launch target in December 2019. But engineers expect more development delays to materialize over the next couple of years during full-scale assembly and testing of the rocket's core stage and the Orion spacecraft slated to ride it on a round-trip flight to lunar orbit and back to Earth.

Officials now expect the Space Launch System, Orion capsule and ground systems to be ready for the maiden flight — named Exploration Mission-1 — by June 2020. There is still some hope EM-1 could be ready sooner.

"While the review of the possible manufacturing and production schedule risks indicate a launch date of June 2020, the agency is managing to December 2019," said acting NASA Administrator Robert Lightfoot. "Since several of the key risks identified have not been actually realized, we are able to put in place mitigation strategies for those risks to protect the December 2019 date."

A report by the Government Accountability Office released in April underlined several technical and schedule concerns responsible for EM-1's launch delay: A missed delivery date for the European-made service module set to power NASA's Orion crew capsule, snags in the welding of parts of the SLS core stage due to low weld strength, and a tornado that struck a production site in New Orleans in February.

NASA concurred with the report's findings and set out to establish a new target launch date.

The Trump administration also directed NASA early this year to study the feasibility of putting astronauts on EM-1, which will be the first launch of the SLS and the second flight of an Orion spacecraft, but the first with Orion's European-built power and propulsion module. NASA announced in May that EM-1 will remain an uncrewed test flight.


NASA has completed major welding for the liquid hydrogen tank for the first Space Launch System mission at the agency's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The tank was the final piece of flight hardware completed for the deep-space rocket's first mission. All five of the structures that will be joined to form the 212-foot-tall core stage, the backbone of the SLS rocket, are built. The liquid hydrogen tank measures more than 130 feet tall, comprises almost two-thirds of the core stage and holds 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen cooled to minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit. Credits: NASA/MSFC/MAF/Jude Guidry

Manufacturing of the SLS core stage at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans picked up pace this year, and all major structural components of the stage have completed fabrication in a giant 170-foot-tall (52-meter) welding device specially built for the Space Launch System.

The liquid hydrogen tank — stretching more than 130 feet (39 meters) long — takes up most of the core stage. The SLS main stage also comprises a liquid oxygen tank, an aft engine section, an intertank section and a forward skirt.

The welding techniques to fuse segments of the SLS core stage proved challenging. A misalignment of the giant weld tool at Michoud halted core stage manufacturing in 2014 and 2015, and engineers had to resolve concerns about the thickness of the aluminum welds.

The SLS core stage will use the thickest structures ever assembled using friction stir welding, a process that uses heat from friction to forge materials together without melting them.

The Boeing contractor team in charge of the SLS core stage manufactured several test articles before pressing on with welding of tanks destined to fly on EM-1. Technicians finished welding of EM-1's liquid hydrogen tank in September, marking the completion of all five pieces of the first core stage.

The next step will be outfitting the pieces with plumbing, wiring, avionics, orange foam for thermal protection, and four RS-25 main engines left over from the space shuttle program. The five components will be assembled to create the 212-foot-tall (64-meter) core stage.

"The big items are done, and the team is focused on the intricate details of outfitting the flight hardware to perform specific tasks for the most powerful rocket in the world," said Chad Bryant, the SLS core stage manufacturing lead at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. "When assembled, the core stage will stand taller than a 20-story building and include hundreds of cables for everything from data collection to propulsion systems."

Strength checks of SLS tank test articles will push the structures to their limits using two new test stands at Marshall in the coming months.

"The majority of work on NASA's new deep space exploration systems is on track," NASA said in a statement. "The agency is using lessons learned from first time builds to drive efficiencies into overall production and operations planning."

Officials have established new production performance milestones to ensure the quality of future SLS core stage builds, and NASA and ESA have re-planned the schedule for the Orion service module to account for late deliveries.

In its maiden flight configuration, named Block 1, the heavy-lifter will be able to haul up to 77 tons (70 metric tons) of cargo to low Earth orbit, more than double the capacity of the most powerful launcher flying today — United Launch Alliance's Delta 4-Heavy.

The Block 1 version of SLS will fly with an upper stage propelled by an Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engine, based on the Delta 4's second stage.

SpaceX's Falcon Heavy rocket, which could fly for the first time before the end of this year, will come in just shy of the SLS Block 1's capacity, assuming the commercial space company gave up recovering its booster stages.

NASA plans to introduce a bigger four-engine second stage on the EM-2 launch, a configuration of the SLS named Block 1B. EM-2 will be the first SLS/Orion mission to carry astronauts to the vicinity of the moon, and is scheduled for launch around 2023, the agency said.

By the end of the the current fiscal year on Sept. 30, 2018, NASA will have spent $23 billion on the SLS, Orion and associated ground systems, with $15 billion of that investment coming since 2012, according to a NASA inspector general report released in April.

Those figures are on top of expenditures made by NASA on the Orion capsule, ground equipment and heavy-lift launcher concepts during the Constellation moon program, an initiative dating back to the George W. Bush administration that was canceled by President Obama in 2010 after cost overruns.

NASA is working on a concept called a Deep Space Gateway, a mini-space station that could be positioned orbit around the moon, to serve as a staging point for future government and commercial landing sorties to the lunar surface. If approved and funded, the first piece of the deep space station could be launched with EM-2 in 2023.
[свернуть]

tnt22

Цитировать Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 2 ч. назад

ARTICLE: Orion spacecraft enjoying calmer seas ahead of All-Hands review - https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/11/orion-spacecraft-calmer-seas-all-hands-review/ ...
Спойлер


[свернуть]
Цитировать

tnt22

Цитировать Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust 5 мин. назад

NASA's Bill Hill tells NAC human exploration and operations committee they're targeting a Dec 16-25, 2019 launch date for first SLS mission. (Happy holidays...)

tnt22

Цитировать Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust 41 мин. назад

Hill, on getting Orion service module built: Airbus is going to work through the holidays in Bremen, which is totally unheard of.

tnt22

Цитировать Jeff Foust‏ @jeff_foust 29 мин. назад

Hill: it's "sporty" to get to a December 2019 SLS EM-1 launch date. Have 4-6 months of risk. Gerst: we have no margin to that date, but think it's right one to plan towards versus mid-2020.

6 мин. назад

Hill: about $300M more to build a second mobile launcher versus modifying existing mobile launcher for EM-2 and beyond. Would shorten time between EM-1 and 2, allow other SLS launches (like Europa Clipper) between EM-1 and 2.