Thruster Tests Complete for NASA Partner Boeing's Crew Capsule

Trent Perrotto

Headquarters, Washington

202-358-0321

trent.j.perrotto@nasa.gov

 

Candrea Thomas

Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

321-867-2468

candrea.k.thomas@nasa.gov

 

Susan Wells

The Boeing Co.

321-264-8580

susan.h.wells@boeing.com

 

Erin Dick / Carri Karuhn

Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne

818-586-4977 / 818-586-4963

erin.dick@pwr.utc.com / carri.karuhn@pwr.utc.com

CANOGA PARK, Calif. -- Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne has successfully completed a series of tests on a thruster destined for Boeing's Commercial Space Transportation spacecraft, designated CST-100.

Boeing is one of several companies working to develop crew transportation capabilities under the Commercial Crew Development Round 2 agreement with NASA's Commercial Crew Program. The goal of the program is to help spur innovation and development of safe, reliable and cost-effective spacecraft and launch vehicles capable of transporting astronauts to low Earth orbit and the International Space Station.

Twenty-four thrusters will be part of the spacecraft's orbital maneuvering and attitude control system (OMAC), giving the CST-100 the ability to maneuver in space and during re-entry. The thrusters also will allow the spacecraft to separate from its launch vehicle if an abort becomes necessary during launch or ascent.

"Boeing and Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne know what it takes to develop safe systems and subsystems," said NASA Commercial Crew Program Manager Ed Mango. "They're building on the successes of their past, while pushing the envelope with next-generation ideas to create a spacecraft for low Earth orbit transportation."

During tests conducted at the White Sands Space Harbor in Las Cruces, N.M., an OMAC thruster was fired in a vacuum chamber that simulated a space-like environment of 100,000 feet. The tests verified the durability of the thrusters in extreme heat, evaluated the opening and closing of its valves and confirmed continuous combustion and performance.

"We're excited about the performance of the engine during the testing and confident the OMAC thrusters will affordably meet operational needs for safe, reliable human spaceflight," said Terry Lorier, Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne's Commercial Crew Development program manager.

All of NASA's industry partners, including Boeing, continue to meet their established milestones in developing commercial crew transportation capabilities.

NASA also is developing the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS), a crew capsule and heavy-lift rocket that will provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. Designed to be flexible for launching spacecraft for crew and cargo missions, SLS and Orion will expand human presence beyond low Earth orbit and enable new missions of exploration across the solar system.

For more information about NASA's Commercial Crew Program, visit http://www.nasa.gov/commercialcrew.

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Gas ‘Plume’ Detection System to Protect Soldiers, First Responders

By John Andrew Hamilton, U.S Army Test and Evaluation Command

A wind monitoring and modeling system being developed by the Army Research Laboratory’s, or ARL, White Sands Missile Range, or WSMR, division could one day protect soldiers and civilians alike from weapons of mass destruction.

The Local-Rapid Evaluation of Atmospheric Conditions, or L-REAC, system is a computerized weather sensor system under development at ARL intended to help predict the flow of gasses and fumes, or “plumes,” produced by things such as gas leaks and chemical weapons.

Being able to identify how an airborne hazard will behave is a vital ability for first responders to have in order for them to know how to approach or evacuate an affected area.

“If you are a dispatch person and you have to direct first responders to the site, you can look at the wind field and see what the safest approach would be,” said Gail Vaucher, a research meteorologist with ARL at WSMR.

There are other systems available that can predict the plume with some accuracy. Such systems use things like wind speed, air pressure, temperature, and humidity in their calculations. But L-REAC system adds a new layer that previous systems didn’t have. Using terrain data, building plans and dimensions, L-REAC can model and display not only the plume, but the actual airflow around buildings and terrain features.

“We decided to utilize the 3D wind field model developed by Doctor Yansen Wang at ARL Headquarters in Adelphi (Md.) because it had the capability to not only render very quickly, but it can look at many different scales,” said Donald Hoock, chief of the Atmospheric Dynamics Branch of ARL at WSMR.

Thanks to this wind flow model, L-REAC can model how wind will flow when it encounters everything from trees and boulders, to buildings and other structures. While not real-time, the model will update regularly depending on the size of the area being observed.

As air flows around things like buildings, pockets of slower moving or even circular flowing air can be generated on the downwind side, while other formations like alleyways can form wind tunnels. Using L-REAC’s modeling capability, a first responder can predict how these wind effects will alter a plume.

Additionally, L-REAC is a scalable system. The system allows a first responder to monitor large areas, or focus in on a specific incident site. The system uses information about weather and terrain to help build its model.

“The models themselves, in order to be appropriate for an area, need to know about the area, what is the terrain and what is the morphology,” said Vaucher.

For urban areas, Vaucher said, this also includes the shape and size of buildings. In the case of established areas, exact data can be input for detailed results. If detailed information isn’t available, the system will accept less-detailed information if the operator is willing to accept less-detailed results.

“The more details you have, the better the results,” said Vaucher. “If you have a generic description, you’ll get a generic result.”

The L-REAC system collects data from a series of weather monitoring stations that evaluate things like air pressure, temperature, humidity, wind speed, and wind direction. These stations can be the transportable kind like several that ARL has placed around WSMR, or they can be permanent stations like those found at airports or similar facilities.

Since the weather stations and computer systems are largely autonomous, ARL sees military installations and similar facilities as prime examples of where L-REAC could be implemented as part of a force protection plan. On an installation, L-REAC could be installed as a continuously running system, ready for use at a moment’s notice by operation center operators or dispatchers.

“We want to have the capability for them to immediately pull up on their computer screen a picture of what the wind fields are across the post without having to go in and physically start anything running. It would always be running 24-hours a day,” said Hoock.

L-REAC, while still in development, has already seen real-world action. It was used to track and predict smoke and airflow during the Abrams wildfire that threatened WSMR last year.

Ultimately, ARL hopes to have the system integrated with compact mobile weather monitoring systems so first responders and service members can always have a weather station as close to an area of interest as possible.

“The current Army is focusing on short, quick missions, so we want to build a tool that they can use,” said Vaucher.

To make this final mobile component of L-REAC a reality, ARL will need the help of new partners to help fund the integration of mobile sensors into the system. ARL is hoping for partners within the Army and the Department of Defense for integration into force protection plans.

“I think our ultimate goal is to team first on the Army side, and them more on the DOD side, looking for putting L-REAC in at installation levels to begin with,” said Hoock.

Other government organizations and agencies could also easily become partners on the program. Commercial partners would be welcome as well, though the process of establishing a commercial partnership would be more complex.

Endeavour's OMS Pod

In Orbiter Processing Facility-2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, space shuttle Endeavour’s left orbital maneuvering system OMS pod is in position on the aft of the shuttle and ready for installation. The OMS pod underwent complete deservicing and cleaning at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico, part of the transition and retirement processing of each shuttle. Endeavour is being prepared for public display at the California Science Center in Los Angeles. Over the course of its 19-year career, Endeavour spent 299 days in space during 25 missions.

Image credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

GUCP Leak Checks Completed Ahead of Tanking Test

Technicians at NASA Kennedy Space Center's Launch Pad 39A have completed leak checks of space shuttle Atlantis' ground umbilical carrier plate quick disconnect. With results within specifications, teams continue preparing for the tanking test, set to begin at 7 a.m. EDT Wednesday.

STS-135 Commander Chris Ferguson and Pilot Doug Hurley will perform shuttle training aircraft, or STA, runs at the White Sands Space Harbor, N.M. today while Mission Specialists Sandra Magnus and Rex Walheim review transfer work for the upcoming joint docked mission at the International Space Station.

Endeavour and Crew Preps Ongoing

Launch Pad 39A technicians at NASA's Kennedy Space Center have opened space shuttle Endeavour's airlock hatch in preparation for a functional checkout of the astronaut's spacewalking suits that will take place on Thursday.

At NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston, the STS-134 crew will review camp out procedures today for the mission's spacewalks. Meanwhile, Commander Mark Kelly and Pilot Greg H. Johnson will practice landings in the shuttle training aircraft at White Sands Space Harbor in New Mexico.

The Flight Readiness Review for Endeavour's flight to the International Space Station will be held on Tuesday, April 19. NASA managers will announce the official launch date during a briefing at the conclusion of the meeting.

Endeavour is targeted to lift off on its final mission 3:47 p.m. EDT, April 29.

NASA Selects Seven Firms For Construction Contract Awards

Katherine Trinidad

Headquarters, Washington

 

Kylie Clem

Johnson Space Center, Houston

HOUSTON -- NASA has selected seven firms for award under a $49 million solicitation to perform general construction and repair work for minor projects at NASA facilities in Houston and in New Mexico.

The 8(a) multiple award indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contracts will cover construction, modification and repair work including architectural, mechanical, electrical, plumbing, civil, structural, roofing, partial building renovations, building demolition and environmental support.

The work will be performed at Johnson Space Center, Ellington Field and the Sonny Carter Training Facility in Houston and the White Sands Test Facility in Las Cruces, N.M.

The selected awardees are:

-- Jarreau-Durotech JV, LLC, Houston

-- C3, LLC, Broken Arrow, Okla.

-- Hallmark Capital Group, Houston

-- The Gee Cee Company of LA, Inc., Houston

-- Persaud Companies Inc., San Antonio

-- Competitive Choice/Gen-Tech Joint Venture, Houston

-- Total Team Construction Services Inc., San Antonio

Hallmark Capital Group's main subcontractor is 4 City Construction of Deer Park, Texas.

The firm fixed-price contract has a base period of five years with no options.

For more information about NASA and agency programs, visit http://www.nasa.gov.

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Technicians Connecting GUCP to Discovery at Pad

Shuttle Discovery reached Launch Pad 39A at 2:55 a.m. EST following its 3.4 mile trek on the crawler-transporter from the Vehicle Assembly Building. First motion began at 7:58 p.m. EST Monday.

The rotating service structure was closed around Discovery a little before 6 a.m. EST. Technicians now are working on connecting the ground umbilical carrier plate or GUCP. Leak checks are scheduled for Friday. The shuttle was powered up this morning as part of the initial check out of systems.

At NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Discovery’s STS-133 astronauts are reviewing photo/TV operations today before Commander Steve Lindsey and Pilot Eric Boe conduct Shuttle Training Aircraft training runs around the White Sands Space Harbor, N.M.

This article was sponsored by Forensic Science Books.

The Next Generation

In October 2010, NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and White Sands Test Facility worked with Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne to successfully complete a series of thruster tests that will aid in maneuvering and landing the next generation of robotic lunar landers that could be used to explore the moon's surface and other airless celestial bodies. The test results will allow the Robotic Lander Project to move forward with robotic lander designs using advanced propulsion technology.

In this image, the Divert Attitude Control System thruster fired under vacuum conditions to simulate operation in a space environment. The tests mimicked the lander mission profile and operation scenarios.

Image Credit: NASA/MSFC