Orion Ground Test Vehicle Arrives at Kennedy

The Orion Ground Test Vehicle arrived at NASA's Kennedy Space Center Operations & Checkout (O&C) Facility on April 21. The vehicle traveled more than 1,800 miles from Lockheed Martin's Waterton Facility near Denver, Colo., where it successfully completed a series of rigorous acoustic, modal and vibration tests that simulated launch and spaceflight environments.

The ground test vehicle will now be used for pathfinding operations at the O&C in preparation for the Orion spaceflight test vehicle's arrival this summer. The spaceflight vehicle is currently being fabricated at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, La., and is slated for NASA's Exploration Flight Test, or EFT-1, in 2014.

Image Credit: NASA

Preparing MAVEN for Mars

MAVEN's hydrazine propellant tank is shown prior to it being installed in the core structure of the MAVEN spacecraft at a Lockheed Martin clean room near Denver in this image taken in April 2012. The goal of the Mars Atmosphere And Volatile EvolutioN program, or MAVEN, is to determine the role that loss of atmospheric gas to space played in changing the Martian climate through time. The mission will determine how much of the Martian atmosphere has been lost over time by measuring the current rate of escape to space and gathering enough information about the relevant processes to allow extrapolation backward in time.

Built of composite panels comprised of aluminum honeycomb sandwiched between graphite composite face sheets, the entire structure only weighs 275 pounds. MAVEN is scheduled to launch in November 2013 and will be the first mission devoted to understanding the Martian upper atmosphere.

Image Credit: Lockheed Martin

Next-Generation Space Flight

The Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), or Orion, being assembled and tested at Lockheed Martin's Vertical Testing Facility in Colorado.

Drawing from more than 50 years of spaceflight research and development, Orion is designed to meet the evolving needs of our nation's space program for decades to come.

As the flagship of our nation's next-generation space fleet, Orion will push the envelope of human spaceflight far beyond low Earth orbit.

Orion may resemble its Apollo-era predecessors, but its technology and capability are light years apart. Orion features dozens of technology advancements and innovations that have been incorporated into the spacecraft's subsystem and component design.

A test version of the Orion spacecraft makes a stop at the Science Museum Oklahoma in Oklahoma City today, giving residents the chance to see a full scale test version of the vehicle that will take humans into deep space.

Image Credit: Lockheed Martin

NASA Administrator Bolden To Tour Lockheed Martin, Hold Press Availability

Lauren B. Worley                              
Headquarters, Washington                                   

Joan Underwood

Lockheed Martin

WASHINGTON -- NASA Administrator Charles Bolden will tour Lockheed Martin's facilities near Denver on Tuesday, Jan. 10.

Bolden and Lockheed Martin's Vice President and General Manager for Human Spaceflight John Karas will hold a brief press availability after Bolden's tour on Tuesday, Jan. 10, at 1:30 p.m.

Media who wish to attend should contact Joan Underwood at joan.b.underwood@lmco.com no later than 10 a.m. MST on Tuesday, Jan. 10.

For directions to the Lockheed Martin Waterton Facility, visit http://bit.ly/ypOM49.

Lockheed Martin is the prime contractor to NASA for Orion, a multipurpose exploration spacecraft designed to explore destinations throughout our solar system. The Orion spacecraft can be used for both crew and cargo transportation and is comprised of a crew module, service module and launch abort system.

www.nasa.gov/orion.

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NASA Selects Firms For Advanced Entry System Technology Development

David E. Steitz
Headquarters, Washington                                        

Mike Finneran

Langley Research Center, Hampton, Va.

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected Airborne Systems North America of Santa Ana, Calif., ILC Dover LP of Frederica, Del., and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company of Littleton, Colo., to support agency inflatable aerodynamic decelerator research and development, including work on the Space Technology Program's Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) project.

Inflatable aerodynamic decelerators are lightweight outer shells that slow and protect spacecraft as they enter planetary atmospheres. This technology allows increased payload mass, makes it possible to reach higher surface elevations for robotic and human exploration of solar system destinations, and improves cargo return capabilities from the International Space Station.

Contractors will provide NASA with services for the design, analysis, fabrication and testing of project systems, including the thermal protection system and inflatable structures for aerocapture and direct entry applications.

The cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity task order contracts have a maximum cumulative agency value of $47 million over a five-year performance period. NASA's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., will administer the contracts for the agency.

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

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LCS Remote Minehunting System Reaches Reliability Milestone

From Naval Sea Systems Command Public Affairs

WASHINGTON (NNS) -- The remote minehunting system (RMS), a critical component of the mine countermeasures mission package for the littoral combat ship class, completed the first phase of reliability testing Nov. 22, at the Lockheed Martin facilities off the coast of Palm Beach, Fla.

The RMS, which will provide an off-board mine reconnaissance capability, successfully completed more than 500 hours of offshore, in-water testing, including line-of-sight and over-the-horizon communications checks and full exercise of vehicle control, mobility, maneuvering, and sonar towing capability. Completed six-weeks early, the tests validated reliability and maintainability improvements made to the baseline vehicle.

"Initial analysis of the data indicates that we have met or surpassed all testing and program objectives and we obtained the required data needed to proceed to the next phase," said Steve Lose, program manager for the Remote Minehunting System program.

The RMS is designed to conduct rapid reconnaissance of bottom and moored mines from the deep-water region to the very shallow water region. The RMS will aid in the determination of the presence of mines and help identify safe routes or operating areas around potential minefields.

The RMS is a combination of the remote multi-mission vehicle (RMMV), coupled with the towed AN/AQS-20A mine-hunting sonar system. The RMMV is an unmanned, autonomous, semi-submersible, high endurance, low-visibility system that will be operated and maintained from the LCS. The vehicle has self-contained control, propulsion, power, and navigation. The AN/AQS-20A sonar system is designed to detect, classify, and localize mine-like contacts and identify bottom mines.

The program will now begin preparing for the next phase of reliability testing, scheduled to commence in third-quarter of fiscal year 2012. RMS will also be an integral part of ongoing LCS mine countermeasures mission package developmental testing scheduled for first-quarter of fiscal year 2012.

PEO LCS, an affiliated Program Executive Office of Naval Sea Systems Command, provides a single Program Executive responsible for acquiring and sustaining mission capabilities of the littoral combat ship class, beginning with procurement, and ending with fleet employment and sustainment. The combined capability of LCS and LCS mission systems is designed to dominate the littoral battle space and provide U.S. forces with assured access to coastal areas.

NASA Extends Mission Operations Support Contract

Joshua Buck
Headquarters, Washington

Kelly Humphries

Johnson Space Center, Houston

HOUSTON -- NASA has awarded a $165 million contract extension to Lockheed Martin Corp. of Gaithersburg, Md., to provide continued mission control systems services, development, maintenance and operations support as part of the Facilities Development and Operations Contract, or FDOC.

Under the contract, Lockheed Martin provides support for the hardware, software, data and displays systems used to train for and execute all human spaceflight missions supported by the Mission Operations Directorate at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. The contract provides systems services support within the Christopher C. Kraft Jr. Mission Control Center and the Jake Garn Mission Simulator and Training Facility at Johnson, and at backup control centers.

The majority of the work will take place at or near Johnson. Significant subcontractors include Cimarron Software Services Inc. and United Space Alliance, both of Houston.

This extension exercises the first of two potential options for the contract. The $755 million contract base period is from Jan. 1, 2009, through Sept. 30, 2012. This option will extend the contract through Sept. 30, 2013, and increase the total contract value to $919.5 million.

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

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NASA Proposes Orion Spacecraft Test Flight In 2014

Michael Braukus/J.D. Harrington
Headquarters, Washington     

Josh Byerly

Johnson Space Center, Houston

Agency Moves to Implement Deep Space Exploration Plan

WASHINGTON -- NASA plans to add an unmanned flight test of the Orion spacecraft in early 2014 to its contract with Lockheed Martin Space Systems for the multi-purpose crew vehicle's design, development, test and evaluation. This test supports the new Space Launch System (SLS) that will take astronauts farther into space than ever before, create U.S. jobs, and provide the cornerstone for America's future human spaceflight efforts.

"President Obama and Congress have laid out an ambitious space exploration plan, and NASA is moving out quickly to implement it," NASA Associate Administrator for Communications David Weaver said. "This flight test will provide invaluable data to support the deep space exploration missions this nation is embarking upon."

This Exploration Flight Test, or EFT-1, will fly two orbits to a high-apogee, with a high-energy re-entry through Earth's atmosphere. Orion will make a water landing and be recovered using operations planned for future human exploration missions. The test mission will be launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla., to acquire critical re-entry flight performance data and demonstrate early integration capabilities that benefit the Orion, SLS, and 21st Century Ground Systems programs. The agency has posted a synopsis explaining its intention on NASA's procurement website.

"The entry part of the test will produce data needed to develop a spacecraft capable of surviving speeds greater than 20,000 mph and safely return astronauts from beyond Earth orbit," Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations William Gerstenmaier said. "This test is very important to the detailed design process in terms of the data we expect to receive."

NASA also intends to release several competitive solicitations to industry in the near future. One solicitation will request proposals for the design, development, test and evaluation of a new advanced liquid or solid booster capability for the SLS. Another future contract NASA intends to compete will be for the development of spacecraft, and payload adaptors and fairings for crew and cargo missions. The competition and award dates for these will be determined as missions are identified.

NASA is developing the Orion spacecraft to launch astronauts to asteroids, the moon, Mars and other destinations atop SLS, the agency's new heavy launch vehicle. An early orbital flight test such as EFT-1 will provide data needed to influence design decisions and serve as a pathfinder to validate innovative new approaches to space systems development. The goal is to reduce the cost and schedule risks of exploration missions.

For more information about NASA's exploration programs, visit http://www.nasa.gov/exploration/.

The synopsis of contract action is available at http://prod.nais.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/nais/index.cgi.

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NASA Invites Students To Name Moon-Bound Spacecraft

Dwayne Brown

Headquarters, Washington

 

DC Agle

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

 

Caroline McCall

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

WASHINGTON -- NASA has a class assignment for U.S. students: help the agency give the twin spacecraft headed to orbit around the moon new names.

The naming contest is open to students in kindergarten through 12th grade at schools in the United States. Entries must be submitted by teachers using an online entry form. Length of submissions can range from a short paragraph to a 500-word essay. The entry deadline is Nov. 11.

NASA's solar-powered Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL)-A and GRAIL-B spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. on Sept. 10 to begin a three-and-a-half-month journey to the moon. GRAIL will create a gravity map of the moon using two spacecraft that orbit at very precise distances. The mission will enable scientists to learn about the moon's internal structure and composition, and give scientists a better understanding of its origin. Accurate knowledge of the moon's gravity also could be used to help choose future landing sites.

"A NASA mission to the moon is one of the reasons why I am a scientist today," said GRAIL Principal Investigator Maria Zuber from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in Cambridge. "My hope is that GRAIL motivates young people today towards careers in science, math and technology. Getting involved with naming our two GRAIL spacecraft could inspire their interest not only in space exploration but in the sciences, and that's a good thing."

Zuber and former astronaut Sally Ride of Sally Ride Science in San Diego will chair the final round of judging. Sally Ride Science is the lead for GRAIL's MoonKAM program, which enables students to task cameras aboard the two GRAIL spacecraft to take close-up views of the lunar surface.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., manages the GRAIL mission. GRAIL is part of the Discovery Program managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver built the spacecraft.

For contest rules and more information, visit http://grail.nasa.gov/contest.

The public can email questions to grailcontest@jpl.nasa.gov.

For more information about GRAIL, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail.

For more information about MoonKAM, visit https://moonkam.ucsd.edu/.

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Testing Orion

Science technicians position microphones around the Orion MPCV, or Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, and LAS, or Launch Abort System, test craft in preparation for the second round of testing in the acoustic chamber at Lockheed Martin’s facilities near Denver in late August 2011. The vehicle was bombarded by acoustic levels of 150 decibels to simulate conditions during launch and abort, if necessary.

Image Credit: Lockheed Martin

NASA Moon Mission In Final Preparations For September Launch

Dwayne Brown

Headquarters, Washington     

 

DC Agle

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

 

Caroline McCall

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL), mission to study the moon is in final launch preparations for a scheduled Sept. 8 launch onboard a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

GRAIL's twin spacecraft are tasked for a nine-month mission to explore Earth's nearest neighbor in unprecedented detail. They will determine the structure of the lunar interior from crust to core and advance our understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon.

"Yesterday's final encapsulation of the spacecraft is an important mission milestone," said David Lehman, GRAIL project manager for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Our two spacecraft are now sitting comfortably inside the payload fairing which will protect them during ascent. Next time the GRAIL twins will see the light of day they will be about 95 miles up and accelerating."

The spacecraft twins, GRAIL A and B, will fly a circuitous route to lunar orbit taking 3.5 months and covering approximately 2.6 million miles (4.2 million kilometers) for GRAIL-A, and 2.7 million miles (4.3 million kilometers) for GRAIL-B.

In lunar orbit, the spacecraft will transmit radio signals precisely defining the distance between them. Regional gravitational differences on the moon are expected to expand and contract that distance. GRAIL scientists will use these accurate measurements to define the moon's gravity field. The data will allow mission scientists to understand what goes on below the surface of our natural satellite.

"GRAIL will unlock lunar mysteries and help us understand how the moon, Earth and other rocky planets evolved as well," said Maria Zuber, GRAIL principal investigator from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.

GRAIL's launch period opens Sept. 8 and extends through Oct. 19. On each day, there are two separate launch opportunities separated by approximately 39 minutes. On Sept. 8, the first launch opportunity is 8:37 a.m. EDT; the second is 9:16 a.m.

JPL manages the GRAIL mission. It is part of the Discovery Program managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver, built the spacecraft. Launch management for the mission is the responsibility of NASA's Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

For extensive pre-launch and launch day coverage of the GRAIL spacecraft, visit http://www.nasa.gov.

A prelaunch webcast for the mission will be streamed at noon on Wednesday, Sept. 7. Live countdown coverage through NASA's Launch Blog begins at 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 8. Coverage features live updates as countdown milestones occur and streaming video clips highlighting launch preparations and liftoff.

To view the webcast and the blog or to learn more about the GRAIL mission, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail and http://grail.nasa.gov.

To view live interviews with lunar scientists from noon to 5 p.m. on Sept. 8 and 9, visit http://www.livestream.com/grail.

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NASA Moon Mission In Final Preparations For September Launch

Dwayne Brown

Headquarters, Washington     

 

DC Agle

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

 

Caroline McCall

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's Gravity Recovery And Interior Laboratory (GRAIL), mission to study the moon is in final launch preparations for a scheduled Sept. 8 launch onboard a Delta II rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

GRAIL's twin spacecraft are tasked for a nine-month mission to explore Earth's nearest neighbor in unprecedented detail. They will determine the structure of the lunar interior from crust to core and advance our understanding of the thermal evolution of the moon.

"Yesterday's final encapsulation of the spacecraft is an important mission milestone," said David Lehman, GRAIL project manager for NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. "Our two spacecraft are now sitting comfortably inside the payload fairing which will protect them during ascent. Next time the GRAIL twins will see the light of day they will be about 95 miles up and accelerating."

The spacecraft twins, GRAIL A and B, will fly a circuitous route to lunar orbit taking 3.5 months and covering approximately 2.6 million miles (4.2 million kilometers) for GRAIL-A, and 2.7 million miles (4.3 million kilometers) for GRAIL-B.

In lunar orbit, the spacecraft will transmit radio signals precisely defining the distance between them. Regional gravitational differences on the moon are expected to expand and contract that distance. GRAIL scientists will use these accurate measurements to define the moon's gravity field. The data will allow mission scientists to understand what goes on below the surface of our natural satellite.

"GRAIL will unlock lunar mysteries and help us understand how the moon, Earth and other rocky planets evolved as well," said Maria Zuber, GRAIL principal investigator from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge.

GRAIL's launch period opens Sept. 8 and extends through Oct. 19. On each day, there are two separate launch opportunities separated by approximately 39 minutes. On Sept. 8, the first launch opportunity is 8:37 a.m. EDT; the second is 9:16 a.m.

JPL manages the GRAIL mission. It is part of the Discovery Program managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Lockheed Martin Space Systems in Denver, built the spacecraft. Launch management for the mission is the responsibility of NASA's Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

For extensive pre-launch and launch day coverage of the GRAIL spacecraft, visit http://www.nasa.gov.

A prelaunch webcast for the mission will be streamed at noon on Wednesday, Sept. 7. Live countdown coverage through NASA's Launch Blog begins at 6:30 a.m. on Sept. 8. Coverage features live updates as countdown milestones occur and streaming video clips highlighting launch preparations and liftoff.

To view the webcast and the blog or to learn more about the GRAIL mission, visit http://www.nasa.gov/grail and http://grail.nasa.gov.

To view live interviews with lunar scientists from noon to 5 p.m. on Sept. 8 and 9, visit http://www.livestream.com/grail.

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Preparing for Testing

Standing five stories tall fully stacked, the Launch Abort System was mounted atop the Orion MPCV, or Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, last week at the Lockheed Martin’s facilities near Denver. Orion is being prepared for the next round of testing in an acoustic chamber. Each test will expose the Orion MPCV and its launch abort system to acoustic levels exceeding 150 decibels while instruments record the vehicle’s response.

The test vehicles will provide critical data used to model the spacecraft's capabilities to perform deep space exploration missions. The vehicles will undergo testing at sound pressure levels that emulate those experienced at launch and in the event an abort is needed to carry the crew to safety away from a potential problem on the launch pad or during ascent.

Image Credit: Lockheed Martin

NASA Selects Companies To Study Storing Cryogenic Propellants In Space

J.D. Harrington

Headquarters, Washington     

 

Lori J. Rachul

Glenn Research Center, Cleveland

WASHINGTON -- NASA has selected four companies to develop concepts for storing and transferring cryogenic propellants in space. These capabilities are important for the agency's future deep space human exploration missions.

The selected companies, pending successful contract negotiations, are:

-- Analytical Mechanics Associates Inc. Hampton, Va.

-- Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corporation, Boulder, Colo.

-- The Boeing Company, Huntington Beach, Calif.

-- Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company, Littleton, Colo.

The awards total approximately $2.4 million with a maximum individual contract award of $600,000. Each company will provide a final report to help define a mission concept to demonstrate the cryogenic fluid management technologies, capabilities and infrastructure required for sustainable, affordable human presence in space.

Storing cryogenic propellants such as liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen in space for long periods of time with minimal boil-off is critical for deep space human exploration. The mission concept studies will identify technology gaps and look at innovative technical solutions to develop cryogenic propulsion systems and depots.

NASA will use the studies to plan and implement a future flight demonstration mission that will test and validate key capabilities and technologies. NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program is funding the studies. The Space Technology Office at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland is managing the contracts.

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

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NASA'S Juno Spacecraft Launches To Jupiter

Dwayne Brown

Headquarters, Washington     

 

DC Agle

Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif.

 

George Diller

Kennedy Space Center, Fla.

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA's solar-powered Juno spacecraft lifted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 12:25 p.m. EDT Friday to begin a five-year journey to Jupiter.

Juno's detailed study of the largest planet in our solar system will help reveal Jupiter's origin and evolution. As the archetype of giant gas planets, Jupiter can help scientists understand the origin of our solar system and learn more about planetary systems around other stars.

"Today, with the launch of the Juno spacecraft, NASA began a journey to yet another new frontier," NASA Administrator Charles Bolden said. "The future of exploration includes cutting-edge science like this to help us better understand our solar system and an ever-increasing array of challenging destinations."

After Juno's launch aboard an Atlas V rocket, mission controllers now await telemetry from the spacecraft indicating it has achieved its proper orientation, and that its massive solar arrays, the biggest on any NASA deep-space probe, have deployed and are generating power.

"We are on our way, and early indications show we are on our planned trajectory," said Jan Chodas, Juno project manager at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) in Pasadena, Calif. "We will know more about Juno's status in a couple hours after its radios are energized and the signal is acquired by the Deep Space Network antennas at Canberra."

Juno will cover the distance from Earth to the moon (about 250,000 miles or 402,236 kilometers) in less than one day's time. It will take another five years and 1,740 million miles (2,800 million kilometers) to complete the journey to Jupiter. The spacecraft will orbit the planet's poles 33 times and use its collection of eight science instruments to probe beneath the gas giant's obscuring cloud cover to learn more about its origins, structure, atmosphere, and magnetosphere, and look for a potential solid planetary core.

With four large moons and many smaller moons, Jupiter forms its own miniature solar system. Its composition resembles a star's, and if it had been about 80 times more massive, the planet could have become a star instead.

"Jupiter is the Rosetta Stone of our solar system," said Scott Bolton, Juno's principal investigator from the Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. "It is by far the oldest planet, contains more material than all the other planets, asteroids and comets combined and carries deep inside it the story of not only the solar system but of us. Juno is going there as our emissary -- to interpret what Jupiter has to say."

Juno's name comes from Greek and Roman mythology. The god Jupiter drew a veil of clouds around himself to hide his mischief, and his wife, the goddess Juno, was able to peer through the clouds and reveal Jupiter's true nature.

The NASA Deep Space Network, or DSN, is an international network of antennas that supports interplanetary spacecraft missions and radio and radar astronomy observations for the exploration of the solar system and the universe. The network also supports selected Earth-orbiting missions.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pasadena, Calif., manages the Juno mission for the principal investigator, Scott Bolton, of Southwest Research Institute in San Antonio. The Juno mission is part of the New Frontiers Program managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. Lockheed Martin Space Systems, Denver, built the spacecraft. Launch management for the mission is the responsibility of NASA's Launch Services Program at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

For more information about Juno, visit http://www.nasa.gov/juno and http://missionjuno.swri.edu.

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