Towering far above the trees at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., NASA's gantry is far more than a directional landmark for local aviators, fishermen and sailors. This red and white structure looming in the blue is a piece of national history.


Image above: The gantry is receiving a fresh coat of protective paint as part of the summer renovations. Other
upgrades include a new bridge, a new elevator, floor repairs and a new parallel winch system.
Credit: NASA/Sean Smith

The 240-foot-high massive steel structure has been serving NASA for over 40 years and still holds a vital place in research, discovery and exploration.

The gantry was built to train Apollo astronauts to land on the moon. Now it helps researchers test the possibility of landing NASA's next crew capsule -- Orion -- on land.
A multiple-exposure image of a simulated lunar landing at the NASA gantry in April 1967


Image above: A multiple-exposure image of a simulated lunar landing
at the NASA gantry in April 1967.
Credit: NASA

"The gantry has supported us in the past with Apollo and is bringing us to the future in space exploration," said Robin Hardy, test engineer.

The future is coming quickly. Technicians and engineers just finished their first year of Orion testing, completing 41 swing tests at the gantry and 12 vertical drops.

See a streaming QuickTime (.mov) video about the NASA gantry.
+ View Video
+ Captioned Video

Orion is scheduled to journey to the moon by the year 2020. Drop tests at NASA Langley are helping NASA determine the best option for Orion's return.

Rather than landing in water as Gemini, Mercury and Apollo did, Orion may land on dry ground. This would allow for easier retrieval and vehicle reusability.

"It's much easier to refurbish from a land landing as opposed to a water landing," said Richard Boitnott, lead test engineer.

Engineers and technicians at the gantry have conducted three types of tests for this dry landing option, each progressing from the previous to more realistic features.

"We started out with small test articles and we've progressed up," said Boitnott.

Testing began by dropping a test article – a framework used to represent the future capsule – that was half the size of what Orion will be. For the second round of testing, engineers then added a welded structure, representing Orion's intended shape to examine the article's tendency to flip or to remain upright. The third round of testing involved two different sets of airbags under a flat-bottomed test article that was approximately 7,000 pounds with a full-scale 16.5-foot diameter.
Engineers prepare to lift the Orion test article for a pendulum-swing drop test at the NASA gantry


Image above: Engineers and technicians prepare to lift the Orion test
article for a pendulum-swing drop test at the gantry. These tests are
helping researchers determine the best technology for returning Orion
to Earth.
Credit: NASA/Sean Smith

Orion tests have concluded for the summer as renovations to the gantry begin. The structure will be upgraded with a new bridge, a new elevator, floor repairs and a new parallel winch system.

"They're making really good progress on the enhancements to the gantry and modifications," said Boitnott. "The new bridge will support up to 64,000 pounds with its 16-ton winch double-hitched, and our new parallel winch system will increase our ability to accurately control pitch and pitching rotational rate."

A break from testing does not mean a break from work, however. Engineers have loads of data and information to process, analyze and learn from.

"The results from our airbag tests look very promising," said Hardy.

Hardy and Boitnott, along with other engineers, will take those results and use them to prepare for more realistic testing. If renovations and second-generation airbag procurements go according to schedule, testing will resume in late October.

Rather than having a flat bottom like the most recent test article, the future test article will have a curved underside and more lightweight airbags, both more similar to the actual design of the Orion crew exploration vehicle. Testing will also involve more airbags than previous drop tests, further drawing the design closer to Orion's.

"We'll be able to see interactions between airbags, and we'll be testing a prototype of the actual capsule that will fly," said Hardy regarding future testing beyond the planned second- and third-generation airbag tests.
The Orion test article lands at the base of the NASA gantry during a pendulum-swing drop test


Image above: The Orion test article lands at the base of the gantry
from a pendulum-swing drop test.
Credit: NASA/Sean Smith

"Future testing will reduce risk associated with using airbags and will gather more information about possible failure modes," said Boitnott. "We learn from one generation of airbag testing to the next and make improvements to give NASA a more reliable landing system."

The Orion drop tests have given researchers working at the gantry a renewed mission.

"It's been good to see the gantry really utilized for space application," said Boitnott. "This has really brought the group a lot of attention, locally with NASA Langley and even outside of NASA. I think we're contributing in a very meaningful way to this land landing by conducting these tests."

With enhanced capabilities and a revitalized purpose, the gantry is again playing a major role in ensuring America's leadership in space.

Emily Sturgill
NASA Langley Research Center

Source: NASA - Constellation Program - Orion Crew Vehicle

Image above: An artist's rendition of Ares I at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's
Kennedy Space Center.
Credit: NASA

The United States is transitioning from a country that sends astronauts to orbit the Earth to a nation that sends humans out into the solar system. NASA is working to make this transition – from the Space Shuttle Program to the Constellation Program – seamless and safe.

The agency is tapping existing people, processes, technology, infrastructure, facilities and equipment as much as possible to ensure Constellation’s success. All the while, the agency is committed to safely completing the remaining shuttle missions, including International Space Station assembly and Hubble Space Telescope servicing, key stepping stones in U.S. space exploration plans.

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center, Fla., work is under way to transition Launch Complex 39B to launch the new Ares and Orion spacecraft, which will return humans to the moon. Kennedy's Firing Room 1 and the Operations and Checkout Building are also being transitioned to Constellation, and work will begin soon to transition the massive Vehicle Assembly Building for future spacecraft processing.

Source: NASA - Constellation

Joysticks are used to control all sorts of things -- video games, wheelchairs, cranes, elevators and even some lawn mowers.

Instead of using a joystick for games, imagine using one to control the speed of a 20-foot (6.1m) diameter fan capable of accelerating air from a rest position to 66 miles per hour in a matter of seconds.

Then imagine that you're a NASA engineer conducting a wind tunnel test on a new spacecraft model -- a test that could potentially save the lives of astronauts depends upon your skill with the joystick because you're controlling how fast the tunnel's fan spins.


Image above: A NASA engineer prepares to release an Orion crew
vehicle scale model into the air stream in the Vertical Spin Tunnel.
Click image to see a larger version of the photograph.
Credit: NASA/Sean Smith

It's not all fun and games at NASA Langley's 20 foot-Vertical Spin Tunnel, also known as the VST. The facility has been used in testing aircraft and spacecraft since 1941.

Today the spin tunnel is the only operational wind tunnel of its kind in the Western Hemisphere that conducts free-spin research using dynamically-scaled, free-flying models. It investigates spinning, tumbling and free-fall characteristics of aircraft and spacecraft. But it's different from most wind tunnels that you might have seen because the air in the test section flows upward rather than horizontally.

See the Vertical Spin Tunnel at work! A streaming QuickTime (.mov) video.
+ View Video | + Captioned Video

"The United States Air Force has one at the Air Force Research Lab at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio," said Mike Fremaux, a research engineer at Langley's tunnel. "They do not do free-spin testing [there] any more, not since the 1960s."

Fremaux explained that other research-oriented spin tunnels exist in France, Germany, Russia and coming soon in China. Some spin tunnel facilities, such as a location in England, have been turned into recreational complexes for indoor skydiving.

"Although the VST is in its seventh decade of operation, it still plays a critical role in NASA research, national defense and aviation safety because the problems it was designed to deal with, like spins and other out-of-control phenomena are still beyond reliable prediction by our best computational fluid dynamics codes," said Fremaux.

Currently the spin tunnel is supporting NASA's Constellation program. From the initial take-off of the Ares I launch vehicle to the safe re-entry of the Orion crew vehicle into Earth's atmosphere, the spin tunnel is involved in design testing. It's also testing the dynamic stability of the Orion launch abort vehicle (LAV), the crew module (CM), the Orion alternate launch abort system (ALAS) and the Orion crew module drogue parachutes.

"In the LAV, CM and ALAS tests," said Fremaux. "we have gotten a good understanding of the dynamic stability of the vehicle when it is flying tower-forward, as it will during the initial part of its fight, and heat shield-forward, which it will do just before the tower is jettisoned and the parachutes deploy."

Fremaux explains that dynamic stability tests examine the tendency of a model or vehicle to perform unwanted motions. These tests observe whether wobbling motions decay or stabilize.

In studying the re-entry of the Orion capsule into Earth's atmosphere, the spin tunnel is testing the drogue parachutes. These chutes will deploy from the capsule to lower the speed of its descent and stabilize the vehicle prior to the main parachutes opening. The results from the tests will help guide designs to create a parachute system that will help Orion land safely.

The Vertical Spin Tunnel has been around for a while, but it's still an important resource for testing and evaluating aircraft and spacecraft designs.

Rachel C. Samples
NASA Langley Research Center

Source: NASA - Constellation Program - Orion Crew Vehicle

The press release is reproduced below:

Beth Dickey/Melissa Mathews
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2087/1272
beth.dickey-1@nasa.gov, melissa.mathews-1@nasa.gov

Tracy Young
Kennedy Space Center, Fla.
321-867-2468
tracy.g.young@nasa.gov

Aug 9, 2007

RELEASE: 07-174

NASA Requests Proposals for Ares I Mobile Launcher Construction

WASHINGTON - NASA has issued a request for proposals for Ares I mobile launcher construction. Ares I is the rocket that will transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle and its crew and cargo to low Earth orbit. The mobile launcher proposals are due to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 6, 2007.

The request for proposals states the procurement approach for obtaining the mobile launcher system. The mobile launcher will be used as a platform to assemble, test and service Ares I in existing facilities, transport the rocket to the pad, and support launches.

The selected contractor will supply all labor, materials and equipment to build the mobile launcher structure and its associated facility systems. These systems include utilities, fire safety, communications, lighting, elevators and life support. The request for proposal includes an option for an additional Ares I mobile launcher.

The contract to build the Ares I mobile launcher will be awarded through a full and open competition and managed by Kennedy. A selection is expected in February 2008.

For more information about the request for proposal, visit:

http://procurement.nasa.gov/cgi-bin/eps/sol.cgi?acqid=126221

For information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/constellation

- end -

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source: NASA Press Release 07-174

The contract release is reproduced below:

Aug. 10, 2007

Beth Dickey/Melissa Mathews
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2087/1272
beth.dickey-1@nasa.gov, melissa.mathews-1@nasa.gov

Kim Newton
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
kimberly.d.newton@nasa.gov

CONTRACT RELEASE: C07-36

NASA Awards First Stage Contract for Ares Rockets

WASHINGTON - NASA has signed a $1.8 billion contract with Alliant Techsystems, known as ATK, located near Brigham City, Utah, for the design, development, testing, and evaluation of the first stage of the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles.

This contract continues work that began on April 17, 2006, and includes delivery of five ground static test motors, two ground vibration test articles and four flight test stages, including one for the Ares I-X test flight.

NASA awarded the cost-plus-award-fee contract to ATK on a sole-source basis. The contract performance period extends through Dec. 31, 2014. First stage boosters for operational missions will be purchased through a separate contract.

ATK and its subcontractors possess the unique engineering capabilities for successful design and development of the first stage of the Ares I crew launch vehicle. The current space shuttle solid rocket booster is the only solid rocket booster manufactured in the United States that possesses both the required capabilities and safety margins necessary for the launch of a human-rated exploration space vehicle. These solid rocket boosters consistently have proven their capabilities and demonstrated reliability needed for the human exploration missions.

The Ares I first stage will be a five-segment solid rocket booster based on the four-segment design used for the shuttle. The basic design will draw on current hardware, facilities and manufacturing equipment qualified for human-rated solid rocket boosters.

The first stage will incorporate modifications to the current booster that are unique to the Ares I architecture to meet higher performance and reliability requirements for the Ares vehicles. Modifications include the additional segment and new solid rocket booster components.

Ares I is an in-line, two-stage rocket that will transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle to low Earth orbit. Orion will accommodate as many as six astronauts. The first stage will consist of the five-segment solid rocket booster. The second, or upper, stage will consist of a J-2X liquid-oxygen, liquid-hydrogen engine, a new upper stage fuel tank and associated avionics.

Ares V will enable NASA to launch a variety of science and exploration payloads, as well as key components, needed to travel to the moon and later to Mars. Ares V, a heavy-lift launch vehicle, is currently projected to use five RS-68 liquid-oxygen, liquid-hydrogen engines mounted below a larger version of the shuttle's external tank and two five-segment, solid-propellant rocket boosters for the first stage. The upper stage will use the same J-2X engine as the Ares I.

The first stage is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., for NASA's Constellation Program.

For information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/constellation

- end -

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source: NASA Contract Release C07-36

The ATK press release is reproduce below:

ATK's Expanded Role on the Ares I Project Highlights the Company's Technical Depth

Multi-year Contract Runs Through 2013

MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 13 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) announced today that Alliant Techsystems (NYSE: ATK) has received a $1.8 billion contract for the design, development, test and evaluation (DDT&E) of the first stage of the agency's next-generation human space flight vehicle - the Ares I. The multi-year development contract extends through June 2013 and includes flight tests beginning in 2009. Follow- on human flights are scheduled for no later than 2014, and production hardware for those flights will be developed under a separate contract expected after 2010.

Ares I is a major element of the new space transportation infrastructure being developed by NASA to carry out the next steps in America's space exploration roadmap. It will replace the Space Shuttle as NASA's human spaceflight workhorse and will launch a new generation of human explorers to the International Space Station (ISS), the Moon, and eventually to Mars.

"Our entire team is fully committed to supporting NASA as we work together to build this new launch vehicle for the future," said Ron Dittemore, President, ATK Launch Systems Group. "Ares I has tremendous capabilities for cargo and human transportation to low earth orbit, and with the built-in heritage of the Apollo and Shuttle programs, it will be the most reliable launch vehicle ever developed."

In December 2005, NASA named ATK as the prime contractor to design and develop the Ares I first stage. Ares I will launch NASA's new Orion crew exploration vehicle which carries a crew of up to six astronauts on missions to and from the ISS. Orion is capable of carrying a crew of four on lunar missions.

The first stage consists of a five-segment solid rocket booster, similar to the four-segment boosters used for Space Shuttle launches. The fifth segment increases the thrust of the launch vehicle, but has been designed to fire for a similar timeframe as the space shuttle solid rocket boosters -- approximately two minutes. The DDT&E contract also includes systems engineering and related stage elements such as: structures, thrust vector control, avionics, ordnance, the separation system, and deceleration system.

Major project milestones include:

• An early flight test in 2009 utilizing a modified four-segment Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster with a fifth segment simulator (designated Ares I-X)
• Five ground tests of the new five-segment RSRM in 2009-2011
• Three Ares I flight tests utilizing the new five-segment first stages in 2012 and 2013

"Over the past year, ATK and NASA have worked closely to achieve significant program milestones and we are pleased to announce that the project is right on track," said Mike Kahn, Vice President, ATK Space Launch Systems. "At the project level, we have completed the System Requirements Reviews (SRR) and have made excellent progress toward the Ares I-X test flight."

The first stage of the Ares I crew launch vehicle is being designed and developed by ATK at its facilities in Utah, with the assistance of a nationwide subcontractor team.

ATK is a $4.0 billion advanced weapon and space systems company employing approximately 16,500 people in 21 states. News and information can be found on the Internet at http://www.atk.com/.

Certain information discussed in this press release constitutes forward- looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although ATK believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Among those factors are: changes in governmental spending, budgetary policies and product sourcing strategies; the company's competitive environment; the terms and timing of awards and contracts; and economic conditions. ATK undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. For further information on factors that could impact ATK, and statements contained herein, please refer to ATK's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

SOURCE: ATK

CONTACT: Media Contact - Bryce Hallowell, +1-952-351-3087,
bryce.hallowell@atk.com, or Investor Contact - Steve Wold, +1-952-351-3056,
steve.wold@atk.com, both of ATK.

Source: ATK press release

The press release is reproduced below:

Beth Dickey/Melissa Mathews
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2087/1272
beth.dickey-1@nasa.gov, melissa.mathews-1@nasa.gov

Kelly Humphries/Lynnette Madison
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
kelly.o.humphries@nasa.gov

Aug 13, 2007

RELEASE: 07-200

NASA Issues Draft Constellation Environmental Impact Statement

WASHINGTON -- NASA has issued a draft environmental impact statement on potential environmental impacts associated with the Constellation Program.

NASA's Constellation Program is developing a space transportation system that is designed to return humans to the moon by 2020. The Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement concludes that localized and global environmental impacts associated with implementing the Constellation Program would be comparable to past or ongoing NASA activities.

The National Environmental Policy Act requires federal agencies to prepare an environmental impact statement for major federal actions that may significantly affect the quality of the human environment. Federal agencies must consider potential environmental impacts of their proposed actions before deciding whether and how to proceed.

This draft examines the effects of development, testing and operation of spacecraft and support systems associated with Constellation Program activities through the early 2020s. NASA plans to use multiple government and contractor facilities in implementing the program. The spacecraft to be developed include the Orion crew exploration vehicle, the Ares I crew launch vehicle, the Ares V cargo launch vehicle, the lunar lander, and other cargo systems. Orion, launched atop the Ares I, would be capable of docking with the International Space Station or with cargo launched to low Earth orbit by the Ares V for transit to the moon or future missions to Mars.

Since the Constellation Program will be based largely upon components and facilities used in the Space Shuttle Program, the potential environmental impacts are expected to be similar. The principal activities associated with Constellation that could result in potential environmental impacts include rocket engine tests, rocket launches, construction of new facilities and modifications to existing facilities.

In preparing this draft, NASA published a notice of intent in the Federal Register on Sept. 26, 2006. NASA held public scoping meetings to invite input on environmental concerns of program alternatives on Oct. 18, 2006, in Cocoa, Fla.; on Oct. 20, 2006, in Washington; and on Oct. 24, 2006, in Salt Lake City. NASA also solicited comments from federal, state, and local agencies and other interested parties. The public scoping period ended Nov. 13, 2006.

Publicly identified issues resulting from the scoping meetings include the economic impact of the Constellation Program on local jobs near NASA centers, risks to the public through launch and reentry of the Orion spacecraft, noise associated with launch events and impacts to animal species in the Kennedy Space Center, Fla., area from construction and launch activities. Other issues included the socio-economic impacts of decommissioning the space shuttle and implementing the Constellation Program.

NASA will accept public comments on the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement through September 2007. The final environmental impact statement is expected to be complete by Spring 2008. An appendix in the final statement will include public comments and NASA's responses. NASA expects to provide a formal record of decision for the Constellation Program in late Spring 2008.

The draft statement is available at all NASA centers and on the Internet at:

http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/main/peis.html

For information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/constellation

- end -

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source: NASA Press Release 07-200

The contract release is reproduced below:

Aug 20, 2007

Beth Dickey/Melissa Mathews
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2087/1272
beth.dickey-1@nasa.gov, melissa.mathews-1@nasa.gov

Sallie Keith
Glenn Research Center, Cleveland
216-433-5795
sallie.keith@nasa.gov

CONTRACT RELEASE: C07-37

NASA Selects Vibration Test Capability Contractor

WASHINGTON - NASA has selected Benham Constructors LLC of Oklahoma City to receive a contract to design, build and commission a vibration and acoustic test capability that will support development of the Orion crew exploration vehicle. Orion will carry astronauts to the International Space Station and back to the moon in the next decade.

The capability will be developed in the Space Power Facility at Plum Brook Station, Sandusky, Ohio, which is operated by NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. This procurement specifically addresses the vibration and acoustic capability that will supplement the test capabilities currently existing at the Space Power Facility.

The contract is valued at $51.4 million. Benham Constructors LLC will provide all labor and materials to construct the vibration and acoustic test capability, which will include a mechanical vibration facility, a reverberant acoustic test facility and a high-speed data acquisition system.

NASA selected Benham Constructors LLC for the cost-plus-incentive fee contract on a competitive basis. The design, build and commission portion of the contract has an 18-month period of performance with an additional six-month period of technical support.

The environmental tests will demonstrate the ability of Orion hardware to meet specified performance requirements in simulated conditions, such as those experienced during launch, in orbit and during re-entry. Thermal, acoustic, mechanical vibration and electromagnetic compatibility tests will be conducted during Orion qualification. The launch abort system, crew module, service module and spacecraft adapter will be tested.

The Space Power Facility contains the world's largest thermal vacuum chamber, which measures 100 feet in diameter by 122 feet high. The facility can simulate in-space conditions, such as low vacuum environments and temperature extremes.

The new test capability at the Space Power Facility also will support future NASA Constellation Program testing. The Constellation Program is developing spacecraft and other systems to support NASA's exploration missions to the moon, Mars and other destinations in the solar system.

For information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/constellation

or more information about Glenn's Space Power Facility, visit:

http://facilities.grc.nasa.gov/spf/

- end -

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source: NASA Contract Release C07-37

The media advisory is reproduced below:

Beth Dickey/Melissa Mathews
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2087/1272
beth.dickey-1@nasa.gov, melissa.mathews-1@nasa.gov

Kim Newton
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034kimberly.d.newton@nasa.gov

MEDIA ADVISORY: M07-107

NASA to Announce Contractor for Ares I Upper Stage Production

WASHINGTON - NASA will host a news conference at 4 p.m. EDT on Tuesday, Aug. 28, to announce the selection of a contractor for the upper stage element of the Ares I rocket that will help launch future human missions to the moon. The Ares I will carry to low Earth orbit the Orion crew exploration vehicle, which will succeed the space shuttle as NASA's primary vehicle for human space exploration.

The news conference will take place in the NASA Headquarters James E. Webb Memorial Auditorium, 300 E St. S.W., Washington. It will air live on the Web and on NASA Television. Reporters may ask questions from participating NASA locations. Journalists should coordinate with local agency centers by 4 p.m. EDT Monday, Aug. 27, for access information.

Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Doug Cooke, Constellation Program Manager Jeff Hanley, Ares Project Manager Steve Cook and Upper Stage Element Manager Danny Davis will announce the selection and discuss the program.

The Ares I upper stage will provide the navigation, guidance, control and propulsion required for the second stage of the rocket's ascent. The Ares I first stage will consist of a single solid rocket booster and motor similar to those used on the space shuttle with the addition of a fifth motor segment.

For NASA TV streaming video, downlink and scheduling information, visit:


For information about NASA's Exploration Systems Mission Directorate visit:


Source: NASA Media Advisory M07-107

The press release is reproduced below:

Melissa Mathews/Beth Dickey
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1272/2087
melissa.mathews-1@nasa.gov, beth.dickey-1@nasa.gov

Paul Foerman
Stennis Space Center, Miss.
228-688-1880
paul.foerman-1@nasa.gov

RELEASE: 07-180

NASA's Stennis Space Center Marks New Chapter in Space Exploration

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. - NASA's Stennis Space Center broke ground Thursday for a new rocket engine test stand that will provide altitude testing for the J-2X engine. The engine will power the upper stages of NASA's Ares I and Ares V rockets.

NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale was joined by Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran, U.S. Sen. Trent Lott and U.S. Rep. Gene Taylor for the landmark occasion. Also participating were NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Scott Horowitz and Stennis Center Director Richard Gilbrech, recently named to succeed Horowitz, who plans to leave NASA in October. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne President Jim Maser took part as well.

"Groundbreakings are about new beginnings," said Dale. "The first stand was erected at Stennis to test the Saturn V rocket of the Apollo program. Testing of the space shuttle engines began here in the mid 1970s. And today, we're breaking ground for a new test stand, for the new spacecraft of a new era of exploration."

The Ares I and Ares V rockets are being developed as part of NASA's Constellation Program. Constellation spacecraft will be used to send astronauts to the International Space Station, return humans to the moon, and eventually journey to Mars.

"This is our generation's turn, our time to go to the moon," said Gilbrech. "One of the key steps is building the A-3 test stand. The J-2X engine has a unique set of test requirements. The best way to meet them is with the A-3."

The A-3 stand is the first large test stand to be built at Stennis since it opened in the 1960s. The new test stand will be a 300-foot-tall, open steel frame structure located south of the existing A-1 test stand. Its 19-acre site in Stennis' A Complex will include a test control center, propellant barge docks and access roadways. The test stand will allow engineers to simulate conditions at different altitudes by generating steam to reduce pressure in the test cell. Testing on the A-3 stand is scheduled to begin in late 2010.

In November 2006, Stennis' existing A-1 stand was handed over to the Constellation Program for testing the J-2X engine. Tests on J-2X components are set to begin later in 2007.

"The engines will be assembled here at Stennis, then subjected to rigorous, expert testing," Dale said. "After that, those engines and the rockets they will power will travel to Cape Canaveral. Then the finished spacecraft will lift off, headed for a new destination and a new era of exploration."

A graphic of the future A-3 test stand, along with all of the latest information about NASA's Constellation Program, is available at:


Source: NASA Press Release 07-180

A-3 Test Stand Groundbreaking



NASA officials and government leaders participated in a groundbreaking ceremony for a new rocket engine test stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, Miss. Pictured (left to right) are Deputy Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Doug Cooke, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne President Jim Maser, Stennis Space Center Director Richard Gilbrech, NASA Associate Administrator for Exploration Systems Scott Horowitz, NASA Deputy Administrator Shana Dale, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, Sen. Thad Cochran, Sen. Trent Lott, Rep. Gene Taylor, SSC's Deputy Director Gene Goldman, and SSC's A-3 Project Manager Lonnie Dutreix. Stennis' A-3 Test Stand will provide altitude testing for NASA's developing J-2X engine. That engine will power the upper stages of NASA's Ares I and Ares V rockets. A-3 is the first large test stand to be built at SSC since the site's inception in the 1960s.

Image credit: NASA

+ View large image

Source: NASA - Constellation Program - Multimedia

Graphic of Future A-3 Test Stand



Graphic of Future A-3 Test Stand

Image credit: NASA

+ View large image

Source: NASA - Constellation Program - Multimedia

The contract release is reproduced below:

Aug 28, 2007

Beth Dickey/Melissa Mathews
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2087/1272
beth.dickey-1@nasa.gov, melissa.mathews-1@nasa.gov

Kim Newton
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
kimberly.d.newton@nasa.govv

CONTRACT RELEASE: C07-40

NASA Selects Ares I Upper Stage Production Contractor

WASHINGTON - NASA on Tuesday selected The Boeing Co., Huntsville, Ala., as the contractor to provide manufacturing support for design and construction of the upper stage of the Ares I rocket. Ares I will launch astronauts to the International Space Station and eventually help return humans to the moon.

Boeing will provide support to a NASA-led design team during the design phase and will be responsible for production of the Ares I upper stage. Boeing will manufacture a ground test article, three flight test units and six production flight units to support NASA's flight manifest through 2016. Final assembly of the upper stage will take place at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

The contract type is cost-plus-award-fee and the period of performance is Sept. 1, 2007, through Dec. 31, 2016. The estimated contract value for design team support and the manufacture of the test units and six production flight units is $514.7 million. The selection resulted from a full and open competition.

Ares I is an in-line, two-stage rocket that will carry to low Earth orbit the crew exploration vehicle Orion, which will succeed the space shuttle as NASA’s primary vehicle for human exploration in the next decade. The Ares I upper stage, with an engine and an avionics unit procured separately, will provide the navigation, guidance, control and propulsion required for the second stage of the rocket's ascent. The Ares I first stage will consist of a five-segment solid rocket booster and motor similar to those used on the space shuttle. The second, or upper, stage will consist of a J-2X main engine, a fuel tank for liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants, and associated avionics.

The Ares I upper stage development is managed by NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., for NASA’s Constellation Program.

For information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/constellation

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--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Source: NASA Contract Release C07-40

The Boeing press release is reproduce below:

ST. LOUIS, Aug. 28, 2007 -- The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] has been awarded a NASA contract valued at approximately $514.7 million to produce the upper stage of the Ares I crew launch vehicle. This element provides the navigation, guidance, control and propulsion required for the ascent of the second-stage Ares I into low-Earth orbit.

The Ares I launches the Orion crew exploration vehicle, which will be joined with other elements of NASA's Constellation program to help propel astronauts to the moon by 2020.

"Boeing will apply its best practices in program management and Lean manufacturing principles from across the company to ensure that we produce the safest, lowest-cost and most reliable upper stage for NASA," said Roger A. Krone, president of Network and Space Systems, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems. "The Boeing team has an experienced and highly skilled workforce that is ready to get started on this exciting new mission for our customer and our nation."

Boeing will produce from two to six upper stages per year during regular production, depending on NASA requirements. The initial phase of the contract calls for several flight-test production units. If all options of the cost-plus performance contract are exercised through 2017, Boeing could produce as many as 23 upper stages.

"The Boeing team is honored to be selected as NASA's Ares I Upper Stage production partner and to be part of the Constellation team," said Brewster Shaw, vice president and general manager of Boeing Space Exploration. "We have a proven team that is eager to help NASA and the nation write the next chapter in the history of human space exploration."

Under the contract, Boeing will employ up to several hundred technical support personnel at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The Center has responsibility for the design of the Ares I, with Boeing providing production engineering support. Boeing also expects to employ up to several hundred production support personnel at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where the upper stage will be assembled.

"The Boeing team will be innovative in our production practices, gained from our extensive experience as the largest aerospace manufacturing company in the world," said Jim Chilton, vice president of Boeing Exploration Launch Systems and program manager of Ares I Upper Stage production.

Boeing's team of suppliers includes Hamilton Sundstrand, a subsidiary of United Technologies Corp. [NYSE: UTX]; Moog Inc. [NYSE: MOG.A and MOG.B]; Northrop Grumman Corporation [NYSE: NOC]; Orion Propulsion Inc.; SUMMA Technology Inc.; United Space Alliance; and the United Launch Alliance.



A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is one of the world's largest space and defense businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems is a $32.4 billion business with 72,000 employees worldwide.

Source: Boeing press release

Ares I Contract

08.28.07

(left to right) Brewster Shaw, vice President and general Manager for Boeing Space Operations, Doug Cooke, NASA deputy associate administrator, Exploration Systems, Danny Davis, NASA Ares I upper stage element manager, Steve Cook, NASA Ares Project manager and Jeff Hanley, NASA Constellation Program manager, pose for a photo in front of a model of an Ares I rocket. NASA announced Tuesday, August 28, 2007, the Boeing Co., Huntsville, Ala., as the contractor to provide manufacturing support for design and construction of the upper stage of the Ares I rocket. Ares I will launch astronauts to the International Space Station and eventually help return humans to the moon.

Image credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls

+ View large image

Source: NASA - Constellation Program - Multimedia

09.20.07

Houston wasn't the only place on Earth with a problem after an oxygen tank exploded on the Apollo 13 spacecraft.

The mishap brought attention to things that can go wrong at Kennedy Space Center, too -- and what can be done quickly to fix them.


Image above: Fred Haise was one of three astronauts fighting to
return to Earth during the Apollo 13 mission. He told engineers
designing the next moon craft not to forget the lessons of the
mission, mainly to make the space vessel hearty enough to
handle surprises.
Credit: NASA
+ View Hi-Res Image

Avoiding such problems in the future was the goal of a panel of experts who nursed the stricken Apollo 13 capsule back to Earth. The discussion was assembled by Kennedy's Engineering Academy and took place Aug. 30 at the center.

Speaking to some of the engineers developing the Orion spacecraft and Ares rockets of the Constellation Program, the group gave its account of working through the perilous Apollo 13 mission and what they learned from it.

Bob Sieck, the former space shuttle launch director, was a test engineer for the command and service modules when Apollo 13 launched. He said the oxygen tank that eventually exploded offered a series of signals before launch that engineers missed at the time.

"There were opportunities to listen to (the hardware)," Sieck said. "It reinforced the attention to detail."


Image above: Serious problems for the Apollo 13 mission began
when an oxygen tank in the service module exploded as the
spacecraft was on its way to the moon. The Apollo 13 crew
photographed the service module after it was jettisoned.
Photo: NASA
+ View Hi-Res Image

Apollo 13 astronaut Fred Haise, who took part from Johnson Space Center in Houston, credited numerous improvements in the Apollo spacecraft with giving the crew a vehicle that could successfully weather a near-catastrophe.

For example, when the temperature dropped, water condensed throughout the wiring and circuits of the command module, but the miles of wires did not short out.

"We were saved, I'm guessing, by the Apollo 1 fire," Haise said.

The capsule had been extensively redesigned and rebuilt after a fire during a routine launch pad test of the spacecraft at the launch pad. Frayed wiring was blamed for sparking the fatal blaze.

Ernie Reyes, chief of the Preflight Operations Branch during the Apollo Program, said NASA was blessed during Apollo 13 with a wide network of agency and contractor experts that stretched across the country. Tapping into that network, which was much more vast than depicted in the Hollywood account of the mission, was critical to saving the crew, he said.

"Our main concern that had never, ever happened to us before was that we had three lives at stake," Reyes said. "We said, 'Keep notes, we'll do the paperwork later.' "


Image above: The Apollo 13 crew, working on designs from
NASA and contractor engineers, made a filter box that scrubbed
carbon dioxide from the air inside the spacecraft.
Photo: NASA
+ View Hi-Res Image

The damaged spacecraft forced engineers throughout NASA to reconsider what could be done, particularly how far the lunar module could be pushed as a lifeboat to save the three men from disaster.

"The lunar module was doing something it was never designed to do," said panelist Bud Reynolds, who was the section chief of Apollo Flight Control Systems at Kennedy.

The success became a symbol of what NASA and its contractors could handle in an emergency.

"That mission had a series of things that at first glance looked insurmountable," Reynolds said. "You've got to try, that's all I can say."

The last piece of advice to the Constellation group was universal: keep it simple.

"Give (the crew) the tools they need to be successful, but don't overcomplicate the vehicle they are going to fly," Sieck said. "Fred (Haise) went to the moon with one computer that had less computing power than the Blackberry many of you have in your pocket."

Steven Siceloff
NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center

Source: NASA/KSC - Kennedy News

A concept image shows the Ares V Earth departure stage and lunar surface access module docked with the Orion crew exploration vehicle in Earth orbit. The departure stage, powered by a J-2X engine, is needed to escape Earth's gravity and send the crew vehicle and lunar module on their journey to the moon.

Image credit: NASA/MSFC

+ Full Resolution


Source: NASA - Multimedia - Image of the Day Gallery

Kennedy Prepares to Host Constellation

09.28.07

The Ares rockets that will take over for the space shuttle and carry humans to the moon are closer to lifting off from the drawing board.

Designs and modifications are under way at Launch Pad 39B, the Launch Control Center and the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to accommodate the first test flight of an Ares I rocket in April 2009.


Image above: The Vehicle Assembly Building will stack
the Ares rockets and Orion capsules. It is a familiar role
for the building. It did the same work for the Saturn V
moon rockets and the space shuttles. The Ares I rocket
will be assembled in high bay 3.
Credit: NASA
+ View Larger Image

At the same time, workers in Kennedy’s Assembly and Refurbishment Facility and Parachute Refurbishment Facility are working on the components for the first launch test.

It is all part of a plan to use rockets based largely on technology proven in the Space Shuttle Program as the foundation for America's next generation of crewed spacecraft. One rocket, the Ares I, will pick up where the shuttle leaves off as America’s prime vehicle for launching humans. The other, Ares V, will launch everything else needed for trips to the moon.

The demonstration rocket for the 2009 test, Ares I-X, will look just like the rocket that will launch astronauts to the International Space Station in the next decade and on the first leg of trips to the moon beginning in 2020.

The test flight calls for a surplus shuttle solid rocket booster to be topped with an inactive fifth segment, a non-working upper stage and a boilerplate capsule built to the dimensions of the Orion spacecraft that will carry humans to Earth orbit.

But for the 2009 test flight, the capsule will carry only instruments and will launch on a ballistic trajectory into the South Atlantic Ocean. This will allow engineers to study the conditions Ares I will experience at liftoff, while the solid rocket is thundering toward space and when the second-stage rocket and spacecraft separate.

A second unmanned test flight with higher fidelity upper stage and Orion spacecraft simulators is planned for 2012. The first crewed flight of Ares I and Orion is scheduled for no later than 2015.

Although the rocket is a new design, NASA is following a plan that allows the agency to use many facilities that already exist.

"The infrastructure we have for shuttle is mainly what we're going to use," said Pepper Phillips, manager of Kennedy's Ground Operations Project in the Constellation Program.

Constellation encompasses the Ares rockets and the Orion capsules under development, as well as the lunar landers and surface systems that will be used by astronauts exploring the moon.


Image above: The Ares V is the cargo rocket for
Constellation. It is comparable to the Saturn V and is
to carry a large upper stage and lunar lander so
astronauts can return to the moon.
Credit: NASA
+ View Larger Image

Here is a detailed look at the changes already under way around Kennedy to get ready for that test flight. It also is a look ahead at what needs to be done so the Constellation Program can begin Ares I crewed missions, as well as Ares V missions beyond 2015.

Launch Pad 39B

Role in Constellation: Launch complex for the Ares I-X and operational flights of the Ares I rocket.

Status: Launch Pad 39B has hosted its last planned space shuttle launch, though it will be kept ready in case an emergency flight is called for during the last Hubble Space Telescope repair mission in September 2008. Then major work will begin.

To be done: The fixed and rotating service structures standing at Launch Pad 39B will be dismantled sometime after the Ares I-X test flight. A new launch tower for Ares I will be built onto a new mobile launch platform.

The gantry for the shuttle doesn't reach much higher than the top of the four segments of the solid rocket booster. Pad access above the current shuttle launch pad structure will not be required for Ares I-X because the stages above the solid rocket booster are inert.

For the test scheduled in 2012 or for the crewed flights, workers and astronauts will need access to the highest levels of the rocket and capsule. When the Ares I rocket rolls out to the launch pad on the back of the same crawler-transporters used now, its launch gantry will be with it. The mobile launchers will nestle under three lightning protection towers to be erected around the pad area.


Image above: Launch Complex 39-B will launch the
Ares I rockets, which will carry astronauts into space
inside Orion capsules.
Credit: NASA
+ View Larger Image

Kennedy's Constellation managers say the Ares' time at the launch pad will be significantly less than the three weeks or more the shuttle requires. This “clean pad” approach minimizes equipment and servicing at the launch pad. It is the same plan NASA used with the Saturn V rockets and industry employs it with more modern launchers.

The launch pad will also get a new emergency escape system for astronauts, one that looks very much like a roller coaster. Cars riding on a rail will replace the familiar baskets hanging from steel cables.

Launch Pad 39A

Role in Constellation: Launch Pad 39A will be the home of the Ares V rocket, a behemoth vehicle almost as tall as the Saturn V, and even more powerful. The Ares V will not carry a crew, but is slated to loft a lunar lander and a fueled upper stage that will connect with an Orion capsule in Earth orbit. The upper stage from the Ares V will ignite to send the Orion and lander toward the moon.

Status: The launch complex that saw the liftoff of Apollo 11 to the moon will be used for the space shuttle until the orbiters are retired around 2010.

Vehicle Assembly Building

Role in Constellation: The giant hangar used to stack the Saturn V rocket and space shuttles will retain that role in the Constellation Program. It is the only structure at Kennedy tall enough to accommodate the Ares rockets.

Status: The building's high bay 3 is undergoing minor changes to handle the Ares I-X rocket. The new vehicle is about 150 feet taller than the shuttle orbiter, so bigger changes will be needed for the final Ares I design. Work platforms similar to those used in Apollo will give workers the access they need to stack the pieces and process the rocket for launch.

To be done: After the shuttle fleet retires, high bay 1 will be converted to handle the mammoth Ares V rockets. Cranes that assembled the last rockets destined for the moon will again be used to attach pieces for a moon ship.

Launch Control Center Firing Room 1


Image above: The Launch Control Center is being designed to use
fewer launch controllers than previous space launches. Firing
Room 1 is being rebuilt to support the systems required for the
Ares rockets and Orion spacecraft.
Credit: NASA

Role in Constellation: Firing Room 1 already holds the distinction of overseeing the first launch of a space shuttle and supporting the Apollo Program. Now it is poised to take on the task of controlling the first launch of the shuttles' replacement.

Status: The expansive room inside the Launch Control Center is gutted and the windows on the doors are papered over. It won't stay that way for long, though, because NASA wants members of its launch team to begin practicing with the new equipment and procedures in summer 2008.

About that launch team: While it takes more than 200 people in the Launch Control Center at Kennedy to launch a space shuttle mission, Phillips said the Ares launch team is targeted to number fewer than 50.

"This vehicle is far less complex than a shuttle system," Phillips said. "We recognize it's a less complex vehicle, so we're looking to use a simpler launch control system."

Assembly and Refurbishment Facility

Role in Constellation: The Assembly and Refurbishment Facility processes the nosecones and aft skirts of the shuttle solid rocket boosters before they are bolted onto the fueled segments. The Ares 1 doesn't require a booster nosecone, but the aft skirt for the test flight is already being prepped.

Status: Engineers are modifying the aft skirt so it can behave a bit differently as the main booster for the Ares I. C.J. Smith of United Space Alliance noted the small rockets that push a booster away from a shuttle during launch will be used to help separate the upper stage from the solid rocket after the first part of the flight.

Parachute Refurbishment Facility

Role in Constellation: Parachutes will allow controlled returns to Earth for both the Orion capsule and the Ares I solid rocket booster. The refurbishment center is getting the first parachutes of the program ready and will overhaul them for reuse.

Status: Parachutes are already being stitched for upcoming drop tests in Yuma, Ariz.

Mobile Launch Platforms

Role in Constellation: NASA will stick with mobile launch platforms throughout the Constellation Program, the same concept it has used since the Saturn V. Earlier rockets were small enough to be assembled at the pad. For the 2009 test flight, workers will modify one of the three existing launch platforms to handle the Ares I stack. The 2012 test flight and subsequent launches will use a new mobile platform design.


Image above: The Ares I rockets will be rolled to the
launch pad on new platforms specifically designed for
the new rockets. The new platforms will hold the launch
tower and most of the equipment needed for a launch.
Credit: NASA
+ View Larger Image

Status: NASA has awarded a contract to Reynolds, Smith and Hills Inc., located at Merritt Island, Fla., for the design of a new mobile launcher structure dedicated to the Ares I. The platform will hold the rocket and the service structure.

Crawler-transporters

The work of the crawler-transporters is far from finished. After hauling Saturn Vs to the launch pad during Apollo and Skylab and carrying space shuttles back and forth from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the launch pads for almost 30 years, the crawlers are nowhere near retirement. The vehicles are planned to carry the new rockets, launch platforms and service gantries to the launch complexes.

Status: There are no major overhauls planned for the beefy vehicles, but they will need a little more muscle in the form of reinforcement to carry the Ares rockets. NASA is working to use the crawlers “as-is” for Ares I, but the Ares V will require more carrying capacity. Phillips said studies are ongoing to determine exactly how much work the crawlers will need.


Steven Siceloff
NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center

Source: NASA - Constellation Program

J-2X Powerpack Test Article Installed on Test Stand


Image above: J-2X at NASA's Stennis Space Center.
Image Credit: NASA/Stennis

Core components of the J-2X engine being designed for NASA's Constellation Program recently were installed on the A-1 Test Stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center. Tests of the components, known as Powerpack 1A, will be conducted from November 2007 through February 2008. The Powerpack 1A test article consists of a gas generator and engine turbopumps originally developed for the Apollo Program that put Americans on the moon in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Engineers are testing these heritage components to obtain data that will help them modify the machinery to meet the higher performance requirements of the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles. NASA is developing these rockets to carry humans and cargo to space in the next decade.

Source: NASA - Constellation Program

The press release is reproduced below:


NEWS RELEASES

Beth Dickey/Melissa Mathews
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-2087/1272
beth.dickey-1@nasa.gov, melissa.mathews-1@nasa.gov

Kelly Humphries/Brandi Dean
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281-483-5111
kelly.o.humphries@nasa.gov, brandi.k.dean@nasa.gov


RELEASE: 07-218

NASA Seeks Proposals for Constellation Moon Suit
WASHINGTON - NASA has issued a request for proposals from industry for the design, development and production of a new spacesuit system for Constellation Program voyages to the International Space Station and the moon.

The Constellation spacesuit system contract is for design, development, test, evaluation and production of equipment to support astronauts aboard the Orion crew exploration vehicle. Orion will carry astronauts on trips to explore the moon and support the space station in the next decade. NASA expects to award the contract in June 2008.

The suit and support systems will enable protection against spacecraft cabin leaks and provide contingency spacewalk capability. For short lunar exploration sorties, the suit also must support a week's worth of moon walks in one-sixth gravity. Potentially, the system will support multiple spacewalks during six-month lunar outpost stays. Suits and support systems will be needed for as many as four moon voyagers per trip or six space station travelers.

Prospective contractors are being asked to develop a system that minimizes mass, volume and carry weight; donning time; maintenance requirements; suit logistics; operational overhead; life cycle costs; and operational constraints on the lunar surface in varying geographical, solar and thermal conditions. The same spacesuit system also must maximize pressurized and unpressurized crew comfort, range of motion, reliability and work efficiency throughout multiple suit uses. Designers are being asked to incorporate flexibility and modularity to allow for efficient incorporation of future upgrades.

The cost-plus-award-fee contract will include a basic performance period from June 2008 to September 2013. The performance period involves design, development, test and evaluation work leading up to manufacture; assembly and first flight of the suit components needed for Orion; and the initial work on the suit components needed for the lunar surface.

Two contract option periods will be available. Option 1 would cover completion of design, development, test and evaluation for the surface suit components. Option 2 would provide for suit production under a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract structure and sustaining engineering under a cost-plus-award-fee structure from the end of the basic performance period through September 2018.

To view the request for Constellation Spacesuit System proposals, visit:


For information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit:


Source: NASA Press Release 07-218

Lunar Outpost Plans Taking Shape
NASA's blueprints for an outpost on the moon are shaping up. The agency's Lunar Architecture Team has been hard at work, looking at concepts for habitation, rovers, and space suits.


Image above: Concept of one potential design for a future lunar rover.
Spacesuits would be attached to the exterior of the rover.
Credit: NASA

NASA will return astronauts to the moon by 2020, using the Ares and Orion spacecraft already under development. Astronauts will set up a lunar outpost – possibly near a south pole site called Shackleton Crater – where they’ll conduct scientific research, as well as test technologies and techniques for possible exploration of Mars and other destinations.

Even though Shackleton Crater entices NASA scientists and engineers, they don’t want to limit their options. To provide for maximum flexibility, NASA is designing hardware that would work at any number of sites on the moon. Data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter mission, a moon-mapping mission set to launch in October 2008, might suggest that another lunar site would be best suited for the outpost.

First, astronauts on the moon will need someplace to live. NASA officials had been looking at having future moonwalkers bring smaller elements to the moon and assemble them on site. But the Lunar Architecture Team found that sending larger modules ahead of time on a cargo lander would help the outpost get up and running more quickly. The team is also discussing the possibility of a mobile habitat module that would allow one module of the outpost to relocate to other lunar destinations as mission needs dictate.

NASA is also considering small, pressurized rovers that could be key to productive operations on the moon’s surface. Engineers envision rovers that would travel in pairs – two astronauts in each rover – and could be driven nearly 125 miles away from the outpost to conduct science or other activities. If one rover had mechanical problems, the astronauts could ride home in the other.


Image above: Concept of one potential design for a future lunar rover.
Spacesuits would be attached to the exterior of the rover.
Credit: NASA

Astronauts inside the rovers wouldn't need special clothing because the pressurized rovers would have what's called a "shirt-sleeve environment." Spacesuits would be attached to the exterior of the rover (see images). NASA's lunar architects are calling them "step in" spacesuits because astronauts could crawl directly from the rovers into the suits to begin a moonwalk.

NASA is also looking to industry for proposals for a next-generation spacesuit. The agency hopes to have a contractor on board by mid-2008.

NASA will spend the next several months communicating the work of the Lunar Architecture Team to potential partners -- the aerospace community, industry, and international space agencies -- to get valuable feedback that will help NASA further refine plans for the moon outpost. The agency's goal is to have finalized plans by 2012 to get "boots on the moon" by 2020.

Source: NASA - The Vision For Space Exploration - Moon, Mars and Beyond

The / Dryden Flight Research Center press release is reproduced below:
Dryden Flight Research Center
P.O. Box 273
Edwards, California 93523
Phone 661/276-3449
FAX 661/276-3566

Leslie Williams
NASA Dryden Flight Research Center
661-276-3893
leslie.a.williams@nasa.gov

Kelly Humphries / Lynette Madison
NASA Johnson Space Center
281-483-5111
kelly.o.humphries@nasa.gov, lynnette.b.madison@nasa.gov


RELEASE: 07-53

NASA Awards Orion Launch Abort Test Facilities Contract

WHITE SANDS, N.M. -- NASA's White Sands Test Facility has selected Denco, Inc. of Las Cruces, N.M., to build launch site facilities for flight testing of the Orion Launch Abort System.

The competitive award is valued at $3.1 million. Under the terms of the contract, Denco will be responsible for the first work package of the Project Orion Abort Flight Test Launch Facility. The package covers construction of a 120-by-160-foot final integration and test facility building and surrounding site improvements and infrastructure. Groundbreaking is scheduled for mid-November.

Orion is the crew exploration vehicle that NASA's Constellation Program is developing to service the International Space Station and carry humans to the moon in the next decade. The flight tests at the White Sands Test Facility will support certification of Orion's launch abort system, an escape rocket designed to ensure the safety of the crew in the event of a rocket malfunction on the launch pad or during ascent.

The Abort Flight Test Launch Facility will be located at Launch Complex 32 on the U.S. Army's White Sands Missile Range. It will support the Pad Abort 1 test mission from this facility in fall 2008 and additional ascent abort flights starting in fall 2009 and extending through 2011.

The White Sands Test Facility is operated by NASA's Johnson Space Center at the missile range. The launch abort tests are managed by NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center, Edwards Air Force Base, Calif.

For information about NASA's Constellation Program on the Web, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/constellation/

For more information about NASA Dryden Flight Research Center, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/centers/dryden



Source: NASA/DFRC Press Release 07-53

NASA Conducts First Test of Main Parachute for Ares I Rocket

Kim Newton
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
Kimberly.D.Newton@nasa.gov

Photo release: 07-107



HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – NASA and industry engineers successfully completed the first drop test of the main parachute that will help recover the first stage of the Ares I crew launch vehicle. Ares I will carry the NASA's Orion crew exploration vehicle to space.

The test, conducted on September 25 at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground near Yuma, Ariz., is part of an ongoing series of tests to support the design and development of the Ares I parachute recovery system, which is derived from the system NASA uses to recover the space shuttle's solid rocket boosters after launch. Tests for the pilot, drogue and three main parachutes will continue through 2010. The next test is scheduled for November 2007.

The main parachute was dropped from a U.S. Air Force C-17 aircraft with a 40,600-pound load at an altitude of 17,500 feet. The parachute and all test hardware functioned properly and landed safely on the Yuma Proving Ground test range.

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala., manages the Ares Project and leads the design and development of the solid rocket booster recovery system. ATK Launch Systems near Brigham City, Utah, is the prime contractor for the first stage booster. ATK's subcontractor, United Space Alliance of Houston, is designing, developing and testing the parachutes at its facilities at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston hosts the Constellation Program and Orion Project Office and provides test instrumentation and support personnel.

For information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/constellation

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

Source: NASA/MSFC - Multimedia

Astronauts to Ride Rails in Emergency

10.02.07

As NASA revamps Launch Complex 39B to host the new Orion spacecraft and Ares I rocket of the Constellation Program, engineers are preparing to install a new kind of departure system to evacuate astronauts.

The agency calls it the Orion Emergency Egress System, but it is fundamentally a group of multi-passenger cars on a set of rails reminiscent of a roller coaster. Its purpose is to move astronauts and ground crew quickly from the vehicle entry on the launch pad to a protective concrete bunker in case of an emergency.


Image above: An artist's concept of the Ares I launch pad shows
the new evacuation system on the right. Astronauts and ground
crew could leave the capsule and ride a rail car to a bunker for
protection. The path would be marked with yellow and black arrows.
Credit: NASA
+ View Hi-Res Image

Similar systems have been built into launch pads since the Saturn rockets and for the space shuttle. Both earlier systems were cables running from the spacecraft’s crew ingress level to an area near a bunker. There has never been an emergency on the pad that required the crew use these systems.

For Orion, the rail car would stand some 380 feet above the ground. It will be at the same height as the hatch on the Orion capsule, which is where the astronaut crews enter the spacecraft before launch.

Kelli Maloney, the lead designer for the launch pad escape system, said a trade study showed the railcar best met NASA's requirements. Those requirements call for astronauts to be able to get out of the spacecraft and into the bunker within 4 minutes.

One of the benefits of the rail system, Maloney said, is that the track can take the astronauts directly to the bunker door. That would be a big help if one of the crew members or a ground crew member was incapacitated.

Scott Colloredo, NASA's senior project integrator for Constellation ground systems, said the group called on the world's roller coaster designers for help with the concept.

"It's obviously not a thrill ride, but we're taking advantage of technology that's there," he said.

Steven Siceloff
NASA's John F. Kennedy Space Center

Source: NASA - Constellation Program

Goddard Lunar Science on a Roll

10.03.07

Pack your bags because Goddard's "suitcase science" is taking off. Coming on the heels of two Lunar Sortie Science Opportunities (LSSO) awards for Goddard are two more, this time in the field of astrophysics. As before, the awards are funded by NASA Headquarters for studies that could result in simple, automated "suitcase science" instrument packages deployed on the lunar surface by astronauts.


Image above: Satellite laser ranging is routinely performed at
the Goddard Geophysical and Astronomical Observatory. This
facility, along with other satellite laser ranging telescopes
around the world, could be used to precision range to a laser
transponder placed on the lunar surface. Currently, only the
largest of telescopes can be used to laser range to the lunar
retroreflectors.
Credit: NASA

The first proposal, "Precision Lunar Laser Ranging", is being led by Goddard astrophysicist Dr. Stephen Merkowitz. The proposal could lead to suitcase-sized laser reflector arrays and/or laser transponders at various locations on the moon so the distance from Earth to the moon can be determined to the submillimeter level. The laser transponders also could be eventually deployed on Mars for the same purpose.

Over the past 35 years, laser ranging to retroreflector arrays placed on the lunar surface have dramatically increased mankind's understanding of gravitational physics along with Earth and Moon geophysics, geodesy, and dynamics. "Significant advances in these areas will require placing modern retroreflectors and/or active laser ranging systems at new locations on the lunar surface," Merkowitz said.

Retroreflectors are extremely robust, do not require power, and will last for years. This longevity is important for studying long-term effects such as a possible time variation of the gravitational constant. However, to make a large leap in lunar ranging accuracy and to precision range to planets such as Mars, an active laser ranging system will be required. Over the next year, Merkowitz and his colleagues will perform a concept study for a lunar ranging flight experiment that will enable unprecedented tests of Einstein's theory of General Relativity in addition to providing valuable data on the interior structure of the Moon and Earth-Moon interactions.


Image above: Retroreflector arrays were deployed on the lunar
surface by the Apollo 11, 14, and 15 astronauts, and are still
being used today for lunar ranging. The advantage of
deploying modern retroreflectors at new lunar sites will be
studied under the LSSO award.
Credit: NASA Print-resolution copy

The second proposal is for a Lunar X-ray Observatory (LXO), and it began with the mysterious case of the glowing comet. In 1996, a team of scientists including Goddard's Dr. Casey Lisse (now at Johns Hopkins University) and Dr. Michael Mumma observed comet Hyakutake with the ROSAT satellite. They were surprised to see it glowing in soft (low-energy) X-rays. This was unexpected because X-rays are usually given off by hot things in the universe, and comets, being a lump of ice and dust, are cold.

It was actually the breath of the sun causing the glow, according to Dr. Thomas Cravens of the University of Kansas, Lawrence, a member of the LXO team. The sun continually blows a thin gas of electrically charged particles (plasma) into space in all directions. This is called the solar wind. Cravens knew that the solar wind contains atoms with a lot of positive electric charge (oxygen and iron ions). Since opposite electric charges attract, he reasoned that these positive solar wind ions would steal negatively charged electrons from electrically neutral atoms emitted by the comet as its surface vaporized. The ion with the stolen electron would initially be highly energetic, but as it relaxed to a less energetic state, it would get rid of the extra energy by emitting a soft X-ray. This phenomenon, dubbed Solar Wind Charge Exchange, or SWCX, was responsible for the mysterious X-ray glow around the comet.

"The LXO team realized that since the solar wind blows through the solar system, we should see X-rays from SWCX throughout the solar system," said Goddard's Dr. Michael Collier, Principal Investigator for LXO. "Particularly exciting is the ability to see the boundary of the vast region of space around Earth that's dominated by our planet's magnetic field, called the magnetosphere."

Interaction between the solar wind and the boundary of the magnetosphere causes space weather effects that can disrupt satellites, radio communication, and power systems. "This boundary is not visible in the ordinary light seen by our eyes, so typically spacecraft have to travel through it to get measurements. But this area is huge, extending past the moon's orbit on Earth's night side, and spacecraft exploring the magnetosphere only give us information about a single tiny point. However, by observing the soft X-rays emitted from near the magnetosphere by SWCX, we can see the big picture – a global view. An observatory on the moon provides a terrific vantage point."


Image above: This is an artist's concept of the
magnetosphere's boundary as seen from the moon in
soft X-rays emitted by solar wind charge exchange (SWCX).
Credit: NASA / Rob Kilgore Print-resolution copy

The team will be able to string X-ray images from the LXO together to make movies that show how the boundary between the magnetosphere and the solar wind reacts to changes in the solar wind. "Energy transport across this boundary, called the magnetopause, is responsible for the disruptive space weather phenomena. The ability to see this happen on a global scale is key to a better understanding of space weather," said Collier.

The team will also use LXO to improve astrophysics observations. Astrophysicists are trying to determine the nature and extent of the Local Hot Bubble, a region around our solar system and nearby stars where the interstellar gas is unusually thin. (One theory is that it was cleared by a shock wave from an exploding star.) However, soft X-rays from SWCX in our solar system interfere with observations of soft X-rays emitted by the bubble. Astronomers have a hard time determining if the soft X-ray came from our own solar system, or from the distant regions of the bubble. "Our observations with LXO will help improve understanding of SWCX and allow astrophysicists to correct for its interference," said Collier.


Image above: The right panel is a drawing of one potential
configuration for a Lunar X-ray Observatory. The design will
be based on the Apollo Lunar Surface Experiments Package
(two left panels).
Credit: NASA

LXO will also observe the solar wind as it hits the lunar surface. The solar wind, along with the sun's ultraviolet radiation, causes the lunar surface on the day side to become positively charged and the night side to become negatively charged. The different charges cause electrostatic dust transport – dust moves between the day and night side.

This electrically charged dust could stick to spacesuits and machinery. Since the moon has almost no atmosphere, countless tiny meteorites have hit the lunar surface over billions of years, forming dust that is jagged and sharp. If this dust becomes embedded in spacesuits and machinery, it could cause them to fail over time. "By observing how much the solar wind contributes to surface charging, we can estimate how significant the dust hazard will be to explorers," said Collier.

"The LXO has many applications, from plasma physics to astronomy to lunar and planetary exploration. It takes a very rare organization like Goddard, with experts in all these areas, to successfully undertake such a project," said Collier.

The LXO LSSO study team includes members from Goddard, the University of Kansas, the Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md., the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, Leicester University, United Kingdom, and the Institute for Atmospheric Physics, Academy of Science, Czech Republic.

Rob Gutro and Bill Steigerwald
NASA Goddard Space Flight Center

Source: NASA/GSFC - News

The University of Leicester press release is reproduced below:

Issued 09 October 2007

University of Leicester study into Earth's magnetic 'shield'


An artist's impression of the view of the Earth
from the Moon if we could see in X-rays. The
Earth is surrounded by an X-ray glow caused
by particles from the Sun colliding with the
gas trapped within the Earth's magnetic shield.

Scientists from the University of Leicester have taken an important first step in developing an innovative telescope which could one day be deployed on the Moon.

The telescope is called MagEX, which stands for "Magnetosheath Explorer in X-rays" and is an international collaboration between scientists from the United States, the Czech Republic, and the University of Leicester.

MagEX will study the magnetosheath, the magnetic "shield" that protects the Earth from the solar wind - the high energy particles that continuously flow out from the Sun. Without this shield, life on Earth as we know it could not exist.

MagEX was submitted to NASA for consideration in their Lunar Sortie Science Opportunites (LSSO) programme and has cleared the first selection hurdle; it will now receive NASA funding for a technical feasibility study.

The LSSO program is part of NASA's New Vision fo