PpigScience: spacecraft

Showing posts with label spacecraft. Show all posts

February 05, 2018

Construction begins on first manned Orion spacecraft

At the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana, Lockheed Martin technicians have started building the first manned Orion(Credit: NASA)

NASA's first of a new generation of manned deep space exploration craft has begun to take shape at the space agency's Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans. This week, Lockheed Martin technicians and engineers welded together the first two components of the Orion crew capsule for Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2), which will carry astronauts beyond low Earth orbit for the first time in almost 50 years.
So far, only one operational Orion capsule reached space when the unmanned Exploration Flight Test-1 (EFT-1) lifted off atop a Delta IV Heavy booster on December 5, 2014. A second, more advanced Orion is currently being prepared for Exploration Mission-1. It's scheduled to fly in 2019 using the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, but again, without a crew.
Though the EM-2 Orion will be a major step in the American program to establish a Deep Space Gateway station, return to the Moon, and eventually make a manned landing on Mars, it isn't much to look at at the moment. The first construction step involved welding the command capsule's forward bulkhead to the tunnel section, to form the top of the spacecraft. In all, seven large machined aluminum alloy pieces will form the pressure vessel, which is the main hull of the craft.
"Orion has tremendous momentum. We're finishing assembly of the EM-1 Orion spacecraft in Florida, and simultaneously starting production on the first one that will carry crew," says Mike Hawes, Lockheed Martin vice president and program manager for Orion. "This is not only the most advanced spacecraft ever built, its production will be more efficient than any previous capsule. For example, look at the progress we've made on the EM-2 pressure vessel compared to the first one we built. The latest version is 30 percent lighter and has 80 percent fewer parts. That equates to a substantially more cost-effective and capable spacecraft."

Early artist's rendering of the Orion crew capsule in lunar orbit. Work is now underway on the real thing.(Credit: Lockheed Martin Corp. )

Lockheed says that construction will continue through September as the three cone panels, large barrel, and aft bulkhead are added on. It will then be shipped to the Kennedy Space Center for final assembly and testing.
"The EM-1 and EM-2 crew modules are very similar in design, but we've made a lot of improvements since we built EM-1, including processes, scheduling, and supply chain, all contributing to a lower cost and faster manufacturing," says Paul Anderson, director of Orion EM-2 production at Lockheed Martin. "Each of these spacecraft are important, but we realize that the EM-2 capsule is special as it's the first one to carry astronauts back out to the Moon, something we haven't done in a long time. It's something we think about every day."

Source: Lockheed Martin, NewAtlas

December 18, 2017

President Trump orders NASA back to the Moon

by Unknown, in USA

Representatives of Congress and the National Space Council joined President Donald J. Trump, Apollo astronaut Jack Schmitt and current NASA astronaut Peggy Whitson for the signing of Space Policy Directive 1(Credit: NASA)

US astronauts are headed back to the Moon after President Donald J. Trump ordered NASA to focus on manned space missions. Today at a White House ceremony, the President signed White House Space Policy Directive 1, which directs NASA to work with commercial and international partners to send American astronauts to our satellite as the first step to going to Mars and beyond.

Today's signing marks another shift in US space policy, which has been seeking to recapture the success of the tightly focused Apollo program of the 1960s. In recent decades, NASA's manned spaceflight efforts have been marked by a series of false starts, neglect, and sudden changes with each incoming administration. In addition to setting new goals, the directive will influence NASA's Fiscal Year 2019 budget request.

In July, President Trump revived the National Space Council headed by Vice President Michael Pence to advise and implement the President's policy of redirecting US space efforts away from Earth studies and toward deep space exploration. The Council was disbanded in 1993 after protracted infighting during the George H W Bush administration.

According to the new directive, the NASA administrator will "lead an innovative and sustainable program of exploration with commercial and international partners to enable human expansion across the Solar System and to bring back to Earth new knowledge and opportunities."

The signing was attended by Representatives of Congress and the National Space Council; Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the Moon; Senator Harrison Schmitt, the second to last astronaut to leave the Moon during the Apollo 17 mission; Peggy Whitson, who holds the record for the most numbers of days in space for any American astronaut; and Christina Koch, a member of the US astronaut class of 2013.

"The directive I am signing today will refocus America's space program on human exploration and discovery," said President Trump. "It marks a first step in returning American astronauts to the Moon for the first time since 1972, for long-term exploration and use. This time, we will not only plant our flag and leave our footprints – we will establish a foundation for an eventual mission to Mars, and perhaps someday, to many worlds beyond."

The White House video below shows the signing ceremony.

Source: NASA, NewAtlas.

December 18, 2017

SpaceX resupplies the ISS with recycled rocket and spacecraft for the first time

by Unknown, in univers

SpaceX's CRS-13 mission lifts off(Credit: SpaceX)

SpaceX has been carrying supplies to the International Space Station (ISS) for more than five years, but the company achieved something special with its latest visit, completing the mission using a refurbished Falcon 9 rocket and Dragon spacecraft together for the first time.

Since landing its Falcon 9 booster back on Earth for the first time in December 2015, SpaceX has largely made good on its promise to refurbish and relaunch these rockets. While private companies had previously launched satellites on these recycled boosters, the CRS-13 mission to the ISS on December 15 was the first time NASA had given them a go.

Since landing its Falcon 9 booster back on Earth for the first time in December 2015, SpaceX has largely made good on its promise to refurbish and relaunch these rockets. While private companies had previously launched satellites on these recycled boosters, the CRS-13 mission to the ISS on December 15 was the first time NASA had given them a go.

The Dragon spacecraft will return 3,600 lb (1,632 kg) of cargo to Earth when it conducts a de-orbit burn, reenter's the atmosphere and splashes down in the Pacific Ocean.

All going to plan, it will mark another milestone on SpaceX's march toward regular re-flight of its rockets and spacecraft, a key pillar in its strategy to reduce the cost of spacefaring and ultimately get humans to Mars.

Source: SpaceX, NewAtlas.