View allAll Photos Tagged SpaceLaunchSystem
ATK employees at the company's Promontory, Utah facility prepare a segment of a qualification motor for NASA's Space Launch System for transport.
Image credit: ATK
More about the solid rocket booster assembly:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/sls_qualification.html
Original image:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/q...
More about SLS:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html
Space Launch System Flickr photoset:
www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157627559536895/
_____________________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s)
of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or
endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
The engine vertical installer for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) arrives inside the Vehicle Assembly at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 25, 2019. The engine installer arrived from the manufacturer, Precision Fabrication and Cleaning in Canaveral Groves, Florida. The new ground support equipment will be ready for preflight processing in the event one of the four RS-25 engines on the core stage of the SLS rocket needs to be replaced. During launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft, the four core stage engines will provide the thrust needed to lift the rocket and Orion spacecraft off Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy for Exploration Mission-1. The uncrewed Orion will travel on a three-week test mission thousands of miles beyond the Moon and back to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston
Technicians and engineers with Exploration Ground Systems at the NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida recently tested the Crew Access Arm (CAA) that was added on the mobile launcher being prepared to support the agency’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. The crucial test confirmed the functionality and integrity of the CAA. The CAA is designed to rotate from its retracted position and line up with Orion's crew hatch. The arm will provide entry and emergency egress for astronauts and technicians into and out of the Orion spacecraft.
Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a 325-ton crane lifts the first half of the K-level work platforms up for installation in High Bay 3. The platform will be secured into position on tower E, about 86 feet above the floor. The K work platforms will provide access to NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) core stage and solid rocket boosters during processing and stacking operations on the mobile launcher. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to High Bay 3 to support processing of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. A total of 10 levels of new platforms, 20 platform halves altogether, will surround the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft and provide access for testing and processing. Photo credit: NASA/Glen Benson
The Orion spacecraft with integrated European Service Module sit atop the Space Launch System, imaged at sunrise at historic Launchpad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA on 27 August.
The Flight Readiness Review has deemed the trio GO for launch, marking the dawn of a new era in space exploration.
The first in a series of missions that will return humans to the Moon, including taking the first European, Artemis I is scheduled for launch no earlier than Monday 29 August, at 14:33 CEST.
This mission will put NASA’s Orion spacecraft and ESA’s European Service Module to the test during a journey beyond the Moon and back. No crew will be on board Orion this time, and the spacecraft will be controlled by teams on Earth.
The crew module, however, won’t be empty. Two mannequins, named Helga and Zohar, will occupy the passenger seats. Their female-shaped plastic bodies are filled with over 5600 sensors each to measure the radiation load during their trip around the Moon. The specially trained woolly astronaut, Shaun the Sheep, has also been assigned a seat.
The spacecraft will enter lunar orbit using the Moon’s gravity to gain speed and propel itself almost half a million km from Earth – farther than any human-rated spacecraft has ever travelled.
The second Artemis mission will see four astronauts travel around the Moon on a flyby voyage around our natural satellite.
Mission duration depends on the launch date and even time. It will last between 20 to 40 days, depending on how many orbits of the Moon mission designers decide to make.
This flexibility in mission length is necessary to allow the mission to end as intended with a splashdown during daylight hours in the Pacific Ocean, off the coast of California, USA.
Two more dates are available if a launch on 29 August is not possible. The Artemis Moon mission can also be launched on 2 September and 5 September. Check all the possible launch options on ESA’s Orion blog.
Orion is the only spacecraft capable of human spaceflight outside Earth orbit and high-speed reentry from the vicinity of the Moon. More than just a crew module, Orion includes the European Service Module (ESM), the powerhouse that fuels and propels Orion.
ESM provides for all astronauts’ basic needs, such as water, oxygen, nitrogen, temperature control, power and propulsion. Much like a train engine pulls passenger carriages and supplies power, the European Service Module will take the Orion capsule to its destination and back.
Watch launch coverage on ESA Web TV starting at 12:30 CEST here. Follow @esaspaceflight for updates and live Twitter coverage.
Credits: ESA-A. Conigli
DSC_0286
The 2017 class of astronaut candidates pause for a group photograph on the deck of the mobile launcher during a familiarization tour at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The candidates toured center facilities, including the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building high bay; the Launch Control Center, Launch Pad 39B and the Vehicle Assembly Building. They also toured Boeing's Commercial Crew and Cargo Facility, United Launch Alliance's Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, and SpaceX's Launch Pad 39A at Kennedy. The candidates will spend about two years getting to know the space station systems and learning how to spacewalk, speak Russian, control the International Space Station's robotic arm and fly T-38s, before they're eligible to be assigned to a mission. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
A tiny visitor to the California Science Center in Los Angeles dreams big during the space shuttle Endeavour celebration Oct. 30-Nov. 4, 2012.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC/K. Pierce
More about SLS:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html
Space Launch System Flickr photoset:
www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157627559536895/
_____________________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the
subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest
approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
In this image:
Stringent controls are illustrated through use of a tool board at Aerojet Rocketdyne's Engine Assembly Facility.
More about the Vertical Assembly Center:
The largest spacecraft welding tool in the world, the Vertical Assembly Center officially is open for business at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The 170-foot-tall, 78-foot-wide giant completes a world-class welding toolkit that will be used to build the core stage of America's next great rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS).
SLS will be the most powerful rocket ever built for deep space missions, including to an asteroid and eventually Mars. The core stage, towering more than 200 feet tall (61 meters) with a diameter of 27.6 feet (8.4 meters), will store cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen that will feed the rocket's four RS-25 engines.
Read more:
www.nasa.gov/press/2014/september/nasa-unveils-worlds-lar...
Image credit: NASA/SSC
More about SLS:
More SLS graphics and concepts:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/S...
Space Launch System Flickr album
www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157627559536895/
_____________________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
Media and social media followers had an invitation to watch as NASA tested the RS-25 engine like those that will power the rocket that launches astronauts on missions to an asteroid and to Mars. The test took place on Thursday, August 13, at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.
A liquid oxygen tank confidence article for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, completes final welding on the Vertical Assembly Center at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
A liquid oxygen tank confidence article for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, completes final welding on the Vertical Assembly Center at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
_______________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
A liquid oxygen tank confidence article for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, completes final welding on the Vertical Assembly Center at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
A liquid oxygen tank confidence article for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, completes final welding on the Vertical Assembly Center at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
_______________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
The forward segment of the qualification motor for NASA'S Space Launch System is transported through manufacturing and assembly at ATK's facility in Promontory, Utah in preparation for a full-scale ground test there next spring.
Image credit: ATK
More about the solid rocket booster assembly:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/sls_qualification.html
Original image:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/q...
More about SLS:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html
Space Launch System Flickr photoset:
www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157627559536895/
_____________________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s)
of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or
endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
Boeing engineer Tony Castilleja works on the CST-100 Starliner, which will provide NASA with transportation to and from the International Space Station.
WATCH Tony talk about what inspired him to become a rocket engineer - www.boeing.com/principles/education/students-families.pag...
A young child dressed in an astronaut spacesuit is one of the spectators gathering on the Max Brewer Bridge in Titusville, Florida, to witness NASA’s Artemis I launch on Aug. 29, 2022. The launch was waved off for the day at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. Photo credit: NASA/Steven Scifer
A construction worker with JP Donovan prepares to assist with the installation of the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage Umbilical on the tower of the mobile launcher at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The last of the large umbilicals to be installed, the ICPSU will provide super-cooled hydrogen and liquid oxygen to the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket's interim cryogenic propulsion stage, or upper stage, at T-0 for Exploration Mission-1. The umbilical is located at about the 240-foot-level of the mobile launcher and will supply fuel, oxidizer, gaseous helium, hazardous gas leak detection, electrical commodities and environment control systems to the upper stage of the SLS rocket during launch. Exploration Ground Systems is overseeing installation of the umbilicals on the ML. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
The future of NASA space flight, the Space Launch System, on the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B
The engine vertical installer for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) is inside the Vehicle Assembly at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 25, 2019. The engine installer is being lifted up by crane for transfer to High Bay 3. The engine installer arrived from the manufacturer, Precision Fabrication and Cleaning in Canaveral Groves, Florida. The new ground support equipment will be ready for preflight processing in the event one of the four RS-25 engines on the core stage of the SLS rocket needs to be replaced. During launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft, the four core stage engines will provide the thrust needed to lift the rocket and Orion spacecraft off Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy for Exploration Mission-1. The uncrewed Orion will travel on a three-week test mission thousands of miles beyond the Moon and back to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston
A crane and rigging lines are used to install the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage Umbilical (ICPSU) high up on the mobile launcher (ML) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The last of the large umbilicals to be installed, the ICPSU will provide super-cooled hydrogen and liquid oxygen to the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket's interim cryogenic propulsion stage, or upper stage, at T-0 for Exploration Mission-1. The umbilical is located at about the 240-foot-level of the mobile launcher and will supply fuel, oxidizer, gaseous helium, hazardous gas leak detection, electrical commodities and environment control systems to the upper stage of the SLS rocket during launch. Exploration Ground Systems is overseeing installation of the umbilicals on the ML. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
NASA’s upgraded crawler-transporter 2 (CT-2) begins its trek from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to Launch Pad 39B to test recently completed upgrades and modifications for NASA’s journey to Mars. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program at Kennedy oversaw upgrades to the crawler in the VAB. The crawler will carry the mobile launcher with Orion atop the Space Launch System rocket to Pad 39B for Exploration Mission-1, scheduled for 2018. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Work is underway to secure the second half of the K-level work platforms for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in High Bay 3 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The platform is being secured into position on tower E, about 86 feet above the floor. The K work platforms will provide access to NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) core stage and solid rocket boosters during processing and stacking operations on the mobile launcher. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to High Bay 3 to support processing of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. A total of 10 levels of new platforms, 20 platform halves altogether, will surround the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis
The engine vertical installer for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) arrives at the Vehicle Assembly at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 25, 2019. The engine installer arrived from the manufacturer, Precision Fabrication and Cleaning in Canaveral Groves, Florida. The new ground support equipment will be ready for preflight processing in the event one of the four RS-25 engines on the core stage of the SLS rocket needs to be replaced. During launch of the SLS and Orion spacecraft, the four core stage engines will provide the thrust needed to lift the rocket and Orion spacecraft off Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy for Exploration Mission-1. The uncrewed Orion will travel on a three-week test mission thousands of miles beyond the Moon and back to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston
As an aerospace engineer, I am on a team that is developing algorithms for the flight control system on the Space Launch System (SLS), NASA's new heavy-lift launch vehicle that will allow future explorers to travel farther into our solar system than ever before. That system is the "brain" of the vehicle, designed to steer it along the path to its destination in orbit. Our team has spent months working with engineers at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center to turn their F-18 fighter jet into a working test bed for those algorithms.
We have 18 test cases for the F-18 test series, each simulating some off-nominal conditions, like higher thrust than anticipated or the presence of wind gusts, to see if the flight control algorithm responds as we designed it to do. The tests might reveal something we hadn't thought about in our algorithm, which we can go back and modify as necessary.
I've always had in interest in NASA, and working on a fast-paced project like this that will actually fly and that will benefit SLS in the future is really cool. I'm really lucky to be a part of it and to work with some of the most talented engineers in the NASA community.
My advice to students is to find an activity outside of your classes that allows you to apply what you’re learning to real things -- be it research, a club or a hobby. The practical knowledge will enable you to learn more effectively in lectures, will help you decide whether you’re going into the right field and will prepare you for the work you’ll be doing after you graduate.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC
Original image:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/i-am-building-sls-gi...
More "I Am Building SLS" profiles:
www.flickr.com/photos/nasamarshall/sets/72157644513255476/
More about SLS:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html
Space Launch System Flickr photoset:
www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157627559536895/
_______________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
NASA holds a prelaunch media briefing on the role of industry in advancing human exploration on Aug. 26, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, as the agency prepares for launch of Artemis I scheduled for Aug. 29, at 8:33 a.m. EDT from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. Participants, from left are Kathryn Hambleton, NASA Communications; Jim Free, association administrator, Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters; Randy Lycans, vice president/general manager of NASA Enterprise Solutions, Jacobs; Jeff Zotti, RS-25 program director, Aerojet Rocketdyne; Jennifer Boland-Masterson, director of operations, Michoud Assembly Facility, Boeing; Doug Hurley, senior director of business development, Northrop Grumman; Kelly DeFazio, director of Orion production, Lockheed Martin; and Ralf Zimmerman, head of Moon programs and Orion European Service Module, Airbus. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a Jacobs TOSC worker monitors the progress as a cover, called the spider, will be attached to the top of the Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage pathfinder on Oct. 4, 2019. With the spider secured in place, a crane will be attached to it to lift the pathfinder into the vertical position. The 212-foot-long core stage pathfinder arrived on NASA's Pegasus Barge at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf on Sept. 27, 2019. The Pegasus Barge made its first delivery to Kennedy in support of the agency's Artemis missions. The upgraded 310-foot-long barge arrived, ferrying the SLS core stage pathfinder, a full-scale mock-up of the rocket's core stage. It will be used by Exploration Ground Systems and its contractor, Jacobs, to practice offloading, moving and stacking maneuvers, using important ground support equipment to train employees and certify all the equipment works properly. The pathfinder will stay at Kennedy for approximately one month before trekking back to NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a Jacobs TOSC worker assists as a cover, called a spider, is attached to the top of the Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage pathfinder on Oct. 4, 2019. With the spider secured in place, a crane will be attached to it to lift the pathfinder into the vertical position. The 212-foot-long core stage pathfinder arrived on NASA's Pegasus Barge at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf on Sept. 27, 2019. The Pegasus Barge made its first delivery to Kennedy in support of the agency's Artemis missions. The upgraded 310-foot-long barge arrived, ferrying the SLS core stage pathfinder, a full-scale mock-up of the rocket's core stage. It will be used by Exploration Ground Systems and its contractor, Jacobs, to practice offloading, moving and stacking maneuvers, using important ground support equipment to train employees and certify all the equipment works properly. The pathfinder will stay at Kennedy for approximately one month before trekking back to NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Within that structure are miles of ducts, tubes, wires and boxes that make up the subsystems and avionics.
LEARN MORE - www.boeing.com/space/space-launch-system/
Preparations are underway to offload the 212-foot-long Space Launch System (SLS) rocket core stage pathfinder from NASA's Pegasus Barge at Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf on Oct. 1, 2019. From left, are Katherine River, operator, and James Erdman, observer, both are Launch Vehicle Technical Operations technicians with Jacobs TOSC. The Pegasus Barge made its first delivery to Kennedy in support of the agency's Artemis missions. The upgraded 310-foot-long barge arrived Sept. 27, 2019, ferrying the SLS core stage pathfinder, a full-scale mock-up of the rocket's core stage. It will be used by Exploration Ground Systems and its contractor, Jacobs, to practice offloading, moving and stacking maneuvers, using important ground support equipment to train employees and certify all the equipment works properly. The pathfinder will stay at Kennedy for approximately one month before trekking back to NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Marshall Center engineers conduct the first circumferential weld of the pathfinder version of the adapter design. (NASA/MSFC)
More about SLS:
More SLS graphics and concepts:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/S...
Space Launch System Flickr album
www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157627559536895/
________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
A press conference is held on Aug. 29, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, after waving-off of the launch of the agency’s Artemis I mission. Participants from left, are NASA Press Secretary Jackie McGuiness; Bill Nelson, NASA administrator; Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager, NASA Headquarters; and Jim Free, associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, NASA Headquarters. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
NASA commentator Derrol Nail, at left, talks with NASA Administrator Bill Nelson during the Artemis I launch countdown inside Firing Room 1 of the Rocco A. Petrone Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 29, 2022. Launch of the agency’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft was waved off due to an issue during tanking. Launch is now no earlier than Sept. 3, at 2:17 p.m. EDT from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
A transporter containing the first half of the J level work platforms makes its way into the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Inside the VAB, the platform will be lifted off of the transporter and placed onto support stands in the transfer aisle. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to High Bay 3 to support processing of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft. A total of 10 levels of new platforms, 20 platforms altogether, will surround the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft and provide access for testing and processing in High Bay 3. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
Artemis I Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson monitors launch countdown events inside Firing Room 1 of the Rocco A. Petrone Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 29, 2022. Launch of the agency’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft was waved off due to an issue during tanking. Launch is now no earlier than Sept. 3, at 2:17 p.m. EDT from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
NASA astronauts and astronaut candidates view NASA’s Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft atop the mobile launcher on the pad at Launch Complex 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 2, 2022. The astronauts are, from left to right: Victor Glover, NASA astronaut; Marcos Berrios, NASA astronaut candidate; Anne McClain, NASA astronaut; Anil Menon and Deniz Burnham, NASA astronaut candidates; and Zena Cardman, NASA astronaut. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Steven Seipel
The NASA Photo Social at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, Louisiana, gathered social media-savvy photographers together on August 16 and 17 to snap and share photos of the facility where NASA is building components for its deep space rocket, the Space Launch System, and crew vehicle, the Orion spacecraft. NASA Michoud is a world-class facility that is unique because it is one of the largest production buildings in the nation with a rich history of manufacturing excellence.
Image Credit: NASA/Steven Seipel
From left, Artemis I Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, and Assistant Launch Director Jeremy Graeber, monitor launch countdown events inside Firing Room 1 of the Rocco A. Petrone Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 29, 2022. Launch of the agency’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft was waved off due to an issue during tanking. Launch is now no earlier than Sept. 3, at 2:17 p.m. EDT from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Members of the Artemis I launch team are at their consoles inside Firing Room 1 of the Rocco A. Petrone Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch countdown Aug. 29, 2022. Launch of the agency’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft was waved off due to an issue during tanking. Launch is now no earlier than Sept. 3, at 2:17 p.m. EDT from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
John Nesworthy, crawler-transporter/mobile launcher systems mechanical technician, Jacobs Engineering, looks on as NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft rolls out of the Vehicle Assembly Building’s High Bay 3 to Launch Complex 39B on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The agency’s Artemis I flight test is scheduled to liftoff on Monday, Aug. 29. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by launching Orion atop the SLS rocket, operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
Hello Lego friends,
A new era of human space exploration for NASA dawns with the Space Launch System, or SLS. This super heavy-lift launch vehicle will take the Orion spacecraft and its crew of up to four astronauts beyond Earth’s orbit, enabling missions to the Moon, Mars and deep-space destinations.
Designed to reach a record-breaking speed of Mach 23 and rated for payloads of 26 metric tons, this variant will complete the first three Artemis Lunar missions.
At 1:110 scale, our product idea includes a total of 2020 Lego bricks and has three key sections.
Core stage
•Four RS-25 engines.
•External fuel line.
•Two solid boosters.
•Launch vehicle stage adaptor.
•1,953 bricks and 30 decals.
•Diameter: 10 studs, 8 cm or 3.14 inches.
•Rocket & Boosters width: 19 studs, 15.2 cm or 2.04 inches.
•Height: 126 studs, 100.8 cm or 39.68 inches.
•
Orion Crew Vehicle
•Crew module.
•Service module - with collapsed and extended solar arrays.
•Launch abort system.
•Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage.
•71 bricks and 19 decals.
•Diameter: 4 studs, 3.2 cm or 1.25 inches.
•Height: 15 studs, 12 cm or 4.72 inches.
•Wingspan: 15 studs, 12 cm or 4.72 inches.
Optional Display Stand
•Displays SLS ready for launch at Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39B.
•222 bricks.
•Width: 24 studs, 19.2 cm or 7.55 inches.
•Length: 28 studs, 22.4 cm or 8.81 inches.
•Height: 10 studs, 8 cm or 3.14 inches.
This collaborative project was created by Saturn V co-designer Valerie Roche (Whatsuptoday) and her SpaceX Collection/ Starship & New Glenn Co-Designer Matthew Nolan, along with co-designer of SpaceX Starship Mark Nolan.
Please, visite our Lego Ideas project: ideas.lego.com/projects/e72800b7-14d6-40b4-b9f1-d9a60efc9e45
Have it fun and enjoy it!
Marcie Nolan, Matthew Nolan & Valérie Roche
The core stage for NASA's first Artemis mission to the Moon moved to the agency’s Pegasus barge on Jan. 8, 2020. The 212-foot Space Launch System rocket stage, built by NASA and lead contractor Boeing at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, rolled the onto Pegasus, which shipped it to NASA's Stennis Space Center on Jan. 12. Here, it will undergo a comprehensive series of engineering tests called the Green Run. After Green Run is complete, the core stage will be sent to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where it will join with SLS's giant boosters and the Orion spacecraft to launch into space on Artemis I.
Image credit: NASA
A liquid oxygen tank confidence article for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, completes final welding on the Vertical Assembly Center at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
A liquid oxygen tank confidence article for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, completes final welding on the Vertical Assembly Center at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
_______________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
NASA’s Space Launch System standing tall at LC-39B, scheduled to send the Orion spacecraft to the Moon Monday, August 29. The 2-hour launch window for the #Artemis I mission opens at 8:33am (EDT)
#WeAreGoing
The structural test article adapter is flipped at Marshall testing facility Building 4705. The turnover is an important step in finishing the machining work on the hardware. (NASA/MSFC)
More about SLS:
More SLS graphics and concepts:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/S...
Space Launch System Flickr album
www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157627559536895/
________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
Hello Lego friends,
A new era of human space exploration for NASA dawns with the Space Launch System, or SLS. This super heavy-lift launch vehicle will take the Orion spacecraft and its crew of up to four astronauts beyond Earth’s orbit, enabling missions to the Moon, Mars and deep-space destinations.
Designed to reach a record-breaking speed of Mach 23 and rated for payloads of 26 metric tons, this variant will complete the first three Artemis Lunar missions.
At 1:110 scale, our product idea includes a total of 2020 Lego bricks and has three key sections.
Core stage
•Four RS-25 engines.
•External fuel line.
•Two solid boosters.
•Launch vehicle stage adaptor.
•1,953 bricks and 30 decals.
•Diameter: 10 studs, 8 cm or 3.14 inches.
•Rocket & Boosters width: 19 studs, 15.2 cm or 2.04 inches.
•Height: 126 studs, 100.8 cm or 39.68 inches.
•
Orion Crew Vehicle
•Crew module.
•Service module - with collapsed and extended solar arrays.
•Launch abort system.
•Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage.
•71 bricks and 19 decals.
•Diameter: 4 studs, 3.2 cm or 1.25 inches.
•Height: 15 studs, 12 cm or 4.72 inches.
•Wingspan: 15 studs, 12 cm or 4.72 inches.
Optional Display Stand
•Displays SLS ready for launch at Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39B.
•222 bricks.
•Width: 24 studs, 19.2 cm or 7.55 inches.
•Length: 28 studs, 22.4 cm or 8.81 inches.
•Height: 10 studs, 8 cm or 3.14 inches.
This collaborative project was created by Saturn V co-designer Valerie Roche (Whatsuptoday) and her SpaceX Collection/ Starship & New Glenn Co-Designer Matthew Nolan, along with co-designer of SpaceX Starship Mark Nolan.
Please, visite our Lego Ideas project: ideas.lego.com/projects/e72800b7-14d6-40b4-b9f1-d9a60efc9e45
Have it fun and enjoy it!
Marcie Nolan, Matthew Nolan & Valérie Roche
As Olympic athletes converge on London with dreams of winning gold in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, NASA is also setting records while testing the J-2X powerpack at the Stennis Space Center. The first time was June 8, when engineers went the distance and set the Test Complex A record with a 1,150-second firing of the developmental powerpack assembly. On July 24, engineers surpassed that record with a 1,350-second test of the engine component on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis. The powerpack is a system of components on the top portion of the J-2X engine. On the complete J-2X engine, the powerpack feeds the thrust chamber, which produces the engine fire and thrust. The advantage of testing the powerpack without the thrust chamber is to operate over a wide range of conditions to understand safe limits.
The July 24 test specifically gathered data on performance of the liquid oxygen and fuel pumps during extreme conditions. The test data provides critical information for continued development of the turbopump for use on the J-2X engine, the first human-rated liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen rocket engine to be developed in four decades. The J-2X is being built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne for NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
The J-2X engine will power the upper-stage of a planned two-stage Space Launch System, or SLS. The SLS will launch NASA's Orion spacecraft and other payloads, and provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. Designed to be safe, affordable and flexible for crew and cargo missions, the SLS will continue America's journey of discovery and exploration to destinations including nearby asteroids, Lagrange points, the moon and ultimately, Mars.
Credit: NASA/SSC
View NASA feature:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/j2x/pp_july24_1.html
More about the J-2X Engine Development:
There's a Flickr photoset about the J-2X egnine development, if you'd like to know more: www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157625345364038/
_____________________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
The J-2X powerpack assembly was fired up one last time on Dec. 13 at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, finishing a year of testing on an important component of America's next heavy-lift rocket. The powerpack assembly burned millions of pounds of propellants during a series of 13 tests during 2012 totaling more than an hour and a half. NASA engineers will remove the assembly from the test stand to focus on tests of the fully integrated engine. Installation on a test stand at Stennis will begin in 2013. The powerpack is a system of components on top of the engine that feeds propellants to the bell nozzle of the engine to produce thrust. The J-2X engine, designed and built by NASA and industry partner Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., will power the upper stage of the 143-ton (130-metric-ton) Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The SLS will launch NASA's Orion spacecraft and other payloads from the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, providing an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. The program is managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
Image credit: NASA/SSC
View original image/caption:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/j2x/ppt_dec13_1.html
More about the J-2X Engine Development:
There's a Flickr photoset about the J-2X egnine development, if you'd like to know more: www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157625345364038/
_____________________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
Machinists at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center use a state-of-the-art milling tool to create the pathfinder version of the adapter hardware design. (NASA/MSFC/Emmett Given)
More about SLS:
More SLS graphics and concepts:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/S...
Space Launch System Flickr album
www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157627559536895/
________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
The NASA Photo Social at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, Louisiana, gathered social media-savvy photographers together on August 16 and 17 to snap and share photos of the facility where NASA is building components for its deep space rocket, the Space Launch System, and crew vehicle, the Orion spacecraft. NASA Michoud is a world-class facility that is unique because it is one of the largest production buildings in the nation with a rich history of manufacturing excellence.
Image Credit: NASA/Steven Seipel