Exploration Systems Development - NASA

SO-CAL CELEBRATES SPACEOn May 14, San Diego Composites, Inc. represented theOrion team at San Diego Air & Space Museum’s 13thAnnual Space Day Celebration. The celebration featureddisplays from aerospace organizations all over SouthernCalifornia. SDC Vice President Ken Mercer said the eventwas a fun way to connect the Orion program with the SanDiego Community. Employees gave students a hands-onexperience and a chance to learn how today’s advancedmaterials will help Orion venture out on missions deeperinto space than ever before. San Diego Composites is asupplier to Lockheed Martin that manufactures severalcomponents for Orion’s launch abort system, whichpropels astronauts to safety in the event of an emergencyon the launch pad or during ascent to orbit.EM-2 WORKHATCHEDAT JSCThe Orion team completed engineering developmentunit vibration testing on the Exploration Mission-2 dockinghatch at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.The team also performed docking hatch swing/securingengineering evaluations in the full-scale Orion mockupon May 16 and 17.In the picture, the Orion medium fidelity mockup atNASA’s Johnson Space Center is being prepped for fitchecks of the Exploration Mission-2 docking hatch.

SENATOR RUBIO TALKSSPACE WITH FLORIDAEDC GROUPSenator Marco Rubio (R-FL) met with EconomicDevelopment Commission (EDC) of Florida’s SpaceCoast’s Community Leaders group on May 11 inWashington. Joe Mayer, Lockheed Martin SpaceSystems government relations director for Florida, led theaerospace delegation discussions on the importance ofU.S. Senator Rubio (center)meets with community leadersfrom Brevard County, Florida.U.S. leadership in space, deep-space exploration withOrion and the Space Launch System, and preservingAmerica’s assured access to space. The Brevard CountyEDC group also held meetings with Senator Bill Nelson(D-FL) and Rep. Bill Posey (R-FL-8), as well as senior AirForce and Navy officials.A ISFORASCENTThe Orion Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) Crew andSeparation Ring (CSR) team viewed theOrion boilerplate crew module at NASALangley Research Center’s fabricationfacility this month. The CSR team ismodifying and completing the boilerplatewith the necessary systems to support theflight test objectives. Once complete, thevehicle will be shipped to NASA’s KennedySpace Center in Florida to support the AA-2flight scheduled for December 2019.

UNIVERSITY STUDENTS TAKE ONTHE NEXT MICRO-G CHALLENGEPREPARING AMERICA FOR DEEPSPACE EXPLORATION: SOMEASSEMBLY REQUIREDWatch the full video.Orion engineer Dustin Neill was one of several guest presentersfor the “Journey to Mars” panel at a microgravity workshopheld at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Called Micro-g NeutralBuoyancy Experiment Design Teams (Micro-g NExT), theprogram challenges students to work in teams to design andbuild prototypes of tools to be used by astronauts duringspacewalk training in the center’s Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory.University students from across the nation participated in spaceexploration workshops, toured center facilities, and presentedtheir concepts and prototypes for deep-space spacewalks.A SPRING IN ORION’S STEPRead about Orion in the Spring 2016 edition of theJSC Roundup.FOLLOW THE PROGRESS OFNASA’S NEW SPACECRAFT FORHUMAN EXPLORATION:JUNENASA’s Orion Blog . . . . .Blogs.NASA.gov/OrionOhio Senator Applauds Orion/SLS SuppliersTwitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Twitter.com/NASA OrionESA/Airbus Team Complete ESM CDRFacebook. . . . . . . . . . . . .Facebook.com/NASAOrionSLS/Orion Team Visits Alabama SuppliersFlickr . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Flickr.com/NASAOrionSpace Exploration Summer School HighlightsGoogle . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Plus.Google.com/ NASAorion

National Aeronautics and Space AdministrationMAY 2016SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEMHIGHLIGHTSANOTHERPIECE OFSLS TESTHARDWAREMARKEDCOMPLETEwww.nasa.gov

NASA COMPLETESTEST VERSION OFSLS LAUNCH STAGEADAPTERThe structural test article of the launch vehicle stageadapter (LVSA) has completed final manufacturing atNASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville,Alabama. The LVSA will connect two major sectionsof the upper part of NASA’s Space Launch System –the core stage and the interim cryogenic propulsionstage (ICPS) – for the first flight of the rocket andthe Orion spacecraft.Later this year at Marshall, the test version of theLVSA will be stacked with other structural testarticles of the upper part of SLS. Engineers willexamine test data and compare it to computermodels to verifty the integrity of the hardwareand ensure it can withstand the forces it willexperience during flight. The hardware’s coneshape is due to the ICPS having a smallerdiameter than the rocket’s core stage.Teledyne Brown Engineering of Huntsville isthe prime contractor for the LVSA.Richard Johnson, a URS Corp. employeesupporting Marshall’s Engineering Directorate,checks out the massive structural test article ofthe SLS launch vehicle stage adapter.

INTERNATIONAL PARTNERS PROVIDESCIENCE SATELLITES FOR AMERICA’SSPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM MAIDEN FLIGHTOn the first flight of SLS, NASA will take advantage of additional available mass and space to provide the rareopportunity to send more than a dozen small satellites, called CubeSats, to conduct experiments beyondlow-Earth orbit. In addition to the 10 CubeSats announced earlier this year, the agency will be sending threefrom international partners. Read the full story here.All 13 secondary payloads will be mounted inside the SLS OrionStage Adapter, which sits on top of the rocket, just below theOrion spacecraft. The main part of the ring-shaped adapter,shown here, was recently manufactured at the Marshall Center.OMOTENASHI (Outstanding MOon exploration TEchnologiesdemonstrated by NAno Semi-Hard Impactor) will demonstratethe technology for low-cost and very small spacecraft to landon the lunar surface. The CubeSat will also take measurementsof the radiation environment near the moon as well as on thelunar surface. (JAXA/University of Tokyo)EQUULEUS (EQUilibriUm Lunar-Earth point 6U Spacecraft)will measure the distribution of plasma that surrounds theEarth to help scientists understand the radiation environmentin the region of space around Earth. It will also demonstratelow-energy trajectory control techniques, such as multiple lunarflybys, within the Earth-moon region. (JAXA/University of Tokyo)ArgoMoon will demonstrate the ability to perform operations inclose proximity of the ICPS. It will also record images of the ICPSfor historical documentation and to provide valuable missiondata on the deployment of other Cubesats. Additionally, thisCubeSat will test optical communication capabilities betweenthe CubeSat and Earth. (Argotec)

NASA CELEBRATESLOUISIANA’SCONTINUING ROLEIN HUMAN SPACEEXPLORATIONNASA celebrated theLouisiana workforce’sparticipation onthe journey to Marsat NASA Day inBaton Rouge atthe Louisiana StateCapitol on May 5.At 322 feet tall, theBlock 1 SLS willstand about 128 feetshy of the height ofthe Capitol, whichis 450 feet tall andthe tallest Capitol inthe United States.The SLS core stageis being built at theMichoud AssemblyFacility outside NewOrleans.NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Director Todd May andastronaut Steve Bowen address the Louisiana State Senateon NASA Day in Baton Rouge on May 5. Read May’s op-ed in“The Advocate” on the state’s contributions to NASA’s missionto Mars.PRECISEMEASUREMENTSON EARTH ENSURENASA’S BIGSPACECRAFT WORKIN SPACEMeasurement is the first step that leads to success.If you can’t measure something accurately, youcan’t understand and improve it. That is especiallytrue for giant rockets designed to operate underextreme temperatures and pressures at liftoff orspace stations the size of a six-bedroom housethat must support people living and working inspace for years.Researchers at the Metrology and CalibrationLaboratory at the Marshall Center understand theimportance of measurement accuracy, especiallyfor SLS.“We make sure every instrument that takesmeasurements during tests for the InternationalSpace Station or the Space Launch System orother NASA programs are accurate,” said GaryKennedy, technical representative for the MarshallMetrology and Calibration program. About 96percent of Marshall’s measurement and testequipment is calibrated through the lab in supportof center operations, research and development,manufacturing, and testing for NASA projects.Story continues here.Metrology technician Joey Longino stands on the top of a 25foot high, 750-thousand pound Gilmore machine toconnect power prior to starting the calibration process.

FACES OF SLS:JUSTIN LITTELLThis funny, first-time dad isbuilding test and flight hardwarefor SLS. Meet Justin Littell, amechanical engineer at NASA’sMarshall Space Flight Center.SPACEFLIGHT PARTNERS:Watring Technologies Inc.Core StageBlock 1LOCATION:Huntsville, AlabamaWHAT THEY DO FOR SLS:NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 42Watring provides support to The Boeing Co. on systems engineering, structures analysis, and tooling andcable design for the SLS core stage.

Follow our blog, “Rocketology,” and go behind the scenes with us as we test and build theworld’s most powerful rocket for missions to deep space.Comments and questions will be addressed on the SLS Facebook page.SLS PART OFNASA GLENN’S75TH ANNIVERSARYCELEBRATIONA visitor checks out a model of the SLS on themobile launcher at NASA Glenn Research Center’sfirst public open house since 2008. The event, heldMay 21-22, celebrated Glenn’s 75th anniversary.Among the many event activities, participants hadthe opportunity to walk through wind tunnels –which are crucial to testing environmental factors onrockets like SLS – and see where NASA tests tiresfor lunar and Mars rovers.FOLLOW THE PROGRESSOF NASA’S NEW LAUNCHVEHICLE FOR DEEP SPACE:NASA SLS Rocketology Blog. blogs.nasa.gov/RocketologyTwitter.Twitter.com/NASA SLSFacebook. e .Plus.Google.com/ NASASLSTumblr.nasasls.tumblr.comCOMING INJUNE:Second SLS booster qualification testICPS delivered to MarshallNASA in the Park

P R O G R A MH I G H L I G H T S M A Y2 0 1 6At NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program Office is leading the center’s transformation from a historically government-only launch complex to a spaceport bustling with activity involving government and commercial vehicles alike. GSDOis tasked with developing and using the complex equipment required to safely handle a variety of rockets and spacecraft during assembly, transport andlaunch. For more information about GSDO accomplishments happening around the center, visit http://www.nasa.gov/groundsystems.First Work Platforms Tested for Space Launch SystemKennedy Space Center is one powerstep closer to processing the agency’sSpace Launch System (SLS) for its firstflight, Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1)and NASA’s journey to Mars. During apreliminary test April 28, the two J-levelwork platforms installed on the north andsouth sides of Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 3, where the SLS will beprepared for launch, were successfullyactivated to test their functionality andsimulate how they will surround the massive rocket on the mobile launcher.“It was an amazing sight to look downand watch as the platform smoothly extended out into the open air of High Bay3,” said Mike Bolger, Ground SystemsDevelopment and Operations Program(GSDO) manager. “As each half of theJ platforms slowly extended, I couldn’thelp but think forward to the day whenthe SLS core stage and boosters will fillthe void between the platform halves.”The J-level work platforms are justone of 10 levels of platforms that willsurround the SLS rocket and Orionspacecraft in the high bay. The platformswill extend and retract and will have thecapability to be adjusted up or down asrequired to give engineers and technicians access to various areas of thegiant rocket, twin solid rocket boosters,Orion and its launch abort system duringFor the first time, one of the new work platforms in High Bay 3 inside the Vehicle Assembly Buildingwas powered on April 28. Lights illuminate one half of the J-level platforms as the platform is extended. A preliminary test of both J platforms was completed to verify each platform’s push chain system,roller system and electrical connections. In view below is one of the K-level platforms. Photo credit:NASA/Kim Shiflettprocessing and testing.Each of the platform halves are about62 feet wide and 38 feet long and weighbetween 300,000 and 325,000 pounds.The J-level platforms are located about112 feet above the VAB floor, or nearly11 stories high, and will provide accessto the SLS booster.As additional platforms are installed inHigh Bay 3, they will undergo the sametesting to ensure all of the platforms areready for the first launch.To read the complete story, visithttp://go.nasa.gov/1XhBuIM.Ground Systems Development and Operations Program Highlights

Upgrades to Launch Pad 39B Flame Trench in WorkNASA’s Space Launch System (SLS)rocket and Orion spacecraft will roar intodeep space from Launch Pad 39B at theagency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Before the most powerful rocket in theworld takes flight, the Ground SystemsDevelopment and Operations (GSDO)Program continues making significantupgrades and modifications to the historicpad to accommodate the new rocket’sshape and size. Exploration Mission 1 (EM1) will be the first of many missions of SLSand Orion as the agency prepares for itsjourney to Mars.In June 2015, NASA awarded a contractto J.P. Donovan Construction of Rockledge, Florida, to upgrade the flame trenchand provide a new flame deflector. Thissystem is critical to safely containing theplume exhaust from the massive rocketduring launch. Construction workers havebeen busy, removing old adhesive materialand preparing the walls on the north sideof the trench for brick installation.Construction workers now are preparing the north side of the flame trench towithstand temperatures of up to 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit at launch of the rocket’sengines and solid rocket boosters. Approximately 100,000 heat-resistant bricks, inthree different sizes, will be secured to thewalls using bonding mortar in combinationwith adhesive anchors.The new flame deflector will be positioned about six feet south of the shuttleera flame deflector’s position. The northside of the deflector will be protected bya NASA standard coating. The south sideof the deflector will not be slanted and willhave no lining. The new design will provideeasier access for inspection, maintenanceand repair.The two side flame deflectors, repurposed from space shuttle launches, willbe refurbished and reinstalled at pad levelon either side of the flame trench to helpreduce damage to the pad and SLS rocket.To read the complete story, visit http://go.nasa.gov/1Y75QxX.GSDO is Go for Launch with anew Facebook Page.Check it out uction workers with J.P. Donovan of Rockledge, Florida, prepare to attach new heat-resistantbricks to one of the concrete walls on the north side of the flame trench at Launch Pad 39B on April14. The Pad B flame trench is being refurbished to support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program at Kennedy is helpingtransform the space center into a multi-user spaceport and prepare for Exploration Mission 1, deepspace missions, and the journey to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Kim ShiflettConstruction workers with J.P. Donovan of Rockledge, Florida, inspect the concrete walls of the northside of the flame trench at Launch Pad 39B on April 14. New heat-resistant bricks have been attachedwith epoxy mortar to a section of the flame trench wall. Photo credit: NASA/Kim ShiflettGround Systems Development and Operations Program Highlights

Industry Spotlight - PRAXAIRPraxair was originally founded in1907. The company’s name, adopted in1992, is from the Greek word “praxis,”or practical application, and “air,” theirprimary raw material.Praxair’s headquarters is in Danbury, Connecticut, with a local production facility in Mims, Florida. About26,000 employees work in more than50 countries around the world. It wasthe first company in North America tocommercialize cryogenically separatedoxygen.At Kennedy Space Center, Praxairprovides liquid hydrogen, liquid oxygenand various packaged gas products.Praxair will supply liquid hydrogen andoxygen for prelaunch test and launchsupport at Launch Pad 39B for NASA’sSpace Launch System rocket and theagency’s journey to Mars.The company’s goals are to managetheir current and future contracts withNASA, and work with NASA and itscontractors in support of all missions,both current and future.“Our goal is to exceed NASA’sexpectations through critical missionsupport, continually redefining our capabilities and ability to provide flawlesssupport,” said Doreen Heal, Praxair’sdirector of Government Programs.The PRAXAIR liquid hydrogen (LH2) truck arrives April 28 at the liquid hydrogen tank at Launch Pad39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. PRAXAIR and engineers and technicians on the Testand Operations Support Contract will review procedures and prepare for a fit check of the new LH2transfer flex hose. Photo credit: NASA/Frankie MartinOver the century of its existence,Praxair has led the development ofprocesses and technologies that haverevolutionized the industrial gases industry. According to Heal, the companyintroduced the first distribution systemfor liquid gas in 1917, and developedonsite gas supply by the end of WorldWar II. In the 1960s, Praxair introducednon-cryogenic means of air separation,and since then has continued to introduce innovative applications technologies for various industries.“Praxair is very proud of our longand rich history with NASA and thespace program. We have been a supplier to Kennedy Space Center fromthe Apollo era through the last spaceshuttle launch,” Heal said. “We lookforward to supporting the dedicatedmen and women of NASA with theirresearch and vision of future space exploration, and pushing the boundariesof existing space knowledge, not onlymaking our planet more productiv

NASA Armstrong is supporting Orion launch abort system ight test development, including preparations for the AA-2 ight test in 2019. Armstrong will provide development ight instrumentation for AA-2 and manages the NASA contract for the Abort Test Booster for the AA-2 launch. Read the full story about the Armstrong Team.