Dream Chaser, the crewed orbital and suborbital vertical-takeoff, horizontal-landing lifting-body vehicle, has been delivered to NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, California as of May 15. The vehicle, being developed by Sierra Nevada Corporation’s (SNC) Space Systems, will undergo a series of tests on its flight and runway landing system. “This will be the first full scale flight test [...]
Post Tagged with: “Orion”
Orion’s Parachute System Failure Successfully Tested
NASA successfully tested two types of parachute failures with a mock version of the Orion Spacecraft on May 1. “The tests continue to become more challenging, and the parachute system is proving the design’s redundancy and reliability,” said Chris Johnson, NASA’s project manager for the Orion parachute assembly system. “Testing helps us gain confidence and balance risk to ensure the [...]
NASA May Be Requesting $100 Million for Asteroid Mission
According to Aviation Week, NASA’s budget request for 2014 will include $100 million for a robotic asteroid capture mission that will aim not only to find and capture a small asteroid but also to deliver it into the vicinity of the Moon. SPACE.com reported that NASA officials were not allowed to comment on details of the agency’s 2014 budget request until [...]
NASA Challenges Students to Design Radiation Shield
Source: NASA NASA unveiled an Exploration Design Challenge on Monday [March 11] to give students from kindergarten through 12th grade the opportunity to play a unique role in the future of human spaceflight. The innovative educational opportunity was announced in a special event at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. The challenge asks students in the U.S. and abroad to think [...]
Inert Launch-Abort Motor Delivered for Integration with Orion
An inert launch-abort motor for NASA’s first Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on February 21. The motor will be integrated with the capsule, although it will have no role in Orion’s first two flights. “The main abort motor is what we’re talking about here,” said Charles Precourt, vice president of ATK’s Space Launch Systems division and former [...]
NASA’s Orion Lands Safely on Two of Three Parachutes in Test
Source: NASA NASA engineers have demonstrated the agency’s Orion spacecraft can land safely if one of its three main parachutes fails to inflate during deployment. The test was conducted Tuesday in Yuma, Ariz., with the parachutes attached to a test article. Engineers rigged the parachutes so only two would inflate, leaving the third to flag behind, when the test capsule [...]
Curiosity and Orion Parade for Presidential Inauguration
On January 21, Barack Obama was cermonially inaugurated into his second four year term as president of the United States. In celebration, states and organizations from around the country sent their delegations to walk in the inaugural parade. Although this inauguration did not produce an iconic satellite image like Obama’s first, it did feature life size models of Curiosity and Orion [...]
ESA Signs Agreement with NASA to Build Orion Service Module
On January 16, NASA and the European Space Agency (ESA) signed an agreement whereby ESA will provide the service module for the Orion spacecraft, while NASA and Lockheed Martin will continue building the crew capsule. “NASA’s decision to cooperate with ESA on their exploration program with ESA delivering a critical element for the mission is a strong sign of trust [...]
U.S. Congress Passes Risk-Sharing Bill on Commercial Launches
On January 1, The U.S. Congress extended for one year the government risk-sharing arrangement for commercial launch companies that had expired on December 31, 2012. The bill passed the House and Senate in the closing hours of the 112th Congress and it has been sent to the President for signature. “The American launch industry has become a highly competitive and important [...]
Orion Capsule Cracks in Pressure Test
On November 19, a NASA spokesperson announced that the flight model of the agency’s Orion crew capsule cracked an aft bulkhead during a proof pressure test earlier in the month. The capsule is expected to be repairable and the incident will not delay Orion’s first test flight in 2014. “The cracks are in three adjacent, radial ribs of this integrally [...]
