SpaceX AsiaSat Win:

Wednesday’s contract announcement to launch the AsiaSat birds has resulted in SpaceX’s order book now being filled by a majority of commercial missions. The balance is concentrated on NASA contracts, as SpaceX push towards their commercial resupply (CRS) of the International Space Station (ISS).

The California-based company is also pushing towards the development of a crewed capability to return US domestic access to Low Earth Orbit.

The AsiaSat launches will be conducted by the Falcon 9 launch vehicle, lifting off from Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) Launch Complex 40 in the first quarter of 2014.

“SpaceX is proud to be the choice of AsiaSat, a pioneer in advancing satellite communications in Asia,” said Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and Chief Technology Officer.

“We are producing the most advanced launch vehicles in the world, and the international launch market has responded – commercial launches now represent over 60 percent of our upcoming missions.”

AsiaSat is the leading satellite broadcasting and telecommunications in Asia Pacific, opening their operations with AsiaSat 1 – Asia’s first privately owned regional satellite – in April 1990.

However, AsiaSat-1′s history began under the call sign of WeStar 6, launched in the payload bay of Space Shuttle Challenger during her STS-41B mission.

Challenger lifted off at 08:00 EST on February 3, 1984, on her fourth launch to begin the 10th Space Shuttle mission and the first under the new flight classification system. Had the previous numerical designation continued, this would have been the STS-11 mission.

Like her three previous missions, Challenger was inserted into a 28.5 degree 189nm orbit.

Once in orbit, Challenger’s crew deployed the WeStar 6 and Palapa-B2 satellites, while Bruce McCandless and Robert L. Stewart performed the first untethered EVA in history using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (McCandless) and the SRMS foot restraint for EVA purposes (Stewart).

Also carried aboard Challenger on this flight was the German-built Shuttle Pallet Satellite – which became the first satellite to be refurbished and re-flown into space following its first flight on STS-7. An electrical problem with SRMS (Shuttle Remote Manipulator System), however, precluded the deployment of the satellite as intended.

Sadly, WeStar 6 – and Palapa-B2 – became a black mark on the mission, after the satellites failed to properly fire their PAMs (Payload Assist Motor) after deployment, meaning they could not reach its desired GeoStationary orbit, and were stranded in a useless LEO trajectory.

Later that year, Discovery came to the rescue, undertaking her second mission, STS-51A.

This mission, which launched on November 8, 1984, marked the first time a Shuttle orbiter deployed two communications satellites and retrieved from orbit two other communications satellites.

The retrieval of the WeStar 6 and Palapa-B2 communications satellites also marked the last untethered spacewalk of the Shuttle Program until 1994.

Brought back down to Earth and refurbished, AsiaSat purchased the WeStar 6 satellite and relaunched it as AsiaSat 1 on a Chinese Long March 3 rocket in 1990. This satellite is no longer in service.

AsiaSat currently owns and operates four satellites AsiaSat 3S, AsiaSat 4, AsiaSat 5 and AsiaSat 7 – which are designed to deliver excellent performance, coverage and connectivity across the Asia-Pacific region.

AsiaSat 5 – launched in August, 2009 via an ILS Proton-M – was placed into orbit as a new generation satellite equipped with the latest technology and new beam coverage to provide highest quality television broadcast, telephone networks and VSAT networks for broadband multimedia services across Asia Pacific.

In addition to a very powerful pan-Asian C-band footprint and the improved Ku-band East Asia beam, AsiaSat 5′s Ku-band South Asia and in-orbit steerable beams were designed to serve new market requirements and to offer full backup capability in network coverage with AsiaSat’s existing satellites AsiaSat 3S and AsiaSat 4. AsiaSat 5 replaced AsiaSat 2 at 100.5 degrees East.

AsiaSat 7 was designed as a replacement satellite for AsiaSat 3S at 105.5 degrees East. This new generation satellite sports 28 C-band and 17 Ku-band transponders as well as a Ka-band payload. Its region-wide C-band beam covers over 50 countries across Asia, the Middle East, Australasia and Central Asia.

AsiaSat 7 also offers 3 Ku-band beams with intra beam switching capability, serving East Asia and South Asia, and a steerable Ku beam. AsiaSat 7 is providing satellite capacity for television broadcast and VSAT Network services across the Asia-Pacific Region.

The 3,813 kg (8,406 lbs) satellite was built by Space Systems/Loral and is expected to enjoy 15 years of service in orbit.

The launch, conducted from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan on November 25, 2011 – was also an ILS mission, utilizing the Russian Proton-M launch vehicle. With the task of lofting AsiaSat 6 and 8 into orbit to be conducted by Falcon 9, the contract announcement appears to be a victory for SpaceX in the competitive launch services market.

“We are pleased to have SpaceX as our launch partner for the two upcoming missions. We look forward to the timely and successful launches of AsiaSat 6 and AsiaSat 8, thereby expanding our fleet from four to six satellites in 2014 to provide more high quality and comprehensive satellite services in the Asia-Pacific region,” said William Wade, President and Chief Executive Officer of AsiaSat.

AsiaSat 6 will have 28 high-powered C-band transponders while AsiaSat 8 will have 24 Ku-band transponders and a Ka-band beam. The high-powered transponders on the satellite will enable the use of small antennas on the ground.

The two SS/L 1300 satellites will serve Asia, the Middle East and Australasia.

(Images via SpaceX, ILS, NASA, and L2)

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Ongoing Russian Soyuz problems and delays:

Following what was an extremely challenging 2011 due to numerous hardware failures – including the Progress M-12M and Fobos-Grunt spacecrafts – the Russian space agency Roscosmos continues to have bad luck in its quest to get its programs back on track.

Last week, reports emerged in the Russian media that the Soyuz TMA-04M/30S spacecraft, set to launch the next trio of Russian and American crewmembers to the ISS, had suffered a failure during routine testing.

It is understood at this time that the Descent Module (SA) of Soyuz TMA-04M was over-pressurised during leak checking, which, coupled with poor quality materials, caused welds to break in the hydrogen peroxide thruster propellant system. Specific causes of the over-pressurisation are unknown at this time, and a Russian commission is currently investigating the matter.

Due to the nature of the failure, pressure integrity of the Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft is believed to have been compromised beyond repair, which means that the SA is question can no longer be used and must be scrapped.

Roscosmos have decided not to swap out the damaged SA with the SA intended for Soyuz TMA-05M/31S, as has been done in the past, and have instead opted to replace the entire Soyuz TMA-04M spacecraft – including SA, Orbital Module (BO), and Instrumentation and Propulsion Module (PAO) – with the Soyuz TMA-05M spacecraft, as swapping the entire spacecraft is quicker than de-integrating and re-integrating the SA from one Soyuz to the other.

Due to this swap-out of vehicles, the Soyuz TMA-04M launch must now be pushed back, since there is insufficient time to ready hardware originally intended for Soyuz TMA-05M for launch on Soyuz TMA-04M’s date. Also, since the Soyuz spacecraft originally intended for the Soyuz TMA-05M mission will now be used for Soyuz TMA-04M, the spacecraft for Soyuz TMA-05M must come from Soyuz TMA-06M, thus creating ripple-like delays for future Soyuz flights.

As detailed by NASA’s ISS Program Manager Mike “Suff” Suffredini at an ISS status press briefing late last week, following consultations between all the ISS international partners, it has been decided to push the Soyuz TMA-04M launch back from 30th March to 15th May, a delay of around 45 days for Russian cosmonauts Gennady Padalka & Sergey Revin, and NASA astronaut Joe Acaba.

In order to avoid a large gap of three-crew station operations between the return of the Soyuz TMA-22/28S spacecraft and the launch of Soyuz TMA-04M, the Soyuz TMA-22 return will also be delayed by around 45 days, from 16th March to 30th April.

The 45 day mission extension is not an issue however, since Soyuz TMA-22 arrived at the ISS back in mid-November 2011 around 45 days later than originally planned, due to the launch failure of the Progress M-12M/44P spacecraft in August. Thus, the delay in the Soyuz TMA-22 return only restores the mission to a normal duration, and thus doesn’t present any issues with leaving the Soyuz on-orbit past its 200 day orbital lifetime.

As for other Russian launches affected by the “ripple” of delays, The Soyuz TMA-05M/31S spacecraft will be delayed for 45 days, from 30th May to 15th July. Soyuz TMA-06M/32S will slip by roughly 20 days, from 26th September to 15th October, with Soyuz TMA-07M/33S slipping by roughly 10 days, from 26th November to 5th December.

As one Soyuz must depart the station before another can launch, the undocking and landing of Soyuz spacecraft prior to the launches noted above will slip by a similar amount to the delay of the launch in question, in order to preserve the preferred two-week gap of three-crew station operations between Soyuz landings and launches.

This means a roughly 45 day slip for the Soyuz TMA-03M landing, from 16th May to 1st July, a roughly 5 day slip for the Soyuz TMA-04M landing, from 12th to 17th September, and no slip for the Soyuz TMA-05M landing, which will still occur as originally planned on 12th November.

Click here for ISS Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/iss/

Other flight activities for early 2012:

With the first crew rotation of 2012 now via the Soyuz TMA-22 undocking and landing on 30th April and the Soyuz TMA-04M launch on 15th May, the next three months on station will be devoted to a spacewalk, and visits from Russian, European, and commercial cargo ships, all of which must be co-ordinated with each other to ensure no conflicts in the complex schedule.

The first item on the order of ISS flight events for the next few months is Russian Extra Vehicular Activity-30 (EVA-30) on 16th February.

During this spacewalk, the first of 2012, Russian cosmonauts Oleg Kononenko and Anatoly Shkaplerov will spend roughly six hours outside the Russian Segment (RS) of the ISS, preparing for the arrival of the Multipurpose Laboratory Module (MLM) “Nauka” in 2013.

The MLM will dock to the Service Module (SM) “Zvezda” Nadir docking port, where Docking Compartment-1 (DC-1) “Pirs” currently resides.

Due to this, DC-1 will need to be undocked and disposed of prior to MLM’s arrival, and so the two manually-operated Strela cranes currently attached to DC-1 must be relocated to elsewhere on the station in order to preserve them for future use.

Thus, during EVA-30, the Strela-1 crane will be relocated to the Mini Research Module-2 (MRM-2) “Poisk”, a task originally planned for last August’s Russian EVA-29.

Strela-2 will move to the Functional Cargo Block (FGB) “Zarya” during a later EVA. Other tasks for EVA-30 including installing debris shields on the SM, setting up external experiments, and, as a get ahead, transferring an EVA ladder from DC-1 to MRM-2.

Following EVA-30, the next big task for the ISS will be to receive the European Automated Transfer Vehicle-3 (ATV-3) cargo carrier.

Currently planned for launch atop an Ariane V from Kourou Space Center in French Guiana on 9th March, ATV-3 will dock to the ISS following a 10 day free flight, on 19th March.

ATV-3 is somewhat controlling the debut launch of the new European Vega rocket, currently planned for 13th February, by limiting the number of days that the Vega launch can scrub before it must be stood down until after ATV-3, due to the need to have enough time to reconfigure Kourou launch site assets to support the ATV-3 launch. ATV-3 cannot move to make way for Vega, as that would cause problems for the already jam-packed and highly complex ISS flight manifest.

ATV-3, which has been upgraded to carry more internal cargo than pervious ATVs, will be the first vehicle to dock at the SM Aft port since the Progress M-11M/43P spacecraft prior to STS-135 last June, since the failed Progress M-12M/44P was supposed to dock there following Progress M-11M’s departure in August. ATV-3 will remain at the ISS through to August 2012, during which time it will provide propulsive support for ISS attitude control, reboosts, and Debris Avoidance Maneuvers (DAMs).

Following the ATV-3 docking, and with the Progress M-15M/47P launch now accelerated from 25th April to 20th April, a full month of time will be free in the ISS schedule for what will likely be the most watched mission of the year – the inaugural visit of SpaceX’s Dragon capsule to the station.

SpaceX ongoing delays and potential launch date:

SpaceX’s Dragon capsule had at the start of the year been planned for launch on 7th February, on the now approved combined COTS-2/COTS-3 (C2/C3) demo mission.

However, ongoing delays, related mainly to software testing, integrated simulations, refinement of flight procedures, and closeout of various “open items” on the spacecraft and launch vehicle, have pushed the launch to the right.

The ISS is now fully ready to support Dragon, however, with the Enhanced Processor & Integrated Communications (EPIC) card installations and both the X2_R10 and X2_R11 software transitions now completed, the latter of which includes Mobile Servicing System (MSS) 7.1 software, which updates the MSS, of which the SSRMS is a part, to support Dragon robotics activities.

Officially, the target launch date for Dragon at this time is 20th March – the day after the planned ATV-3 docking, so as to avoid any conflicts with that vehicle.

However, this date is merely a placeholder with the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) Eastern Range, and at last week’s ISS status press briefing, NASA ISS Program Manager Mike Suffredini said that due to the volume of work still to be completed, an April launch date is more likely for SpaceX.

SpaceX has until late April to play with, since the Progress M-15M launch and docking is planned for 20th and 22nd April, respectively, and after that, the Soyuz TMA-22 undocking and landing on 30th April.

Following the TMA-22 undocking, ISS will be at three crew operations, which may preclude the Dragon berthing at the ISS due to the need to have two trained crewmembers aboard the station to perform the Dragon capture with the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS).

It is not understood at this point whether ESA astronaut André Kuipers would be able to fulfil the role of a trained crewmember, along with NASA astronaut Don Pettit, but if not, the next time two trained US crewmembers would be aboard the station is 17th May, following the 15th May launch of Soyuz TMA-04M, carrying NASA astronaut Joe Acaba.

Following arrival of Soyuz TMA-04M, the ISS schedule is free through the rest of May and all of June, whereupon another Soyuz rotation will occur in early through mid-July, followed by Russian and Japanese resupply flights.

Flight activities for later in 2012:

Another vehicle to feel the fallout of the recent Soyuz problems is Japan’s H-II Transfer Vehicle-3 (HTV-3), which was previously scheduled to launch on 26th June, for a rendezvous with and berthing to the ISS on 1st July.

Since the Soyuz reshuffle placed the HTV-3 rendezvous and berthing on the same date as the Soyuz TMA-03M undocking, following which ISS will be at three-crew operations, that meant HTV-3′s arrival would cause conflict issues, and violate the flight rule to have two fully trained US crewmembers available to support capture operations, since only one US astronaut would be aboard the ISS following the Soyuz TMA-03M undocking (Joe Acaba).

Thus, HTV-3 now has to wait for Soyuz TMA-05M, carrying NASA astronaut Sunita Williams, to dock with the ISS on 17th July, prior to launching on what is now scheduled to be a late July or early August date.

The months of August and September will then be a very busy time on ISS, with the scheduled undocking of ATV-3 on 27th August, and the unberthing of HTV sometime in late August or early September.

During this time, Orbital’s Cygnus vehicle could also visit the ISS on its maiden flight, as much as ongong delays with launch site readiness mean that no firm date is set for that flight at this time.

Also during August, Russian EVA-31 will be performed, along with the recently added US EVA-18. This EVA had been scheduled for summer 2012 before, but was pushed back to 2013. However, a recent external hardware failure, namely the Main Bus Switching Unit-1 (MBSU-1) located on the S0 Truss, caused NASA managers to reconsider.

MBSU-1, which along with three other MBSUs distributes power around the station’s electrical system, started displaying erratic behaviour late last year, such as resets and loss of communication. MBSU-1 has now completely lost communications with the ISS, although it is still functioning and distributing power correctly.

It is clear, however, that MBSU-1 is slowly degrading, and could be on the verge of total failure. While source information shows that the ISS could tolerate a complete MBSU-1 failure via the crew installing internal jumpers to re-distribute power around the station, this would leave the ISS in what is a single fault tolerate situation, as a failure of another MBSU would require an emergency EVA to Remove & Replace (R&R) the failed MBSU.

Source information shows that MBSU-2 has previously displayed errors similar to those seen on MBSU-1, such as bit errors, and thus MBSU-2 is vulnerable to the same type of failure as MBSU-1, which would not be recoverable via jumper installation.

Due to this fact, NASA managers have decided to go ahead and R&R MBSU-1 this year, in order to reduce the risk of a complete failure leaving the ISS MBSUs single fault tolerant.

This means that, although EVA-18 will include an R&R of failed hardware, it is classed as a planned EVA, not an unplanned EVA – the best example of which is August 2010′s three epic EVAs to R&R the failed Loop B Pump Module (PM). Procedures for a contingency EVA do already exist however, should MBSU-1 fail prior to its scheduled R&R and thus require an immediate R&R.

EVA-18 will be significant since it will be the first US ISS spacewalk in the post-Shuttle era, an era which will see the ISS crew have to halt their research activities in order to deal with outside problems themselves, instead of leaving it to a visiting Shuttle crew as was done in the past.

Thus, NASA’s strategy of pre-positioning ample spare Orbital Replacement Units (ORUs) outside the ISS prior to the Shuttle’s retirement is already proving to be a good strategy, as source information shows that two spare MBSUs are currently available outside the ISS – both stored on External Stowage Platform-2 (ESP-2), with one having flown to the ISS on STS-116 in December 2006, and the other on STS-120 in October/November 2007.

Two spare MBSUs are also available on the ground, one of which is planned for launch on HTV-4 in July 2013, and the other planned for launch in 2017. Both of these MBSUs are not susceptible to the bit errors noticed on MBSUs 1 and 2.

NASA is currently in the process of reviewing specific EVA timelines, and source information shows that two main paths are being considered – one involving the R&R of MBSU-1 using just the two spacewalkers, and the other involving the Special Purpose Dextrous Manipulator (SPDM) “Dextre” doing some of the preparation tasks prior to the EVA, including retrieving the space MBSU from ESP-2 and positioning it near the EVA worksite, to be installed by the EVA crew (it is not possible for the SPDM to perform the entire R&R).

Without the use of the SPDM, a standard EVA timeline could accomplish the MBSU-1 R&R in 6 hours 30 minutes, around the standard time for an EVA. However, a streamlined timeline could accomplish the MBSU-1 R&R in only 4 hours 30 minutes, leaving around an additional 2 hours for some extra tasks outside the station. With prior assistance from the SPDM however, an additional 3 hours 30 minutes would be available for additional tasks.

Source information shows that the additional tasks that could be performed include those deferred from the single STS-135 EVA in July 2011, such as the FGB Power & Date Grapple Fixture (PDGF) 1553 cable install, FGB PDGF grounding wire inspections, and SSRMS Camera Light Pan/tilt Assembly (CLPA) R&R. Some of these tasks could also be conducted during US EVAs 19 and 20 however, which have now been brought forward to February 2013, for reasons unknown at this time.

Following US EVA-18, the remainder of 2012 will then see the usual traffic of Soyuz and Progress flights, along with possibly the first operational resupply flights of the Dragon and Cygnus vehicles under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) Program.

Overall, despite claims that the ISS was going to be slowing down in the post-Shuttle era, the station is in fact as busy as ever, playing host to a wide array of international and commercial Visiting Vehicles (VVs), as well as the usual heavy schedule of maintenance and research activities.

While delays in Russian and commercial vehicles continue to have an impact on the ISS, it is vital that both these systems demonstrate reliability this year, since both are now being heavily relied on to provide vital crew and cargo transportation to the ISS in the wake of the Shuttle’s retirement.

(Images: L2 Content, NASA, Roscosmos and Orbital)

(NSF and L2 are providing full transition level coverage, available no where else on the internet, from Orion and SLS to ISS and COTS/CRS/CCDEV, to European and Russian vehicles). 

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Aerojet Engine Development:

While Aerojet are already involved in a wide range of propulsive requirements for launch vehicles and spacecraft, work is already well under way for their effort to become the provider of the Next Generation Engine (NGE), a process started via the Air Force’s Request For Information (RFI) over a year ago.

The RFI noted it was seeking an Upper Stage engine utilizing modern design and manufacturing methods, while it would be expected that the new engine will demonstrate state-of-the-art operating margin and reliability and minimize life-cycle costs, with an aim of replacing the RL-10 – which is used in various forms with Atlas’ Centaur Upper Stage (RL-10A-3) and Delta IV’s Upper Stage (RL-10B-2).

Aerojet recently noted they had successfully completed a major milestone in the development of a ground demonstrator for the Next Generation Engine (NGE) program, announcing the completion of the Preliminary Design Review (PDR) of the turbopump assembly.

The engine under development – which is yet to receive a name – would not be restricted to just US Air Force/EELV use, according to Julie Van Kleeck, Aerojet Vice President, Space & Launch System speaking in an interview with NASASpaceflight.com.

“For now we are assuming the RL-10 engine requirements with additional consideration of the requirements put forth in the AF September 2010 RFI. (Next Generation Engine (NGE) Request for Information; Solicitation Number: SMC10-55; Agency: Department of the Air Force; Office: Air Force Space Command; Location: SMC – Space and Missile Systems Center).

“We do believe this engine can serve future civil as well as Air Force needs.”

Aerojet – who previously noted it has been decades since there has been an open engine competition in the United States – added they are unable to compare their new engine to an RL-10 derivative at this stage. However, they are confident they can present their NGE as a major step forward.

“We don’t know many specifics about RL-10 derivatives since little has been made public. Aerojet believes that our offering for NGE will make major improvements over the current RL-10 in cost and reliability and have equal or greater performance depending on configuration,” added Ms Van Kleeck.

The Californian-based company are involved in a number of future engine projects, not least the advanced booster for the Space Launch System (SLS), but also in the field of environmentally “green” engines.

With experience in working with Hydroxylammonium nitrate or hydroxylamine nitrate (HAN) powered engines for uncrewed spacecraft, Aerojet noted they are also working on a nitrous-ethanol bipropellant system for Human Space Flight applications.

“While Aerojet has been developing HAN-based monopropellants for a wide range of applications since 1990, Human Spaceflight is not a current focus for this effort. For HSF, our current green propulsion focus is a nitrous-ethanol bipropellant system,” noted Ms Van Kleeck.

It has been publicly known that HAN is being developed as a potential propellant for launch vehicles, both in the solid form as a solid propellant oxidizer, and in the aqueous solution in monopropellant rockets.

According to technical papers – such as those associated with the US Department of Energy – it is typically bonded with glycidyl azide polymer (GAP), Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB), or carboxy-terminated polybutadiene (CTPB). The catalyst is a noble metal, similar to the other monopropellants that use silver or palladium.

“For the HAN-monopropellant systems we are currently focused on robotic spacecraft and defense applications,” Ms Van Kleeck continued. “Aerojet has successfully tested HAN thrusters from 0.2 lbf up to 150 lbf and has found no limitations to developing even higher thrust engines. When developing new, green propellants, one needs to consider both environmental and safety issues.

“For HSF, if green monopropellants become attractive, Aerojet believes that HAN is the leading green monopropellant candidate if you consider all of the safety and handling issues.”

As aforementioned, Ms Van Kleeck noted that Aerojet place a large amount of consideration on both the environmental and safety elements of their advanced propellants, not least their impact on humans, but also for the atmosphere of Mars.

“Aerojet has developed both monopropellant and bipropellant liquid rocket engines that utilize environmentally friendly propellants. Our monopropellant efforts include HAN based engines and Nitrous Oxide based engines. In the bipropellant arena, we have developed Nitrous-Ethanol, LOX/Methane, LOX/Hydrogen and LOX/Ethanol engines,” added Ms Van Kleeck.

“For interplanetary missions to Mars, NASA has chosen Aerojet’s monopropellant hydrazine thrusters for both cruise and landing for all Mars landers to date for the simple reason that hydrazine (N2H4) does not contain carbon.

“For all advanced propellants, both environmental and safety considerations are very important, and our selections are based on a balance of both of these critical factors. Insofar as toxicity to humans, we have done extensive work on our selected propellants and have found that they meet our requirements.

“Just as important, extensive testing has shown that our propellants are the safest to handle and use in typical test and operational settings.”

(Images: Via NASA, ACS.org and Aerojet.)

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SLS Waiting For Primary Roles:

As outlined in previous articles on this site, NASA managers are continuing with their efforts to refine the Design Reference Mission (DRM) roadmap for the Agency’s new flagship launch vehicle.

While that process continues, clues to the roadmap’s foundations can be found in NASA documentation, such as the SLS Concept Of Operations (Con Ops) presentation (available on L2 – Link to Presentation), which provides a detailed overview of the large number of the DRMs under consideration.

*Click here for the list of SLS Con Ops Articles*

As to when the process will be complete, a lot will depend on information relating to budget support for NASA, specifically the SLS and Orion programs.

In turn, SLS managers need to present a roadmap and a schedule which is far removed from the “worst case” scenario, one which sees SLS involved in a widely-spaced opening salvo of missions, before increasing to a flight rate of just one mission per year in the 2020s – an unacceptably low flight rate in most people’s eyes.

NASA managers are fully aware of this, with the SLS team already looking as far ahead as FY14 in their recent manifest meeting, based mainly around the previously reported wish to halve the gap between SLS-1 in 2017 and SLS-2.

With the “worst case” manifest showing SLS-2 would launch in 2021 – otherwise known as the first crewed mission for SLS and Orion – it is understood that if this mission cannot be advanced to 2019, an alternative option would be to launch SLS on a cargo mission in that year.

It has not yet been determined what type of cargo would fly on the SLS – a Block I (70mt) HLV – in such a schedule scenario.

Other Roles For SLS:

SLS’ design was technically selected ahead of knowing what specific missions it would be conducting. While it has been argued the payloads should determine the design of the launch vehicle, its upmass capabilities and fairing size options at least provide some guidelines to its future passengers.

As noted in the SLS Con Ops presentation, flexibility is inherent with a vehicle that will debut as a 70mt deriviative, prior to growing to 100mt (Block IA) and later to a 130mt (Block II). The aim is to evolve the SLS to its full capability in time for potential missions to Mars.

“The SLS changes the paradigm of what can be launched, because its launch performance is far greater than that of any current vehicle. In addition, its dramatically larger launch fairing enables launching large, multi-element systems, greater science instrument mass fraction, larger electrical power supplies, and more mass for shielding and lower-complexity engineering solutions,” noted the SLS Con Ops presentation.

“This translates into an earlier return on science, a reduction in mission times, and greater flexibility for extended science missions.”

Notable additions to the DRM section of the presentation are roles for the SLS which are separate from those which involve NASA’s future exploration aspirations.

Secondary Payloads – SpaceX and SLS:

One of these additional roles relates to “Secondary Payloads” – in other words, spacecraft – usually much smaller than the primary passenger – that could potentially hitch a ride uphill with the SLS.

The subject of secondary payloads became an important subject for SpaceX recently, as the Californian company noted its agreement to launch 18 ORBCOMM Generation 2 (OG2) satellites would be carried out – as secondary payloads – during Falcon 9 launches.

Originally, the delivery of the second-generation satellites into Low Earth Orbit (LEO) was set to be carried out on the Falcon 1e launch vehicle.

SpaceX noted the switch to Falcon 9 was made to further maximize the cost-effectiveness of their COTS/CRS missions, by including these additional payloads as passengers on the Falcon 9′s second stage, allowing them to be deployed after the Dragon spacecraft separates from the launch vehicle.

When SpaceX were asked if there was still a future role for Falcon 1/1e following this switch, the company’s communications director Kirstin Brost Grantham told NASASpaceflight.com: “Current plans are for small payloads to be served by flights on the Falcon 9, utilizing excess capacity. This is a very cost effective solution for small satellite launch needs.”

With a number of the OG2 satellites set to fly with the next Falcon 9 – the combined COTS 2 and 3 Demo mission – NASA teams used their experienced Monte Carlo analysis methods to review the deployment of the satellites, so as to ensure they did not hold an impact risk to the International Space Station (ISS).

For SLS, the Con Ops presentation noted the potential use of an Encapsulated Secondary Payload Adapter (ESPA) ring to allow for additional passengers to ride with the monster rocket.

“The SLS will pursue opportunities to fly secondary payloads in conjunction with primary missions. These services can be provided by the Science Mission Directorate (SMD), allowing deployment of these payloads along the SLS trajectory. An ESPA ring may be flown to accommodate this class of payloads.”

For SLS/HLV Articles, click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/hlv/

SLS DoD Missions:

In a reminder of the Space Shuttle’s past, SLS managers are also eyeing up the possibility of launching military payloads on the HLV.

Currently, most DoD spacecraft are launch by EELVs (Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle), such as the Atlas V or the Delta IV vehicles, under the control of the United Launch Alliance (ULA). However, for a period during the early years of the Shuttle’s lifetime, the orbiter’s role with classified DoD payloads was commonplace.

During the Shuttle era, the orbiters enjoyed both “dedicated” DoD missions – beginning with Columbia’s STS-4 flight – and “civilian” missions that carried, or deployed, DoD payloads. The last dedicated DoD mission was in 1992 with Discovery during STS-53, while the last “civilian” mission with a DoD payload was in 2000, during Endeavour’s STS-99′s mission.

SLS managers believe NASA’s previous experience with DoD missions opens up the potential to carry out SLS launches with military payloads.

“Other missions which may utilize the SLS capability are launches for other Government agencies, like the DoD and any Government agencies with classified missions,” the Con Ops presentation noted.

“DoD mission support will also be available on the SLS, which will be available to partner with DoD and international partners for them to use SLS launch capabilities and opportunities. Classified missions have previously been supported through the MCC (Mission Control Center) at JSC (Johnson Space Center).

“This capability, along with the large payload capacity of SLS, allows for a wide range of DoD payload development and flight that was not previously available within the United States.”

The presentation also claimed the SLS’ large payload capability may be attractive to some commercial partners, citing Bigelow Space Station modules as one example.

It is likely the SLS team will wait until they know the outcome of the exploration roadmap evaluations before pursuing the potential of launching additional payloads.

(Images: Via L2 content, driven by L2′s SLS specific L2 section, which includes, presentations, videos, graphics and internal updates on the SLS and HLV, available on no other site. Other images via NASA and SpaceX.)

(L2 is – as it has been for the past several years – providing full exclusive SLS coverage, available no where else on the internet. To join L2, click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/)

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Launch Abort System:

Historically, Launch Abort Systems (LAS) – or Launch Escape System (LES) – have appeared as towers, attached on top of the crew capsule, ready to “pull” the capsule – and its crew – away from a failing vehicle, be it at the launch pad, or during early ascent.

In the event of a nominal launch, the tower would be jettisoned midway through the ascent to orbit – at a point in time where a major issue would result in the capsule simply separating away for an abort – usually resulting in a splashdown.

These LAS towers can be seen on the early crewed launch vehicles, having first been tested in 1960 – when the “Beach Abort” practiced the abort technique on the first production Mercury capsule at NASA’s test facility at Wallops Island.

While Gemini used ejection seats, the towers became part of the Mercury and Apollo programs, even earning a place in Hollywood movies, such as when Tom Hanks – playing Commander Jim Lovell in the movie Apollo 13 – reached forward to manually jettison the tower during second stage flight during the film’s launch scene.

The early flights of the Space Shuttle only employed the ejection seat capability, as much as it was hinted using such a system – only available for a limited time during first stage ascent – would have provided the escaping astronauts very little chance of survival. The Shuttle mainly relied on abort scenarios involving the return of the crew with the orbiter.

Thanks to the strict safety record of crewed launch vehicles, the use of the LAS has only been called for once during an actual emergency, with the Russians.

Another abort – Soyuz 18A – aborted in flight, resulting in the crew landing safely near the Chinese border – however, it is believed this event came after LAS jettison, with the abort carried out by the Soyuz engines.

The clear use of the LAS during an abort event is a famous one – mainly due to the footage finding a large audience on youtube – as the crew of Soyuz T-10-1 underwent a pad abort, just seconds before their failing vehicle exploded on the launch pad.

The video shows a line of the Soviet top brass witnessing the dramatic abort, acknowledged only by one General calmly adjusting his collar.

It was reported that the crew landed safely, just four miles away.

LAS For Orion:

For the defunct Vision for Space Exploration (VSE) – a direct fallout of the Columbia disaster – crew safety for the next launch system was paramount, as NASA reverted back to a capsule design, with a full Launch Abort System.

In 2007, a major trade of several LAS concepts were evaluated by NASA managers, namely the Multiple External (x4) Service Module (SM) Abort Motor concept, the Crew Module Strap On Motors (x4) concept, and the In-Line Tandem Tractor (Tower) concept – the latter of which was baselined into Ares I/Orion design.

The trades request the preferred design should ensure the risk of losing the crew in an abort scenario would be no greater than 1:10, noting such a system is no guarantee for crew survival during an emergency.

The winning concept – the Tandem Tractor (Tower) LAS design – comprised of a Nose Cone, Attitude Control Motor (Eight Nozzles), Canard Section (Stowed Configuration), Jettison Motor (Four Aft, Scarfed Nozzles), Interstage, Abort Motor (Four Exposed, Reverse Flow Nozzles), Adapter Cone, and Boost Protective Cover (BPC).

The primary role of such a system is to save the crew during the ‘three stages’ of an abort, the first involving the firing of the spacecraft – in this case Orion – away from a failing vehicle on the launch pad to a safe distance, before deploying the parachutes on the Orion, for a landing in the Atlantic ocean within a 3450 ft radius due east of the launch pad.

The second stage of an abort is noted as “mid altitude” – which has a different characteristic when compared to pad abort. This stage of abort works for up to 150,000 ft, involving the LAS remaining on the vehicle after firing the Orion safely away from the failing vehicle until the point of drogue chute deployment, which becomes necessary at that altitude.

The final stage of abort, which would still require the LAS, is at an altitude of between 150,000 ft and 300,000 ft – the latter being the point the LAS would be jettisoned on a nominal flight. After being pulled away from the launch vehicle, Orion would revert to a flight profile similar to that used during the end of a normal mission.

During the evaluations, some engineers called for changes to the system. However, due to the mighty struggles of the time – involving Ares I’s mass to orbit ability, or lack thereof – the main focus turned to using the LAS, in the event of a successful launch, to still perform a firing, in order to assist Orion’s ride uphill.

“LAS Abort Impulse used for Ascent Assist: Theoretically can increase mass to orbit by 1000 lb. However, additional tension loading on the Command Module requires additional structure that leads to overall decrease in mass to orbit,” noted an extensive NASA presentation (acquired by L2 – Link to Document).

Managers also evaluated the use of nozzle inserts in the LAS motors, which would reduce the thrust and thus structural loadings on the vehicle. This option would mitigate any concerns of Command Module (CM) mass penalties.

‘An Alternate Option Using Nozzle Inserts: Reduces Abort Motor Thrust, Increases burn time. Relieves Command Module Compressive load – no tension loads. Increases the Payload Mass-to-Orbit by ~650 lb,’ added the presentation.

This option weakened as evaluations progressed, with the final note on such a use for the LAS pointing to only a 400lb mass increase.

This system has enjoyed one test launch, lofting a boilerplate Orion into the skies of White Sands, New Mexico, durng the successful PA-1 (Pad Abort 1) test in 2010.

MLAS:

While abort motors on the Service Module lost out during the trade studies, a new concept came forward called the Max Abort Launch System – or MLAS (named after Maxime (Max) Faget).

Although it was never publicly admitted, this system was often mentioned by sources as a potential solution towards a growing movement associated with cancelling Ares I and human rating the Ares V, as the Constellation Program (CxP) began to falter.

It also had the backing of then-NASA administrator Mike Griffin, which would not have come as a surprise, given MLAS was an evolution of two of the original three LAS concepts studied by Constellation, one of which made the LAS trade study in 2007 via a rather amusing hand-drawn sketch, created in 2006.

The MLAS concept combined the boost protection cover of the service module mounted escape system with the command module mounted motors, in turn reducing the overall height of the vehicle – something desired by the Ares V HR advocates, who were worried about being able to stack and rollout the vehicle – with a LAS tower – under the height restrictions of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) doors.

The MLAS utilized a ‘bullet’ boost protection cover over the capsule to house four Mk 70 Terrier solid motors separation motors – as opposed to locating them on a tower above the capsule.

Two orientation parachutes are attached to the top of the fairing to re-orient the vehicle, with the blunt heat shield to aid in fairing separation.

The design resulted in the aborting vehicle re-orienting immediately after abort motor cut off during a pad abort, but would fly with its nose “into the wind” on a mid-altitude abort. The orientation parachutes would then activate quickly before the fairing separation.

In the event of a high altitude abort, the fairing would come off immediately, in order to allow the Command Module Reaction Control System (RCS) to stabilize the vehicle for entry.

The design of MLAS changed several times during its development, gaining fins for stability during later cycles, becoming more in line with another hand drawn sketch.

This  time the artist was former Constellation head Scott “Doc” Horowitz – as seen in the second of two MLAS presentations acquired by L2 (Link to Presentations) – over a year after Mr Griffin’s conceptual design.

The final version of the MLAS flight test vehicle weighed in at over 45,000 lbs and was over 33 feet tall – and this vehicle actually got to fly for real, after being shipped to Wallops for its one and only hop off the ground.

The pad abort test proper began seven seconds after burnout of some specially attached solid motors, as the vehicle rose into the Virginia morning sky at 6:25am local time on July 8, 2009.

Video of the launch showed a perfect test, as the vehicle rose on a stable flight path, before reorientation and further stabilization, followed by crew module simulator separation from the MLAS fairing, and parachute recovery of the crew module simulator.

Other tests were planned for MLAS, including a high altitude abort – which will involve the fairing being released immediately after abort is called, in order to allow the Command Module Reaction Control System (RCS) to stabilize the vehicle for entry. However, the program was put on the backburner, as the Constellation Program found itself cancelled.

At this time, the Space Launch System (SLS) will launch Orion with the previously chosen Line Tandem Tractor (Tower) design as its LAS.

SpaceX LAS:

Despite being late to the game, when compared to the Constellation development path, SpaceX still came up with an arguably superior system for use with their Dragon spacecraft, a system not only fully integrated into the body of the spacecraft, but one that also holds future uses, through to those that aren’t even related to launch abort.

The first major difference relates to the traditional use of solid propellant, mainly because of the speed it can ignite and reach full thrust – something highly desirable when moving human lives away from a failing rocket.

However, Dragon sports a series of eight liquid SuperDraco engines, built into the side walls of the Dragon spacecraft, capable of producing up to 120,000 pounds of axial thrust to drive the Dragon away from its failing launch vehicle.

SpaceX are deep into developing the engines – just nine months after their Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) contract noted the LAS is required – with the latest test fire taking place at the company’s Rocket Development Facility in McGregor, Texas.

Referencing back to the benefit of solid motor abort systems, SpaceX’s SuperDraco produced full thrust within approximately 100 milliseconds of the ignition command. It also fired for five seconds, which is the same amount of time the engines would burn during an emergency abort.

Advantages of the SuperDraco liquid thruster include how the engine can be put through a series of throttling ranges, in turn allowing for redundancy, with SpaceX claiming they could lose one of the eight abort engines and still recover the vehicle and crew successfully. The engines can also be restarted multiple times.

Another advantage is the fact it’s not a tower. As noted previously, the LAS tower normally requires jettison shortly after first stage flight. Any failure of this key sequence of ascent would end the mission, given the flight profile wouldn’t be designed for carrying the LAS along for the ride.

Because the system is integrated into the Dragon itself – as opposed to departing the spacecraft during jettison – the spacecraft can technically abort within much longer periods than the tower version. With Dragon returning with the engines on board, they can also be reused on future launches.

There is also a large amount of commonality between the 18 maneuvering engines built into Dragon and the SuperDraco LAS engines – bar the fact the SuperDraco engines would burn through propellant 200 times faster.

The biggest long-term advantage of this system is related to the potential use of the engines to land Dragon back on land propulsively, as seen via SpaceX’s Reusable Falcon 9 concept, which returns all of the launch vehicle and spacecraft hardware to the ground for reuse.

Parachutes would still be onboard the Dragon, for a contingency event resulting in problems with the SuperDracos, allowing the spacecraft to land on water, as it is currently designed to do.

However, Earth isn’t the only landing destination for Dragon, with SpaceX holding ambitions of landing on the Moon and more notably Mars. Nicknamed “Red Dragon” – SpaceX have made no secret about heading to Mars, even publishing a graphic of their spacecraft touching down on the Red Planet.

Such a mission is deep into the future, although Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and Chief Technology Officer, included the full range of use for the SuperDraco’s when announcing his pleasure with the recent test firings.

“SuperDraco engines represent the best of cutting edge technology,” Mr Musk noted. “These engines will power a revolutionary launch escape system that will make Dragon the safest spacecraft in history and enable it to land propulsively on Earth or another planet with pinpoint accuracy.”

NASA’s own Mars plans are a mix of old mission outlines and revamped videos, but do show they also have propulsive landing ambitions – in tandem with large parachutes – with the latest conceptual Mars mission videos showing massive cargo landers and crew habitats, with the crew riding down to the surface on board the hab lander, touching down under large amounts of propulsive power.

Such missions are likely to be in the 2030s at the earliest, with the main focus for the entire US space program being the urgency to regain their own domestic crew launch capability, following the retirement of the Space Shuttle.

The successful development path of the SuperDraco engine has literally pushed SpaceX one step further down the road for NASA and the United States to achieve independence from purchasing seats on the Russian Soyuz – a vehicle which still uses the same tower LAS that caused one Soviet General to check if his collar was straight.

(Images via NASA, SpaceX, and L2 content)

(With the shuttle fleet retired, NSF and L2 are providing full transition level coverage, available no where else on the internet, from Orion and SLS to ISS and COTS/CRS/CCDEV, to European and Russian vehicles. 

(Click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/ - to view how you can access the best space flight content on the entire internet)

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SNC Chasing The Dream:

SNC class themselves as the complete system provider and claim to have demonstrated significant progress maturing design and development of the Dream Chaser Space System (DCSS), which saw them become one of the winners of the CCDev-2 contract award – resulting in $80m of funds being provided from NASA, who are aiming to return a domestic crew launch capability by the middle of the decade.

The Dream Chaser would launch atop of an Atlas V – building on studies which range back several years – as first revealed via NASASpaceflight.com’s article on the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the United Launch Alliance (ULA) in 2007.

Dream Chaser – which is a reusable lifting body vehicle based on the form of NASA Langley’s HL-20 spaceplane concept from the 1980s – can land on a conventional runway, unlike all of its capsule-based competitors, as much as SpaceX are looking into a rocket assisted landing on land for their Dragon capsule.

Working through the completion of 19 milestones per CCDev-2 – the latter of which is listed as the Free Flight Test, which will be a piloted Flight test from carrier aircraft to characterize handling qualities and approach and landing – Senior Director of Space Exploration Systems, Merri J Sanchez, PHD, updated the status of their activities this week at the AIAA Rocky Mountain Section Speakers Program in Colorado.

Noting the extensive heritage Dream Chaser already has on record – which ranges as far back as the genesis of the Russian BOR-4, X-24A and HL-10 – Dr Sanchez cited a total of 1200 wind tunnel tests and numerous simulations gained via the HL-20 program alone.

Utilizing modern materials, CFD (Computational Fluid Dynamics) and their own wind tunnel data, the design continues to be qualified via advanced development techniques.

With the Outer Mould Line (OML) of the HL-20, Dr Sanchez noted Dream Chaser has low re-entry deceleration loads – less than 1.5G – with a large cross range ability, low impact landing and no black zones during ascent trajectory, with Return To Landing Site (RTLS) ability (runway return).

The vehicle is capable of flying with 2-7 crew in upright or recumbent seating, or uncrewed, with the ability of carrying 1000kg of cargo in replacement of crewmembers. The crew will ingress via overhead access hatch on the ground, while the spacecraft will dock aft facing.

Dream Chaser sports non-toxic hybrid motors (HTPB, N2O) which have been built in-house, with Reaction Control Systems (RCS) utilizing N2O and Ethanol. The spacecraft’s on orbit power will be supplied via Batteries using a trickle charge from the ISS.

SNC also cite they are working with a wide range of companies to achieve their orbital goals, mentioning ULA, USA, Aerojet, NASA, Scaled, MDA, Boeing, Hamilton Sundstrand, Draper Lab, SAS and others. They also have an active student program, who have assisted in model and simulation work.

Testing milestones have proceeded without any major issues, with Dr Sanchez noting that structural testing began in December, 2010 at a testing lab at the University of Colorado.

Milestones included three rocket motor tests in one day including vacuum start, and CCDev testing will continue through to the end of July, 2012 – a process which ranges from physically building flight hardware, through to advancing through the PDR (Preliminary Design Review) level, and the testing of numbers systems through the CDR (Critical Design Review) phase.

SNC noted that the engineering test article – which is entirely made out of composite materials – was delivered in December of last year, which will become a flight vehicle for an atmospheric test flight.

Dr Sanchez added that engineers are currently outfitting the vehicle with the aeroshell.

Other items of interest were mentioned during the address, noting the first uncrewed launch will involve horizontal landing. The vehicle is capable of mission durations lasting a lengthy 210 days when docked (to the International Space Station), and will always be ”crew active” for prox ops.

For abort safety, the vehicle does sport crew bailout capability – as a last resort, with runway landings always intended in abort situations - and for a pad abort, testing will use hybrid motors which are sized for specifically for such an emergency scenario.

The crew, which will launch and land in Florida – as much as it can land at any commercial airport – will egress out of the aft of the vehicle on the runway after landing.

Dream Chaser is targeting a landing speed of 191 knots, after re-entering the atmosphere protected by what is being described as a Thermal Protection System (TPS) that is similar to that on the Space Shuttle.

Dr Sanchez also recognized a certain romanticism between Dream Chaser and fans of the Shuttle, but noted their “runway landing” vehicle is very practical, particularly from a turnaround and cross-range perspective.

In fact, it was noted the vehicle has around one thousand miles of theoretical cross range, it can land on a runway from virtually any point in the orbit, and can land on a CONUS runway in no longer than six hours. It was also mentioned that Dream Chaser is capable of something the ISS program consider particularly valuable, which is its “dissimilar redundancy” when compared to capsules.

Looking towards the future, SNC expect the CCDev-3 stage to be announced as early as February 7, with a 45 day response period. SNC have seven more milestones to complete via the ongoing CCDev-2 stage.

Speaking about their launch vehicle of choice, SNC were full of praise for Atlas V and its reliability – something which has seen it become the main vehicle of preference with several of the commercial crew companies – despite Atlas V’s current status of not being a human-rated vehicle.

Work is continuing to take place to allow the United Launch Alliance (ULA) rocket to launch humans into space, with the key focus on the Emergency Detection System (EDS).

As confirmed in July of last year, NASA and the ULA are working via an agreement for technical support via NASA’s Commercial Crew Program focusing on the human rating of the Atlas V. The unfunded act is expected to result in certifying Atlas V to launch NASA astronauts riding in vehicles such as the Dream Chaser, Boeing CST-100 and Blue Origin’s spacecraft.

NASA is providing feedback to ULA based on its human spaceflight experience for advancing Crew Transportation System (CTS) capabilities and the draft human certification requirements. In turn, ULA is providing NASA feedback on those requirements, including providing input on the technical feasibility and cost effectiveness of NASA’s proposed certification approach.

ULA’s obligations include; continuing to advance the Atlas V CTS concept, including design maturation and analyses. Conduct ULA program reviews as planned, Perform a Design Equivalency Review (DER). Develop Hazard Analyses unique for human spaceflight. Develop a Probabilistic Risk Assessment (PRA). Document Atlas V CTS certification baseline, and Conduct Systems Requirements Review (SRR).

SNC also noted their vehicle is a good match, given – as noted by Dr Sanchez – lots of integration work has already been evaluated with the Atlas V and Dream Chaser over the last six to seven years.

The company expect that hardware testing with the Atlas V – from an integration standpoint – will be the next major phase of marrying the two systems together, ahead of their combined launch into orbit in the coming years.

–

(Images via SNC, ULA and L2 – via the new DC section, *L2 members click here*)

(With the shuttle fleet retired, NSF and L2 are providing full transition level coverage, available no where else on the internet, from Orion and SLS to ISS and COTS/CRS/CCDEV, to European and Russian vehicles. 

(Click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/ - to view how you can access the best space flight content on the entire internet)

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Following an official green light from NASA managers, the approved the combination of the Dragon C2/C3 (D2/D3) Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) missions was set to launch from Cape Canaveral on February 7 – as much as the potential for a further slip was referenced during the launch date announcement.

Dragon will only arrive at the ISS if all of the requirements under the initial C2 demo objectives receive the joint approval from SpaceX controllers and NASA controllers – the latter located at the Mission Control Center (MCC) in Houston. Any major problems during the C2 flight phase will end the mission.

The first commercial spacecraft to attempt a docking at the ISS will also conduct a series of check-out procedures that will test and prove its systems in advance of the rendezvous with the station.

The primary objectives for the flight include a fly-by of the space station at a distance of approximately two miles to validate the operation of sensors and flight systems necessary for a safe rendezvous and approach.

The spacecraft also will demonstrate the capability to abort the rendezvous, if required. Crewmembers on the ISS will also have a level of manual control via the COTS UHF Communication Unit (CUCU), which includes orders to abort the approach.

All three crewmembers on the ISS have previously been hands-on the hardware associated with the CUCU during a visit to SpaceX back in September. Dragon also requires two trained crewmembers to berth it, with Dan Burbank and recent arrival Don Pettit tasked with the docking.

Dragon will perform the final approach to the ISS ahead of the station crew grappling the vehicle with the Station’s robotic arm.

The capsule will be berthed – by the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS) to the Earth-facing side of the Harmony node.

At the end of the mission, the crew will reverse the process, detaching Dragon from the station for its return to Earth and splashdown in the Pacific off the coast of California.

If the rendezvous and attachment to the station are not successful, SpaceX will complete a third demonstration flight in order to achieve these objectives as originally planned.

Next up in preparation for the launch was the Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) for the Falcon 9 at Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, which was expected to take place last week, or early this week. However, that has been postponed, along with the launch date.

The specific reason for the delay has not been revealed, as much as the slip is is expected to be only a matter of weeks.

It is not known if the due diligence checks are related to the launch vehicle. However, the mission profile had passed through the ISS Post Qual Review board before Christmas, allowing SpaceX to enter the final steps toward launch.

“In preparation for the upcoming launch, SpaceX continues to conduct extensive testing and analysis. We believe that there are a few areas that will benefit from additional work and will optimize the safety and success of this mission,” noted SpaceX in a press release on Monday.

“We are now working with NASA to establish a new target launch date, but note that we will continue to test and review data. We will launch when the vehicle is ready.”

Click here for other Dragon News Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/dragon/

The comment about launching only when the vehicle is ready is an absolute standard throughout the launch industry, yet the language of the SpaceX release matches the recent heritage of NASA managers tasked with providing a green light for a Space Shuttle launch.

The post-RTF era for the Shuttle earned a large amount of respect for NASA, as Flight Readiness Reviews (FRRs – L2 Link to Presentations) and Mission Management Team (MMT – L2 Link to Presentations) meetings often slipped a launch or delayed the target date late into the flow, avoiding the obvious strain of “schedule pressure” – something which can cause a negative outcome.

One such example of only launching when the vehicle is ready from the Shuttle era was seen ahead of STS-133, via deputy Space Shuttle Program (SSP) manager LeRoy Cain, when he made an internal address to his teams relating to the cracked stringer troubleshooting and mitigation on ET-137. (L2 Link to Presentations).

“If there is a way to make that launch period at the end of all of our work, where we have a very thoughtful and complete assessment of where we think we are as it relates to the risk associated with these anomalies, and we can do something within this launch period, then we will,” noted Mr Cain in November, 2010.

“If we can’t – then we won’t, and we are not going to do anything until we are ready to go fly safely.”

This alignment from a relatively new commercial company to the due diligence of seasoned shuttle managers should impress, as much as SpaceX are clearly fully aware of what they class as a sense of responsibility.

That responsibility is not only to re-establish the domestic cargo supply line to the orbital outpost for the first time since STS-135, but also to lay the foundations of the ultimate Low Earth Orbit goal of transporting US astronauts back to the ISS via an American launch vehicle and spacecraft.

“After the last Shuttle flight we were struck with an enormous sense of responsibility,” noted SpaceX communications director Kirstin Brost Grantham to NASASpaceFlight.com. 

“For 30 years the Space Shuttle provided our country’s only means of carrying astronauts to low-Earth orbit. We are determined to get that capability for our country back just as soon as possible.”

SpaceX are currently part of the CCDev2 (NASA’s Commercial Crew Development) process, which is aiming to re-establish domestic crew transport to the ISS by 2015-2017.

(Images via SpaceX, NASA and L2).

Please note: Clickable links with (L2) references point directly to cited L2 content. Such content is only available to L2 members (please ensure you are logged in). All other clickable links point to NSF articles and open content.

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A Rocket Is For Life, Not Just For Launch:

SpaceX are currently closing in on the February launch of their third Falcon 9 flight, tasked with the historic mission to loft an unmanned Dragon spacecraft on a recently approved combined D2/D3 mission to the International Space Station (ISS). Should the spacecraft successfully pass both its D2 and D3 demonstration test requirements, Dragon will be the first commercial vehicle to dock with the orbital outpost.

The Falcon 9 launch vehicle, however, will not live to see the historic event, following its staging and return to Earth – at least for the First Stage (the second stage may conduct restart/reboost tests) - shortly after the ride uphill.

This is the standard approach for expendable launch vehicles, even for large elements of technically reusable space vehicle systems – such as the Space Shuttle, which saw her giant External Tank (ET) destroyed via a destructive re-entry over the Indian Ocean, after each successful ascent to orbit.

Attempts have been made to design Single-Stage-To-Orbit (SSTO) vehicles – where the entire vehicle avoided any form of staging and returned to Earth “as launched” – such as the infamous X-33/VentureStar, which failed to overcome extensive design challenges prior to its cancellation.

However, SpaceX aren’t looking to redesign the wheel with their reusable ambitions. Instead, they are looking to keep their Falcon 9 launch vehicle design, along with its staging profile, whilst making revolutionary changes to what the expended stages do once they have completed their ascent roles – in essence, a highly advanced and wider-ranging version of the flyback booster concept.

These plans were unveiled by SpaceX founder and chief executive Elon Musk back in September of last year, plans which called for an improved Falcon 9, featuring first and second stages that would fly back to the launch site under their own power – something no other aerospace company has achieved. Mr Musk had previously hinted at such an ambition in 2009.

“This is a very difficult thing to do. Even for an expendable launch vehicle, where you don’t attempt any recovery, you only get maybe two to three percent of your lift-off weight to orbit. That’s not a lot of room for error,” noted Mr Musk during a speech to the National Press Club (*Video Snippet*).

“Now you say ‘OK, now let’s make it reusable’. You have to strengthen the stages, add a lot of weight, a lot of thermal protection – a lot of things that add weight to that vehicle – and still have a useful payload to orbit. You’ve got to add all that’s necessary to bring the stages back to the launch pad to be able to re-fly them and still have useful payload to orbit.

“This has been attempted many times in the past and generally what’s happened is people have concluded that success was not one of the possible outcomes, and the project has been abandoned. It’s a very tough engineering problem.”

During the announcement, a video simulation of the concept – if not entirely accurate – outlined how the Falcon 9 would return back to the launch site, ready for safing ahead for reuse on a latter mission. (*Video Here*)

With a slightly controversial, slightly clever, yet entirely apt use of British band “Muse” – well-known to be space flight fans – and their track “Uprising” as the soundtrack to the video, a visibly modified version of the Falcon 9/Dragon combination can be seen launching uphill, prior to a nominal First Stage MECO (Main Engine Cut Off) and staging.

However, this is the point where “nominal” turns into “fascinating” as the entire first stage rotates 180 degrees via Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters, and then reignites three of its nine engines to “boost back” the near-empty stage back to the launch site.

Descending back to the launch pad, the First Stage is seen firing one engine to decelerate to a pinpoint landing on its specially made landing legs, in an area depicted in the video as the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (CCAFS) Skid Strip runway complex.

“We have a design that on paper – doing the calculations and simulations – that does work. Now we have to make sure those simulations and reality agree. Because generally when they don’t, reality wins. So that’s to be determined,” noted Mr Musk.

“The simulation shows a general idea of what we plan to do, which is to basically put a First Stage out to stage separation, turn the stage around, relight the engines, boost back to the launch pad – and land propulsively on landing legs.”

With the Upper Stage completing its orbital insertion burn, prior to spacecraft separation, thrusters once again rotate the stage 180 degrees, aft forward, ahead of engine restart for another burn to deorbit the Upper Stage.

Protected by what appears to be a version of the PICA-X (a proprietary variant of NASA’s phenolic impregnated carbon ablator (PICA) material) heat shield used by the Dragon spacecraft, the Upper Stage dives back to Earth, protected against the heat and force of re-entry, prior to using what is depicted as four thrusters to decelerate and land on its landing legs.

During the sequence, the landing legs are shown in several configurations, both extended – to allow for the Upper Stage Nozzle to complete its burn, as well as folded inwards – to protect against the forces of re-entry.

“With the Upper Stage, after dropping off the satellite or spacecraft, we do a deorbit burn, re-enter – you need a quite powerful heat shield - and steer aerodynamically back to the launch pad, landing propulsively on landing legs,” added Mr Musk. “(Also worth noting,) you don’t need wings to steer aerodynamically, you just need some lift over drag numbers and lift vector.”

Click here for recent Dragon Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/dragon/

With Dragon completing its mission, the capsule re-enters as expected – as much as Dragon still has one unique feature to present via its propulsive landing system, an integrated hardware element which also provides the launch abort capability during ascent.

While a backup parachute system will be available in the event of any issues, the sum total of the overall changes results in the entire launch vehicle and spacecraft hardware – minus fuel and original upmass payload – returning to Earth to be reused.

“I wasn’t sure it could be solved, but relatively recently – in the last 12 months or so – I’ve come the conclusion it can be solved and SpaceX is going to try and do it,” Mr Musk claimed. “We could fail, I’m not saying we’re certain of success, but we’re going to try to do it.”

Upcoming Development For F9r And Merlin 1D:

The first element of testing the simulations with real hardware will begin via a technology test bed called “Grasshopper”. This concept – per Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) information – points to a single-engine Falcon 9 First Stage with its own landing legs.

As confirmed by SpaceX in a response to NASASpaceflight.com, the company will begin testing on their vertical propulsion landing system for the Falcon 9 Reusable project later this year – a project they acknowledge is a long-term effort.

“We will begin testing our vertical propulsion landing system later this year. This is the research and development effort designed to help us learn more about propulsive landing systems to advance plans for producing reusable rockets,” noted SpaceX.

“This is a long-term project. SpaceX must successfully complete extensive testing before we will see reusable vehicles.”

The long-term nature of the project should place SpaceX in a good position for success, especially as they are continuing to advance and improve the performance of their in-house hardware, most notably their engines.

The Falcon 9 currently employs nine “SpaceX designed and built” Merlin main engines on the First Stage – sporting a single shaft. propellent fed, dual impeller turbo-pump, operating on a gas generator cycle which also provides the high pressure kerosene for the hydraulic actuators, which then recycles into the low pressure inlet.

The turbo-pump also provides roll control by actuating the turbine exhaust nozzle on the single second stage MVac engine.

In a response to NASASpaceflight.com, SpaceX note that an upcoming upgrades to the engine (Merlin 1D) will provide a vast improvement in performance, reliability and manufacturability – all of which could provide a timely boost to aiding the potential for success for the fully reusable Falcon 9.

“Increased reliability: Simplified design by eliminating components and sub-assemblies. Increased fatigue life. Increased chamber and nozzle thermal margins,” noted SpaceX in listing the improvements in work.

“Improved Performance: Thrust increased from 95,000 lbf (sea level) to 140,000 lbf (sea level). Added throttle capability for range from 70-100 percent. Currently, it is necessary to shut off two engines during ascent. The Merlin 1D will make it possible to throttle all engines. Structure was removed from the engine to make it lighter.

“Improved Manufacturability: Simplified design to use lower cost manufacturing techniques. Reduced touch labor and parts count. Increased in-house production at SpaceX.”

No specific date has been given for when such improvements will come on line, or if they would require debuting on a satellite launch, as opposed to a mission under NASA’s commercial contract.

A Breakthrough For Humans:

With the obvious challenge of potentially trading some of the vital upmass ratios, via the extra mass required for the additions to enable the launch vehicle to become reusable, Mr Musk pointed out just how important a breakthrough of this nature would be, by reducing the costs of a launch vehicle system, to a point it provides an enabler for the viability of a human settlement on Mars.

“The pivotal breakthrough that some company has to come up with (to make life multi-planetary), is a fully and rapidly reusable orbit class rocket. We’ll see if this works, but it’ll certainly be an exciting journey – and if it does work, it’ll be pretty huge,” noted Mr Musk at the September presser, before providing an example of the cost differential between expendable and reusable vehicles.

“If you look at the cost of a Falcon 9 rocket – which is a big, one million pounds of thrust rocket, yet the lowest cost rocket in the world, it’s still 50-60 million dollars. But if you look at the cost of the fuel and oxygen and so forth, it’s only about 200,000 dollars. So obviously if we can reuse the rocket, say one thousand times, then that would make the capital cost of the rocket per launch only about 50,000 dollars.

“(Bar) maintenance costs (etc), it would allow for a hundred fold reduction in launch costs.”

With commercial space now preparing to take over the access to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), many people have compared the current transition for the United States in space to that of the commercialization of other transportation sectors.

Mr Musk used a similar example when referring to the reusability of hardware for one of the more common modes of transport.

“This is a pretty obvious thing when applied to any other mode of transport. You can imagine if planes were not reusable, very few people would fly. A 747 is about $300 million, you’d need two of them for a round trip, yet I don’t think anyone has paid half a billion dollars to fly.

“These planes can be used tens of thousands of times and all you’re really paying for is fuel, pilots and incidentals – so the cost is relatively small. That’s why it’s such a giant difference, and that’s why I think a full reusable rocket is fundamentally required for life to become multi-planetary, for us to establish life on Mars.”

Click here for SpaceX News articles: http://forum.nasaspaceflight.com/index.php?topic=21862.0

While Mars remains a stated intention for SpaceX’s future aspirations, near-term success with their Falcon 9 and Dragon systems – not least under the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) and CCDev (Commercial Crew Development) contracts – will provide the experience and the confidence for a company which has successfully become a household name in the global space flight arena.

(Images via SpaceX, National Press Club and NASA)

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The first upgrades needed to support the Dragon spacecraft, scheduled to visit the station for the first time on the combined COTS-2/3 (C2/C3) mission in February, were to the COTS UHF Communication Unit (CUCU) and its associated Crew Command Panel (CCP).

The CUCU, delivered to the ISS on STS-129 in November 2009, is an avionics box that plugs into the ISS in order to allow communication between the station, through its antennas, and the SpaceX Dragon, by converting and relaying signals between the two spacecraft.

The CCP allows the ISS crew to interact with Dragon, by issuing commands to Dragon via the CUCU in response to crew inputs to the panel, such as rendezvous abort, Dragon strobe light on/off, and other commands.

Having been aboard the ISS for over two years, during which time the Dragon spacecraft software has changed from its original version, both the CUCU and CCP needed software updates in order to support Dragon’s inaugural arrival at the station in February.

Beginning in late November 2011, a new software version, called R3.2, was loaded into the CUCU. The updates were to the Remote Input/Output (RIO) control modules, the radio, and the 1553 card on both of the CUCU’s two redundant strings of electronics, called 1a and 1b.

Following the CUCU update, a remote checkout of the CUCU was performed, with tests involving performing transmit and receive tests between Earth and both of the CUCU’s redundant strings. Only a minor command line issue was discovered, which was resolved after cycling the circuit breaker for the RIO-A, which verified CUCU command capability.

The subsequent CCP update, which was firmware of version R3.2 for both of the two CCPs aboard the ISS – Primary and Backup – was originally scheduled to be performed soon after the CUCU update, however was delayed due to issues with test communication links between the ISS and NASA’s Dryden Flight Research Center (DFRC) in California.

The firmware upgrade was eventually performed on 4th January 2012, which was followed by successful testing by SpaceX Mission Control (MCC-X) in Hawthorne, California. As such, both the CUCU and the CCP are now ready to support the Dragon flight in February.

MDM upgrade:

The next ISS upgrade in support of Dragon’s visit was to the station’s Multiplexer/Demultiplexer (MDM) computers. MDMs are part of the ISS Command & Data Handling (CDH) system that controls all aspects of the ISS and its sub-systems.

As their name implies, MDMs perform multiplexing and demultiplexing functions, which essentially means that they send and receive multiple signals and data streams between the ground and the ISS, or ISS laptops and ISS systems, or ISS systems and other systems.

This essentially allows all the ISS systems to talk to each other and be commanded by both the ground and the ISS crew. While it’s commonly referred to that the ISS crew use laptops to control the station, in fact the laptops control the MDMs, which in turn control the station.

The MDMs consist of processor cards which allow them to perform their various functions, and it is one type of these cards which were the subject of the upgrades. Specifically, the new cards were called Enhanced Processor & Integrated Communications (EPIC) cards, which feature faster processors, increased memory, and an Ethernet port for data output.

The EPIC upgrades are needed to support the new commercial resupply vehicles, since the cards control communications between the ISS and Visiting Vehicles (VVs), the Space Station Remote Manipulator System (SSRMS), which is used to capture VVs, and Common Berthing Mechanism (CBM) ports, to which VVs berth.

Additionally, the EPIC upgrades will allow the ISS to support the operation of more experiments at any given time, thus increasing station utilisation in the post-Shuttle era. Under non-EPIC cards the ISS could support 12 simultaneous experiments, bit with the new EPIC cards the ISS is able to support over 25 simultaneous experiments.

The EPIC cards also updated the station’s software, since the cards were pre-loaded with new versions of software to replace the station’s old version of X2_R9. Specifically, six EPIC cards launched aboard Progress M-11M/43P in October were loaded with CCS R10 and GNC R9 software, and four cards delivered aboard Soyuz TMA-03M/29S in December were loaded with CCS R10 and PEP R10 software.

Overall, the EPIC card transition updated the ISS software from X2_R9 to X2_R10, which is essentially the same as the previous version, but upgraded to run on the faster EPIC card – no new functionality will be added.

Click here for ISS Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/iss/

EPIC transition:

The EPIC transition was originally scheduled to occur in August 2011, but was delayed when problems were discovered with several EPIC cards, which L2 information shows was that “some of the cards are more susceptible to noise than the others which could result in a power supply shut down”. As a result, additional testing was needed.

At the same time, the launch failure of the Progress M-12M/44P spacecraft on 24th August and subsequent knock-on effect of reduced ISS crew, which meant that less time was available for EPIC transition work due to research commitments, pushed the EPIC transition into late December/early January.

In total, five MDMs were upgraded – three Command & Control (C&C) MDMs, and two Guidance, Navigation & Control (GNC) MDMs. The EPIC upgrades were performed in such an order as to allow for certain MDMs to be transitioned to EPIC cards while others remained on non-EPIC cards for a few days, in order to allow for full testing and problem resolution before transitioning all five MDMs to EPIC cards.

The transition was a two-man job, with US astronaut Don Pettit performing full tests of the EPIC cards to verify their functionality, prior to handing them to ISS Commander Dan Burbank for installation into the MDMs, located within the Avionics racks in the US Destiny laboratory.

The complex operations began on 28th December, with the old non-EPIC card being removed from the C&C-1 MDM and replaced with the new EPIC card, thus transitioning C&C-1 to EPIC. Following verification of correct operation, the 29th December saw the C&C-2 MDM transitioned to EPIC using the same process.

On the 30th December, the upgraded C&C-1 EPIC MDM was switched to Primary C&C MDM, and the C&C-2 EPIC MDM became Backup C&C MDM. The only remaining non-EPIC C&C MDM, C&C-3, was put into Standby mode, available as a “back-out” option should problems have arisen in the new EPIC Primary & Backup C&C MDMs.

Next, on 3rd January, an EPIC card was installed in the GNC-2 MDM, following which it was transitioned to Primary GNC MDM, while the non-EPIC GNC-1 MDM became Backup. Finally, on 5th January, after two “dwell days” to iron out any issues, the last of the three C&C MDMs, C&C-3, was transitioned to EPIC, as was the last of the two GNC MDMs, GNC-1.

An EPIC software patch for the station’s Portable Computer System (PCS) laptops was then uploaded, marking the successful completion of the transition of the three C&C and two GNC MDMs to EPIC cards, and the updating of ISS software from X2_R9 to X2_R10.

Future hardware & software upgrades:

Although, as detailed above, the EPIC cards will enable support for commercial cargo vehicles and additional payloads, the actual support will come from additional hardware and software upgrades over the coming weeks.

In order to be able to support the commercial cargo vehicles, the ISS must yet undergo another software upgrade, this time from its current X2_R10 to the new X2_R11, which will, amongst other things, update the ISS Mobile Servicing System (MSS) software to version 7.1, which will give the SSRMS software the updates required to support robotics activities associated with commercial cargo vehicles.

Source information shows that the X2_R11 transition will occur in two parts, the first part from 15th to 17th January, and the second part from 29th January to 1st February, a schedule which should give the ISS the software required to support the inaugural Dragon visit six days prior its currently planned launch on 7th February.

Although not a requirement for support of commercial cargo vehicles, a further hardware and software upgrade will be needed in order to allow the ISS to support additional payloads. This will consist of upgrading two payload MDMs with EPIC cards, and then performing another ISS software update, called X2_PEP_R10.

Click here for Dragon Articles: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/tag/dragon/

This upgrade, which also includes a software update for the Permanent Multipurpose Module (PMM), will add Ethernet support for the C&C and Payload MDMs, which will provide a faster path for data being downlinked from the ISS to Earth. Source information shows that this transition will occur No Earlier Than (NET) February.

(Images: NASA, SpaceX, L2)

(NSF and L2 are providing full transition level coverage, available no where else on the internet, from Orion and SLS to ISS and COTS/CRS/CCDEV, to European and Russian vehicles).

(Click here: http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/l2/ - to view how you can access the best space flight content on the entire internet)

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KSC Improvements:

The most iconic launch site in the world has fallen silent since the end of the Space Shuttle Program (SSP), but it at least hopes to transition into vitally important future role – one which will not only provide a home base for a number of commercial launch companies, but one which will eventually host crewed missions to Mars.

Although NASA is at the mercy of the ever-changing political climate, and a lot of NASA’s future ideas tend to remain as powerpoint presentations, actual work towards the future is already taking place at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), part of the 21st Century Space Launch Complex drive.

One of the largest projects involves the revitalization of the KSC Water and Wastewater Systems, which have been in place since the spaceport’s initial construction, back during the drive towards the Apollo moon missions.

This effort is now into phase 3 of a multi-phased effort which will – through various enhancements – improve water quality, reduce water consumption and required flushing, replace or repair ageing pipes that are susceptible to breaks or leaks, and increase overall water and wastewater system reliability.

Despite its less-than-glamorous name, the Water and Wastewater system are vital arteries to operations throughout the center for restrooms, food preparation, fire protection and sound suppression at the launch pads – and can be seen stretching the entire length of the Crawlerway, before forking to both Pad 39A and Pad 39B.

“Upcoming activities of particular interest to the KSC population include parallel replacement of the 16-inch and 12-inch asbestos cement water mains with new ductile iron pipe along NASA Parkway from Kennedy Parkway to the Roy D. Bridges Bridge (aka Banana River Bridge); and segregation of fire and potable water supplies from the Turn Basin out to Launch Complex 39 with 4-inch and 3-inch PVC mains, respectively,” noted a construction update via L2 (L2 Link to presentation).

“There are several ways in which this construction will affect our workplace, including temporary roadway, lane and shoulder closures, temporary water outages or reduced water pressure for certain facilities, closed sidewalks or parking lot entrances, increased construction traffic, and temporary restroom closures.”

The work – contracted to Speegle Construction II, Inc – is set to be completed in the Spring of 2013.

Currently, Pad 39B is preparing to host the Space Launch System (SLS), following its conversion from a Shuttle pad into what is known as a “Clean Pad”. Such a design is required to create the space for the use of the Mobile Launcher (ML) on site, which made its debut trip to the pad at the end of last year.

Pad 39A is currently mothballed as a Shuttle pad, as much as it will never host one of the iconic shuttle stacks ever again. It is likely that the pad will be leased to an unnamed commercial suitor, who may in turn convert the pad for their needs.

Some of the old infrastructure remains at 39B – such as the the giant water tower – remain in place at the converted pad, and will live on with the SLS program.

The Water Tower holds hundreds of thousands of gallons of water, which rushes down a plumbing system into the zero level deck of the Mobile Launch Platform, providing the required rush of water to supply the Sound Suppression System – which protects the launch vehicle from acoustical energy reflected from the platform during lift-off.

As noted in the construction update, the tower at 39B is also receiving a facelift, both internally and externally.

“A construction contract was recently awarded to RUSH Construction, Inc. to perform repair work on the Pad B Water Tower and Sound Suppression System. The scope of work includes repairs to the interior of the 300,000-gallon, 285-foot elevated water tank (constructed in the late1970s), repairs to the piping system, and sandblasting and recoating of the exterior of the tank, piping and associated supports.

“Scaffolding is being erected around the structure to provide access to perform the necessary refurbishment. Pad B remains a construction zone with access restricted to official business coordinated through the Pad B Operations Office. The area around the water tower is designated a construction site and access is coordinated through the construction management team.”

The Tower is expected to be revamped by July of this year.

Fire protection deficiencies in various high-value facilities at KSC are also being rectified and upgraded, which involves the installation of new wet pipe, dry pipe or pre-action fire suppression systems inside various KSC facilities; new underground water mains; and modifications to existing fire alarm systems to support the new fire suppression systems.

“Many KSC facilities were built prior to the development of NASA and KSC fire protection standards that require fire suppression systems in offices and areas containing critical systems or hardware,” added the update. “These projects are part of a phased, multi-year plan designed to provide a safer working environment for KSC employees and improve mission reliability for future programs.”

Numerous buildings at KSC are listed, from fire stations to the Operations and Checkout (O&C) building – with the latter currently undergoing a large renovation effort, which is now into Phase 5 of the work.

“This is the final phase of the O&C office area revitalization – to modernize the entire first floor – and is being executed in two stages, with the eastern half of the building currently in work,” noted the update on the building, most famous to the public as the facility from where the astronauts appeared in their flight suits ahead of boarding the Astrovan. Astronauts were housed inside the O&C building ahead of launch.

“The renovation includes new modular offices and furniture, modernized conference rooms and centralized pantries and break rooms. It also incorporates  significant upgrades to the facility infrastructure, including a new fire sprinkler system, new energy-efficient lighting, new HVAC systems, and new communications and data networks.

Upgrades to the lobby, sundry store, elevators, stairwells and bathrooms also are included.

“In addition to the interior work, all parking lots at the O&C will be resurfaced and reconfigured for improved traffic flow. The north parking lot is complete. Work to resurface the west parking lot began in November.

“The north, south, east and west parking lots will be completed separately to minimize parking congestion. Exterior work will include replacement of windows and a covered seating area adjacent to the cafeteria.”

The work is set to be completed in April, 2013 – and is being carried out by Sauer Construction, via design work by Jacobs Engineering.

KSC is also preparing to host the new Orion crew vehicle, with work conducted inside the Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF).

The first Orion set to arrive in Florida will be the Exploration Flight Test (EFT-1) Orion, which is currently being constructed at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans. This Orion will be launched by a Delta IV-Heavy in early 2014.

“This project was designed to equip the Multi-Payload Processing Facility (MPPF), M7-1104, with reliable HVAC infrastructure to support future program needs, and specifically was developed to enable use of the facility in support of Orion processing operations,” the update added.

Given the work – carried out by Precision Mechanical – was only due to last a month, this phase of renovation has now been completed and is now into the turnover operations.

“The scope of work included the replacement of the existing chilled-water system, chilled-water pumps and make-up air units.  In order to maximize energy conservation during low-load scenarios, a smaller chiller was installed, along with the necessary controls modifications.”

(Images via L2 and NASA).

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