Posts Tagged ‘Orion’

A return to the Moon would send NASA back to square one – Bolden

NASA Administrator Charlie Bolden has strongly ruled out missions to land on the Moon as part of NASA’s exploration roadmap, claiming any future political re-direction to return humans…

NASA’s Commercial Crew Catch 22 as another $424m heads to Russia

NASA administrator Charlie Bolden emphasized the need for Congress to fully support funding for the Agency’s Commercial Crew Program, after signing a $424m extension for the use of…

Europe’s ATV-4 prepares for launch amid contributions to future exploration

Europe’s latest space freighter, the Automated Transfer Vehicle-4 (ATV-4), is currently undergoing preparations for a realigned launch date following the replacement of a faulty unit inside the spacecraft….

Gerstenmaier expands on recently announced asteroid mission

In a recent presentation to the human exploration and operations committee of the NASA Advisory Counsel (NAC), William Gerstenmaier, Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate,…

Captured Asteroid mission – Redefining EM-2 for the bold challenge

NASA administrator Charlie Bolden has officially announced an ambitious mission to send a crew to a captured asteroid as early as 2021. Mission planning is scheduled to begin…

EFT-1 Orion has its secondary structures installed

The first Orion set to launch into space is now looking more like an actual spaceship, as engineers installed the secondary structures around the capsule. The Exploration Flight…

MAF undergoing major modification work ahead of SLS production

The Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) has begun its transformation back into the birth place of giant rockets that will enable the United States to return to deep space…

NASA sign up US Navy for opening three Orion splashdowns

An agreement has been signed with the United States Navy to provide splashdown recovery support for NASA’s Orion spacecraft through to the crewed Exploration Mission -2 (EM-2). The…

ATK Launch Abort hardware arrives at KSC ahead of EFT-1

Launch Abort System (LAS) hardware for the Exploration Flight Test -1 (EFT-1) mission has arrived at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) for integration on the Orion that will…

Safety Panel impressed with challenged Exploration Program

NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) have provided a report to NASA administrator Charlie Bolden stating they are impressed with the Agency’s work towards the opening missions for…

Orion processing heats up ahead of EFT-1 mission

NASA’s first Orion to head into space is continuing to be pieced together, with a major milestone – involving the first flight ready heat shield – now complete….

SLS launch to Orion separation – sequence outlined by NASA

The NASA teams working on the Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft are continuing to build a huge collection of documentation that will provide the tools to…

Boeing outlines technology for crewed Mars missions

With a focus on building the archetypal missions for NASA’s new Space Launch System rocket, the U.S.-based Boeing Corporation has outlined their view of what technologies can be…

Orion’s ATV Service Module deal may allow ESA astro on EM-2 mission

As was expected, NASA and ESA managers announced the European Automated Transfer Vehicle (ATV) will live on as the bulk of the Orion Service Module. With an emphasis…

Boeing discusses use of SLS for robust lunar program

As the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket continues development for its debut mission in December 2017, the Boeing company has identified several exploration architectures that would be enabled by…

VAB integration between SLS and Orion outlined by SPIO

NASA’s Spacecraft and Payload Integration Office (SPIO) has outlined the complex process of integrating Orion on to the Space Launch System (SLS) stack during processing inside the Vehicle…

NASA interest in 2024 Mars Sample Return Mission using SLS and Orion

The Mars Program Planning Group (MPPG) have added meat to the bones of a proposal that would result in the Space Launch System (SLS), Orion and a Mars…