Tuesday, June 28, 2016
Fire in the Desert:NASA Tests SLS Booster for First Flight
On Tuesday 28 January,NASA lit up the desert with a tremendous and lengthy spurt of flame as it tested the Space Launch System booster at Orbital ATK Propulsion Systems in Promontory,Utah.It was the second and final test firing before the first launch of the integrated Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket on the unmanned Exploration Mission-1 to a high orbit over the Moon in late 2018,NASA said.The two-minute full-duration qualification ground test for the SLS booster provided NASA with critical data to support booster qualification for flight and test the motor at the colder end of its accepted propellant temperature range at a targeted 40 degrees Fahrenheit.*
EM-1 will mark the farthest distance a human-rated spacecraft has ever traveled from the earth.The Orion/SLS pair will eventually launch astronauts into deep space,including an asteroid-redirect mission and then on to the Mars system,beginning with EM-2.*
The first SLS booster test had been successfully completed in March 2015 and demonstrated good performance at the higher end of the accepted propellant range of 90 degrees F.Testing at the extremes experienced on the launch pad is important to understanding the effects of temperature on the propellant's ballistic performance.*
The SLS booster was lying on its side on Test Stand 97 in a brushy and hilly desert landscape.A problem with a ground systems computer unrelated to the flight hardware caused a three hour delay of the test.Some 600 gigabytes of data were collected on the 82 test objectives as a crowd of at least hundreds of observers looked on from a mile and a half away.Former astronaut and now Orbital ATK Vice President Charlie Precourt described it as a beautiful test.The contractor aims to preserve the forensic data,freezing everything that happened at the moment of shutdown and dissecting the motor for qualification,Mr.Precourt said.Film,acoustics and temperature data will be digested.
The company is well into casing the propellant of the left booster of EM-1.Three of the total of 10 booster segments-five for each booster-needed for EM-1 are already completed and fueled for flight.*
Orbital ATK,Inc (OA)
EM-1 will mark the farthest distance a human-rated spacecraft has ever traveled from the earth.The Orion/SLS pair will eventually launch astronauts into deep space,including an asteroid-redirect mission and then on to the Mars system,beginning with EM-2.*
The first SLS booster test had been successfully completed in March 2015 and demonstrated good performance at the higher end of the accepted propellant range of 90 degrees F.Testing at the extremes experienced on the launch pad is important to understanding the effects of temperature on the propellant's ballistic performance.*
The SLS booster was lying on its side on Test Stand 97 in a brushy and hilly desert landscape.A problem with a ground systems computer unrelated to the flight hardware caused a three hour delay of the test.Some 600 gigabytes of data were collected on the 82 test objectives as a crowd of at least hundreds of observers looked on from a mile and a half away.Former astronaut and now Orbital ATK Vice President Charlie Precourt described it as a beautiful test.The contractor aims to preserve the forensic data,freezing everything that happened at the moment of shutdown and dissecting the motor for qualification,Mr.Precourt said.Film,acoustics and temperature data will be digested.
The company is well into casing the propellant of the left booster of EM-1.Three of the total of 10 booster segments-five for each booster-needed for EM-1 are already completed and fueled for flight.*
Orbital ATK,Inc (OA)
Thursday, June 23, 2016
Tuesday, June 21, 2016
US Army Europe:How Russia Troubles Them
Lieutenant General Ben Hodges,Commander,US Army Europe,shared his perspective with the BBC's Stephen Sackur:
The thing I worry about the most,LTGEN Hodges said,is the freedom of movement.The Russians are able to move huge formations and lots of equipment across a long distance very fast.Their snap exercises that they do,I personally am surprised each time they do it,and so you can see why that scares me.When 20,000 troops or a lot of equipment shows up on the border of a NATO country or a country like Georgia or Ukraine,that is concerning.
The Russians have what we call freedom of movement on interior lines.They can move anywhere inside Russia as fast as they want.In order for our political leaders to have other options than a liberation campaign,we need to match that same speed inside NATO.We need what I call a military Schengen Zone that would allow the military to move inside a British convoy;an American convoy;a German convoy-should be able to go anywhere inside NATO in order to have the same freedom of movement.
I'm talking about three days-three days' notification-we ought to be able to do that.We absolutely don't have that now.I think that's a necessary part of this deterrence,that the Alliance is shifting from assurance to deterrence.Deterrence is in the mind of a potential adversary.We absolutely do have deterrence,but my mind is uneasy that we have the ability to assemble quickly,for others to be able to assemble quickly,and so I'm going to continue trying to explain why this matters.It's not for our convenience;it's for the ability to give political leaders options short of having to do a liberation campaign,USAEUR's LTGEN Ben Hodges re-emphasised to the BBC.
The thing I worry about the most,LTGEN Hodges said,is the freedom of movement.The Russians are able to move huge formations and lots of equipment across a long distance very fast.Their snap exercises that they do,I personally am surprised each time they do it,and so you can see why that scares me.When 20,000 troops or a lot of equipment shows up on the border of a NATO country or a country like Georgia or Ukraine,that is concerning.
The Russians have what we call freedom of movement on interior lines.They can move anywhere inside Russia as fast as they want.In order for our political leaders to have other options than a liberation campaign,we need to match that same speed inside NATO.We need what I call a military Schengen Zone that would allow the military to move inside a British convoy;an American convoy;a German convoy-should be able to go anywhere inside NATO in order to have the same freedom of movement.
I'm talking about three days-three days' notification-we ought to be able to do that.We absolutely don't have that now.I think that's a necessary part of this deterrence,that the Alliance is shifting from assurance to deterrence.Deterrence is in the mind of a potential adversary.We absolutely do have deterrence,but my mind is uneasy that we have the ability to assemble quickly,for others to be able to assemble quickly,and so I'm going to continue trying to explain why this matters.It's not for our convenience;it's for the ability to give political leaders options short of having to do a liberation campaign,USAEUR's LTGEN Ben Hodges re-emphasised to the BBC.
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
War On ISIL:US Army Artillery,Helicopters Open Up on Militants
The US Army is becoming more active in the anti-ISIL effort Operation Inherent Resolve.On 3 June 2016,soldiers with 1st Battalion,320 Field Artillery Regiment,2nd Brigade Combat Team,101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) fired an M777 howitzer from Kara Soar Counter Fire Complex,Iraq during a night operation in support of the Iraqi Army.Such fire missions enable the Iraqi Army to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant,Combined Joint Task Force-OIR said.
Kara Soar CFC was established in March 2016 and was initially manned by US Marines of Task Force Spartan,the last 170 of whom departed from the fire base for Camp Lejeune,North Carolina on 10 June 2016.They were relieved by the 101st Airborne troops.About 15 miles/24 kilometers from ISIL territory,Kara Soar in Northern Iraq is a key staging area for the Iraqi Army's mission to retake Mosul from ISIL.*
In other US Army activity in Iraq,AH-64 Apache helicopters have been used in OIR combat operations for the first time,US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told reporters on his way to the NATO Defence Ministers meeting in Brussels,Belgium.More than one Apache was sent to assist in the effort to recapture Mosul on 3 June 2016,and one of these attack helos fired on and struck an ISIL vehicle.The Apaches have been in Iraq since early spring and are at the disposal of the Iraqi government in their campaign against the Islamist extremist militants.
Kara Soar CFC was established in March 2016 and was initially manned by US Marines of Task Force Spartan,the last 170 of whom departed from the fire base for Camp Lejeune,North Carolina on 10 June 2016.They were relieved by the 101st Airborne troops.About 15 miles/24 kilometers from ISIL territory,Kara Soar in Northern Iraq is a key staging area for the Iraqi Army's mission to retake Mosul from ISIL.*
In other US Army activity in Iraq,AH-64 Apache helicopters have been used in OIR combat operations for the first time,US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told reporters on his way to the NATO Defence Ministers meeting in Brussels,Belgium.More than one Apache was sent to assist in the effort to recapture Mosul on 3 June 2016,and one of these attack helos fired on and struck an ISIL vehicle.The Apaches have been in Iraq since early spring and are at the disposal of the Iraqi government in their campaign against the Islamist extremist militants.
Wednesday, June 8, 2016
Tuesday, June 7, 2016
BALTOPS 2016:NATO Maritime Wargames Underway
Seventeen NATO member countries and partner nations are participating in BALTOPS 2016,the 44th iteration of the maritime wargames in the Baltic Sea region.Flagship of the exercise is the USS Mount Whitney (LCC-20),which is also flagship of Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO) and the US Navy's 6th Fleet.Upgraded during a 2015 maintenance period,the Mount Whitney is a command and control platform with specialised capability.*
BALTOPS 16 will demonstrate the use of sea-based platforms to rapidly reinforce a crisis area by delivering material,equipment and forces whenever and wherever they are needed.Forces called upon will include more than 60 aircraft delivering nearly 90 sorties a day,among them US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress strategic bombers;joint/shared aircraft;more than approximately 800 amphibious troops;and 45 ships and submarines.
The drills will result in a higher state of readiness;improved interoperability with NATO and partner nations and confidence in their ability to operate together in a time of crisis.It is an excellent opportunity for personnel to engage in realistic maritime training;to build experience,teamwork and strengthen our interoperability in order to promote security of the Baltic region,said US Naval Forces Europe-Africa/US 6th Fleet.BALTOPS demonstrates the Alliance and its partners are ready for and capable of dealing with any contingency through its combat enhancement training and force integrated training amphibious landings,as well as mine clearing training.
BALTOPS 16 will demonstrate the use of sea-based platforms to rapidly reinforce a crisis area by delivering material,equipment and forces whenever and wherever they are needed.Forces called upon will include more than 60 aircraft delivering nearly 90 sorties a day,among them US Air Force B-52H Stratofortress strategic bombers;joint/shared aircraft;more than approximately 800 amphibious troops;and 45 ships and submarines.
The drills will result in a higher state of readiness;improved interoperability with NATO and partner nations and confidence in their ability to operate together in a time of crisis.It is an excellent opportunity for personnel to engage in realistic maritime training;to build experience,teamwork and strengthen our interoperability in order to promote security of the Baltic region,said US Naval Forces Europe-Africa/US 6th Fleet.BALTOPS demonstrates the Alliance and its partners are ready for and capable of dealing with any contingency through its combat enhancement training and force integrated training amphibious landings,as well as mine clearing training.
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