Orion/Artemis Programs Update:Major Test Mission Upcoming,Mobile Launch Platform rolls

A major milestone for the Orion Program is slated for 2 July 2019 with the launch of the Ascent Abort-2 flight test.The test will be launched from Space Launch Complex 46 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station,Florida.*
AA-2 will verify that the Orion spacecraft abort system can pull the crew module away from an emergency during its ascent to space,NASA said.The flight will last about three minutes,with a small booster rocket sending Orion around six miles into the atmosphere.During AA-2,the spacecraft will experience high-stress aerodynamic conditions,and at that point the abort sequence will be triggered to spirit the crew module to safety.*
The Orion Program provides the crew module,European Service Module and Space Launch System rocket for the Artemis lunar exploration missions and missions to other deep space destinations.The first lunar landing mission of the Artemis Program has a preferred launch date of 2024,as stipulated by President Donald Trump.It must be noted,however,that this depends upon the US Congress providing extra funding to NASA to expedite the lunar mission,which will otherwise be put off till 2028.NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said he is confident NASA can get the extra money,but others outside the agency are not so sure.*
Artemis is the ancient Greek goddess of the Moon,so her name was selected for the lunar missions to mirror the Apollo name of the first set of lunar missions.NASA plans for a female astronaut to be the first woman to set foot on the moon on the initial Artemis lunar landing mission.*
A number of companies are developing lunar lander concepts for NASA's consideration for the initial landing mission,including Lockheed Martin and the privately held Blue Origin LLC.*
On 27 June 2019,the Mobile Launch Platform rolled out of the massive Vehicle Assembly Building at the Kennedy Space Center and slowly progressed to Launch Complex 39B,where it will undergo three months of testing for the Artemis 1 mission scheduled for June 2020.Artemis 1 was formerly called Exploration Mission 1;but its purpose remains to conduct an uncrewed test of the integrated Orion system,including the new Space Launch System rocket,in cislunar space.
Lockheed Martin (LMT)

Momentum Rapidly Building for Orion Program - cislunar operations taking shape

NASA is rapidly addressing the daunting issues that face it and international partners as the way to crewed deep space and lunar exploration is opened for the first time since the Apollo missions of the late sixties and early seventies.First,there is the issue of scheduling.The ambition and the will to move forward of the US Government,the EU and the other ISS partners is there now,so solutions are earnestly being drawn up.
1.What to do about the ISS?While the ISS is on the downslope of its service life,with obsolescence coming in 2025,it could possibly be extended to at least 2028 with a public-private partnership to maintain the current setup,or even an intiative to build a new Low Earth Orbit facility or facilities.At the same time,the Orion Program has the solid backing of the Trump administration,so NASA isn't sitting around daydreaming.
2.The first integrated test flight of Orion and the Space Launch System,EM-1,is now planned for a launch sometime between December 2019 and June 2020.Before that,however,is Ascent Abort-2,the final test of the Orion emergency escape system,scheduled for 2019.
3.EM-2,the first crewed Orion mission,which will send humans to a high lunar orbit 40,000 miles above the Moon,the farthest humans have ever traveled from Earth,must be held off till 2023 for a very practical reason:the mobile launch platform has to be modified to handle the heavier upgraded propulsion stage in a 33-month process.This is because EM-1 is to be launched with only the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS).
4.The Lunar Orbital Platform - Gateway project,designed as a platform to both prepare for and stage the Orion deep space missions from,and further scientific knowledge of the Earth,Sun and Moon,is planned to begin in 2022 as the power and propulsion system is launched on a separate mission;it was initially to be carried up by EM-2.Scientists have submitted 190 abstracts to NASA on research the LOP-G could carry out,and NASA recently convened a conference of scientists and engineers to scope the possibilities out.
5.Public/private partnerships are pegged as the way to develop both the LOP-G and lunar landing and exploration technologies needed for the scientists' proposals that,besides lunar studies,range from astrophysics and telescope assembly,to heliophysics and Earth science.
The idea is,to make good use of the LOP-G in between the yearly Orion missions of the 2020s and beyond.

Orion Program Update-what are they working on and when will it launch?

As far as NASA and partner ESA are concerned,it's full speed ahead for the Orion Program-not just for test flight Exploration Mission-1,but even for EM-2,the first crewed mission of Orion.The Orion Crew Module is currently being processed for EM-1,the first integrated mission of Orion and the new Space Launch System rocket,the most powerful rocket ever built.The capsule has been in the clean room of the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building at Kennedy Space Center,Florida,where critical systems such as propellant lines,Environmental Control and life support systems are being installed.In the building's high bay,a number of test stands,processing bays and other hardware have been laid out.Several Orion components such as Thermal Protection Panels are in various stages of processing there,NASA said.
The Orion Crew Module will be launched from Pad 39B in 2019 on EM-1.A three-week flight will take it some 40,000 miles beyond the Moon into cislunar space,the farthest a human-rated spacecraft has ever flown.After a fiery re-entry,it will splash down in the Pacific.*
Meanwhile,in Europe the European Space Agency Orion Service Module is being processed for EM-1 and will be shipped to KSC in 2018.Additionally,the second ESA OSM,for EM-2,is being constructed by ESA contractor Thales Alenia in Turin,Italy.The ESA OSMs provide power,propulsion,cooling,water and oxygen to the Crew Module.*
The purpose of the Exploration Missions is to build and test the systems needed for the challenging deep space missions to the Mars system and beyond in the 2030s,in concert with NASA's domestic and international partners.The vision taking shape involves constructing the Deep Space Gateway,a small space station that will facilitate further crewed and robotic cislunar missions on the way to Mars.There may be about five crewed lunar landing missions in the 2020s as well as robotic counterparts,evaluating commercial prospects on the Moon as well as increasing the scientific knowledge base about our only natural satellite,while preparing for longer duration space flight more independent of Earth.*
The other major component of Orion,the Space Launch System,has been making similar progress.According to John Honeycutt,SLS Program Manager at the NASA Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville,Alabama:
This year,the SLS team has constructed major parts of the rocket,such as the in-space stage,which is already at NASA's KSC in Florida;the four RS-25 engines;core stage structures;and solid rocket booster segments.The rocket is happening now.The SLS has made great progress and has an exciting year ahead as NASA conducts critical structure tests at Marshall,assembles the core stage and the RS-25 engines at the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility,New Orleans,and delivers more hardware to the launch pad at Kennedy.                              

NASA To Build Spaceport Near the Moon-reusable transport spacecraft also planned as agency unveils Deep Space Gateway concept

Yesterday,28 March 2017,NASA posted an article to its website unveiling the most detailed plan yet for the Orion Program.The new projects,which it calls Deep Space Gateway,expand upon the basic concept of using cislunar space,the area in the lunar vicinity,as a testing ground for missions to the Mars system and elsewhere in the solar system.These projects will enable the building and testing of systems needed for the Mission to Mars and other celestial bodies.*
NASA now intends to build a spaceport,essentially a small space station,within the early Orion crewed missions,to serve as a gateway to deep space and the lunar surface as well.It will contain a power bus;a small habitat that would extend crewed mission time;docking capability;airlock;and servicing by logistics modules to enable research.The spaceport,which NASA also calls the gateway,will be propelled by high power electric and chemical propulsion to sustain the station's orbit or transfer it among a family of orbits in cislunar space as needed.The gateway will be made possible by the Space Launch System rocket's cargo capability plus the Orion spacecraft's crewed deep space capability.The project will be developed,serviced and utilised in collaboration with commercial and international partners,NASA pointed out.*
Dr.William Gerstenmaier,NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations,described the Deep Space Gateway thusly:
I envision different partners,both international and commercial,contributing to the gateway and using it in a variety of ways with a system that can move to different orbits to enable a variety of missions.The gateway would move to support robotic or partner missions to the surface of the Moon;or to a higher lunar orbit to support missions departing from the gateway to other destinations in the solar system.*
The agency also intends to build a reusable transport spacecraft powered by electric/chemical propulsion that will depart from the gateway for destinations such as Mars.It will take crews to their destination,then return to the spaceport for servicing and eventual reuse.This transport vehicle will also take advantage of the SLS capability to launch large volumes and mass,as well as advanced exploration technologies now being developed and tested on the ground and in the ISS.*
The first integrated flight of the Orion system,Exploration Mission-1,including the new SLS rocket,Orion spacecraft and ESA Orion Service Module,is currently scheduled for 2018,but would be delayed to 2019,if a NASA study now underway recommends making EM-1 a crewed mission.*
This burst of energy from NASA no doubt reflects the strong commitment of President Donald Trump to the agency and America's continued leadership in aerospace.

Understanding NASA's Journey to Mars - what to expect and when

NASA'S Journey to Mars consists of three phases,and two of them have already begun.The first phase is the Earth Reliant.It runs from today to the mid-2020s,and is centered on the International Space Station,which operates through 2024.The ISS,NASA says,is a world-class test bed for the technologies and communications systems needed for human missions to deep space.The astronauts are ascertaining what it takes to live and work in space for extended periods.In particular,NASA wants to know how the body changes over time in the harsh environment of space and how to protect astronaut health.*
Besides this quest for knowledge,we are working with our commercial crew and cargo partners on providing access to Low Earth Orbit and eventually stimulate new economic activity,allowing NASA to continue using the station while preparing for deep space missions.*
The second phase,Proving Ground,runs from 2018-30.There will be regular crewed missions and spacewalks in cislunar space,or lunar orbit.Their goal is to verify deep space habitation.Three of these crewed cislunar missions have been mentioned so far.Before them,in November 2018,the uncrewed Exploration Mission-1 will go 40,000 miles beyond the Moon on an approximately three-week mission to test the new Space Launch System rocket and European Service Module for the Orion spacecraft.In the 2021-23 time frame,EM-1 will be basically replicated by the first crewed mission of the Orion programme,EM-2,which will set a new record for distance traveled from Earth on a human spaceflight.There will also be an Asteroid Redirect Mission culminating in the mid-2020s that will test deep spacewalking and sampling techniques;along with Solar Electric Propulsion,which will be used to deliver substantial cargo for human missions to Mars;and a planetary security manoeuvre,the gravity tractor experiment,that will test a technique which may be able to deflect an asteroid getting too close to Earth.Finally in the 2020s will be a year-long mission to validate readiness for the Mars mission.*
The third phase of the Journey to Mars plan is the Earth Independent,running from now to the early 2030s.Mars rovers are already studying potential Exploration Zones for compelling scientific research sites and resources our astronauts could possibly use.The next rover goes up in 2020;a round-trip robotic sample return mission is planned for the late 2020s.A mission to send humans into Low Mars Orbit is envisioned for the early 2030s.
This phase will test the entry,descent and landing techniques needed to get humans to the surface of the red planet and study what's needed for in-situ resource utilisation.NASA is confident we are well on the way to getting there,landing there,and living there.

NASA Identifies Target Asteroid for Redirect Mission - intensive planning for forays into deep space

In a draft report dated 23 November 2015,NASA's Formulation Assessment and Support Team for the Asteroid Redirect Mission,a group of government and academic solar system exploration experts that provide timely inputs for mission requirement formulation,revealed that NASA has identified a reference target asteroid for the mission.It is known as Near Earth Asteroid 2008 EV5 (the 5 is formally rendered as a subscript numeral).Final target selection will be made approximately a year before launch.2008 EV5 provides a valid target that can be used to help with formulation and development efforts,so was the main NEA around which the FAST group focused its attention.2008 EV5 is about 400 meters in diameter and has a reflectance spectrum consistent with carbonaceous chondrite meteorites (meteorites are small pieces of asteroids or comets that enter the atmosphere and reach Earth's surface).
It is possible to identify 6 distinct candidate 10-m scale boulders for collection on 2008 EV5's surface by visual inspection of radar images.There are likely millions of 10-cm scale cobbles on 2008 EV5,and 3,000 1-5m boulders would be expected on the surface of 2008 EV5.One of the candidate boulders is located near the South Pole of the asteroid;the location of the others is uncertain at this time.
Radar observations show that 2008 EV5 has a top-like shape with an equatorial bulge.
Initial dynamic modeling indicates that 2008 EV5 began its existence as part of a much larger body in the Asteroid Belt (likely diameter greater than 100 km) and migrated inward across the inner main belt over many millions of years until it reached a planetary gravitational resonance that drove it into the NEA population.Besides robotic boulder collection,2008 EV5 will be used for an enhanced gravity tractor asteroid deflection demonstration (Earth defence).*
The ARM has two segments:the Asteroid Redirect Robotic Mission and the Asteroid Redirect Crew Mission.The ARRM mission is planned for an end of 2020 launch.The Solar Electric Propulsion-powered robotic spacecraft will intercept the asteroid,land on it and retrieve a boulder with its robotic arm,then fly the boulder to a Selenocentric Distant Retrogade Orbit at a height of 45,000 km above the Moon.In late 2025,the Orion spacecraft will be launched on the Space Launch System rocket to carry out the Asteroid Redirect Crew Mission and will rendezvous and dock with the robotic spacecraft.The 180-day crewed mission will entail spacewalking astronauts exploring the redirected boulder, collecting and packing samples of the boulder for return to earth.That high above the Moon,they will be farther out in space than any previous astronauts and,far from the Earth's protective Van Allen Belts,exposed to higher levels of solar and cosmic radiation,but have new spacesuits and spacecraft shielding to deal with that.Psychologically,they may be affected by how distant Earth will be-small enough to cover it with your thumb.*
Before all this,an uncrewed Orion mission,Exploration Mission-1,will be launched to the Moon on the SLS in 2018;and then the first Orion crewed mission,EM-2,to a lunar orbit.NASA's Orion program is an incremental deep space exploration process beginning in cislunar space and building to journeys to the Martian system,including the Martian moons Phobos and Deimos as well as Mars itself.The agency is welcoming international participation along the lines of the International Space Station,which is currently researching and testing solutions to the challenges posed by deep space exploration.

New NASA Report Clarifies the Mission To Mars

NASA has released an intricate roadmap of its central manned spaceflight mission:"NASA's Journey To Mars:Pioneering Next Steps in Space Exploration."According to NASA Administrator General Charles Bolden,US Marine Corps Retired,the report,which was reviewed by this blog,consists of additional details about our journey to Mars and how we are aligning all of our work in support of this goal.The plan presents three thresholds of challenges,each more difficult than the last as the distance from Earth increases:
1.Earth Reliant Exploration is centered on the International Space Station,where the world class microgravity laboratory is testing technologies and advancing human health and performance research that will enable deep space,long duration missions.
2.Proving Ground:NASA will learn to conduct complex operations in a deep space environment that is just days from Earth.Primarily,this means cislunar space,or that volume of space which is around the Moon.Cislunar space features multiple possible staging orbits for future deep space missions.In this phase,NASA will advance and validate capabilities needed for humans living and working at vast distances from Earth,such as at Mars.This phase is linked to the upcoming Orion Exploration Mission flights and the Asteroid Redirect Mission.
3.The Earth Independent threshold builds on the previous two to enable Mars missions,possibly to low-Mars orbit or one of the Martian moons before an eventual landing on Mars.*
This strategy charts a course toward horizon goals,while delivering near-term benefits and defining a resilient architecture that can accommodate budgetary changes;political priorities;new scientific discoveries;technological breakthroughs;and evolving partnerships,said Dr.William Gerstenmeier,NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations.The ultimate goal is enabling humans to thrive beyond Earth for extended periods of time,leading to a substantial presence in deep space.The near-term missions have a cadence of compelling and integrated human and robotic missions providing for an incremental buildup of capabilities for more complex missions over time.At least one crewed mission per year is envisioned for the Proving Ground,cislunar phase.
The Proving Ground phase begins in 2018 with Exploration Mission 1,the first integrated test of the new Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft,including the SLS launch performance;Orion's heat shield performance following return from deep space;and deep space navigation.
Exploration Mission 2 will be the first crewed mission for Orion,featuring the addition of the Exploration Upper Stage and the possibility of co-manifested payloads within the EUS-to-Orion launch vehicle adapter,such as pressurised modules for habitability.*
Beyond these initial cislunar missions,the Asteroid Redirect Mission introduces Solar Electric Propulsion,which utilises energy from the sun to accelerate ionised propellant to very high speeds,to provide thrust for months or years-transporting big loads with far less propellant than with chemical propellant,extending the deep space exploration capabilities critical for Mars and beyond.
Deep space acronyms mentioned in the report include EDL-Entry,Descent and Landing;ISRU-Insitu Resource Utilisation;SEP-Solar Electric Propulsion;EUS-Exploration Upper Stage;and ECLSS-Environmental Control and Life Support Systems.NASA emphasises that its Mission to Mars is for all of humanity and international in character, relying heavily on partners from the ISS missions and more,as well as space industry partners.For example,the European Space Agency is providing the test Service Module that is stacked beneath the Orion spacecraft.