SLS / Orion

NASA’s Space Poop Challenge

NASA’s Space Poop Challenge

Two inextricably linked stories for the reader to digest: Space Food Bars Will Keep Orion Weight Off and Crew Weight On “Because flights to deep space will not rely on resupply spacecraft to deliver what astronauts need and dispose of trash, the Orion crew will have to take everything they need with them and bring […]

Posted in: NASA, SLS / Orion
NASA RFI Suggests Support for Orion May Be Slipping

NASA RFI Suggests Support for Orion May Be Slipping

As it prepares for possible changes to U.S. space policy with the election of a new president, NASA has quietly opened the door to what could be a major revision to its flagship Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft. The story, written at Ars Technica by veteran space reporter Eric Berger, concerns a Request for […]

Posted in: NASA, SLS / Orion
With Trump Victory, Is The Moon Rising In A Big Way?

With Trump Victory, Is The Moon Rising In A Big Way?

Donald Trump’s surprise victory in the U.S. presidential election has raised a number of interesting questions regarding what substantive changes, if any, may be coming in the way of American space policy. Whereas Hillary Clinton’s transition team was reportedly prepared to show up at NASA headquarters when the doors opened the morning after her victory, […]

Posted in: NASA, SLS / Orion
SLS Solid Rocket Booster Tested in Utah

SLS Solid Rocket Booster Tested in Utah

Press Release from NASA.Gov June 28, 2016 RELEASE 16-069 NASA’s Space Launch System Booster Passes Major Milestone on Journey to Mars A booster for the most powerful rocket in the world, NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), successfully fired up Tuesday for its second qualification ground test at Orbital ATK’s test facilities in Promontory, Utah. This […]

Posted in: NASA, SLS / Orion
The Zombie Rocket Which Cannot Die: Bolden Says SLS/Orion “Protected” From Next President

The Zombie Rocket Which Cannot Die: Bolden Says SLS/Orion “Protected” From Next President

And so it has come to this. From AL.com: NASA administrator says Space Launch System ‘protected’ against next president “The Space Launch System (SLS) being developed by NASA in Alabama is “a protected program” the next president won’t be able to cancel, NASA Administrator Charles Bolden Jr. said Friday in Huntsville. “It’s a protected program […]

Posted in: SLS / Orion
SLS, Falcon Heavy and Rockets “Worthy of a Great Nation” : Time for an Independent Review

SLS, Falcon Heavy and Rockets “Worthy of a Great Nation” : Time for an Independent Review

There is an interesting division taking place in the media as it relates to how NASA and the Space Launch System are being covered.  On the one hand, NASA itself has done an excellent, if not overly enthusiastic job of promoting SLS/Orion and the “Journey to Mars” despite the fact that there is no such […]

Posted in: SLS / Orion, SpaceX
For SLS and Orion, 2016 Election Could Be a Bad Moon Rising

For SLS and Orion, 2016 Election Could Be a Bad Moon Rising

As the Democratic and Republican parties close in on the selection of their respective nominees for the US 2016 Presidential election, former NASA Deputy Administrator Lori Garver is the name most frequently cited as a leading candidate to head America’s space agency if Hillary Clinton wins the election. A champion of the COTS and Commercial […]

Posted in: SLS / Orion
NASA OIG Unhappy With SLS/Orion Spaceport Command and Control Systems

NASA OIG Unhappy With SLS/Orion Spaceport Command and Control Systems

The stack of reports critical of various aspects of NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft grew a little taller today. NASA’s Office of Inspector General has released a rather unflattering audit regarding the Spaceport Command and Control (SCCS) for SLS & Orion. The system, which will be used to control the network of ground […]

Posted in: SLS / Orion
Defending SLS Takes a Curious Historical Turn

Defending SLS Takes a Curious Historical Turn

In 2013, the Houston Chronicle’s Eric Berger conducted a remarkable interview with retired NASA manager Christopher Kraft, the engineer who was the agency’s first manned spaceflight director, and who played a critical role in designing each of the boosters which elevated the United States from sub-orbital flight to the surface of the Moon in less than […]

Posted in: SLS / Orion
Expending Reusable Engines: A Good Thing?

Expending Reusable Engines: A Good Thing?

There were three newsworthy developments regarding reusable engines this week. First, SpaceX announced something close to firm pricing regarding what flights aboard a Falcon 9-R might cost in the near future. For the record, the reduction, enabled by 9 reusable Merlin 1-d engines that power the vehicle’s first stage, is 30% off the already low […]

Posted in: SLS / Orion
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