OrbitalHub

Wikipedia dicit:

Dragon 2 is a reusable spacecraft developed and manufactured by U.S. aerospace manufacturer SpaceX, intended as the successor to the Dragon cargo spacecraft. The spacecraft launches atop a Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket and return via ocean splashdown. In comparison to Dragon, Dragon 2 has larger windows, new flight computers and avionics, redesigned solar arrays, and a modified outer mold line.

The spacecraft is planned to have two variants – Crew Dragon, a human-rated capsule capable of carrying up to seven astronauts, and Cargo Dragon, an updated replacement for the original Dragon. Cargo Dragon capsules are repurposed flown Crew Dragon capsules. Crew Dragon is equipped with an integrated launch escape system in a set of four side-mounted thruster pods with two SuperDraco engines each. Crew Dragon has been contracted to supply the International Space Station (ISS) with crew under the Commercial Crew Program, with the initial award occurring in October 2014 alongside Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner.

Video Credit: SpaceX

Wikipedia dicit:

The Artemis program is an ongoing crewed spaceflight program carried out by NASA, U.S. commercial spaceflight companies, and international partners such as ESA, with the goal of landing “the first woman and the next man” on the lunar south pole region by 2024. Artemis would be the first step towards the long-term goal of establishing a sustainable presence on the Moon, laying the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy, and eventually sending humans to Mars.

In 2017, the lunar campaign was authorized by Space Policy Directive 1, utilizing various ongoing spacecraft programs such as Orion, the Lunar Orbital Platform-Gateway space station, Commercial Lunar Payload Services, and a yet-to-be-developed crewed lander. The Space Launch System will serve as the primary launch vehicle for Orion, while commercial launch vehicles are planned for use to launch various other elements of the campaign. NASA requested $1.6 billion in additional funding for Artemis for fiscal year 2020, and full funding has yet to be approved by Congress.

Video Credit: NASA

NASA dicit:

During the successful test of Orion’s launch abort system, known as Ascent Abort-2, a camera mounted on a ring connecting the crew module and launch abort system to its booster captured a view of Orion escaping the booster. After the booster separated, its motor continued to burn for several seconds and maintained stability, which allowed for a clear, mid-air view of the Orion elements continuing to execute the abort test. About 27 seconds after the abort is initiated and the Orion elements separate from the booster, the launch abort system’s jettison motor is seen firing, releasing the capsule.

The July 2 test demonstrated the Orion’s launch abort system works during high-stress aerodynamic conditions and can pull the capsule to safety if an emergency ever arises during launch. The test was a critical milestone needed to help pave the way for Artemis missions with astronauts.

Video Credit: NASA Johnson

NASA dicit:

A team of engineers at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California, install the legs and wheels — otherwise known as the mobility suspension — on the Mars 2020 rover. The imagery for this accelerated time-lapse was taken on June 13, 2019, from a camera above the Spacecraft Assembly Facility’s High Bay 1 clean room.

Video Credit: NASA JPL

NASA dicit:

A successful water flow test with the mobile launcher at Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39B on July 2, 2019, put NASA one step closer to returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, with the goal of sending humans to Mars. It was the first of nine tests to verify the sound suppression system is ready for launch of NASA’s Space Launch System for the first Artemis mission.

Approximately 450,000 gallons of water was released from an elevated water tank and distributed through large diameter piping and valves to water nozzles located in the Pad B flame deflector, the mobile launcher flame hole and on the launcher’s blast deck in just 45 seconds. That’s enough water to fill 45 residential swimming pools! The system reached a peak flow rate of 1.1 million gallons per minute.

Video Credit: NASA Kennedy

NASA dicit:

NASA is going to the Moon and on to Mars, in a measured, sustainable way. Working with U.S. companies and international partners, NASA will push the boundaries of human exploration forward to the Moon. NASA is working to establish a permanent human presence on the Moon within the next decade to uncover new scientific discoveries and lay the foundation for private companies to build a lunar economy.

The lunar surface will serve as a crucial training ground and technology demonstration test site where we will prepare for future human missions to Mars and other destinations. Through an innovative combination of missions involving commercial and international partners, robotic lunar surface missions will begin as early as 2020, focus on scientific exploration of lunar resources, and prepare the lunar surface for a sustained human presence.

Video Credit: NASA