Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, recently completed a test fire campaign of a 14-inch hybrid rocket motor. The rocket motor ignites using both solid fuel and a stream of gaseous oxygen to create a powerful stream of rocket exhaust. Data from the test campaign will help teams prepare for future flight conditions when commercial human landing systems, provided by SpaceX and Blue Origin, touch down on the Moon for crewed Artemis missions.
The hybrid motor was test fired 30 times to ensure it will reliably ignite in preparation for testing later this year at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. This video shows the 28th test, conducted in February, during which the 3D-printed motor fired for six seconds.
​Technicians use massive cranes inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA Kennedy’s Space Center in Florida to lift the fully assembled SLS (Space Launch System) core stage vertically 225-feet above the ground from High Bay 2 to a horizontal position in the facility’s transfer aisle. In the transfer aisle, technicians conducted final preparations of the core stage before it was integrated with the completed twin solid rocket booster segments. NASA is implementing a more efficient stacking process to support future missions to the Moon beginning with the Artemis II test flight.
Artemis II is a scheduled mission of the NASA-led Artemis program. It will use the second launch of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and include the first crewed mission of the Orion spacecraft. The mission is scheduled to take place no earlier than April 2026. Four astronauts will perform a flyby of the Moon and return to Earth, becoming the first crew to travel beyond low Earth orbit since Apollo 17 in 1972. Artemis II will be the first crewed launch from Launch Complex 39B of the Kennedy Space Center since STS-116 in 2006.
The Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) is an unpressurized rover being developed for NASA that astronauts can drive on the Moon while wearing their spacesuits. The development of the LTV is a part of NASA’s Artemis Program, which involves returning astronauts to the Moon, specifically the lunar south pole, by 2026, but the LTV will not fly until Artemis V in 2030 at the earliest. The LTV will be the first crewed lunar rover developed by NASA since the Lunar Roving Vehicle used during the Apollo program.
On February 6, 2020, NASA issued a request, seeking industry feedback on relevant state-of-the-art commercial technologies and acquisition strategies for a new Lunar Terrain Vehicle. NASA also stated in the request that they want the new LTV to draw on recent innovations in electric vehicle energy storage and management, autonomous driving, and extreme environment resistance.”
On August 31, 2021, NASA released another request to private companies for additional input on approaches and solutions for a vehicle to transport Artemis astronauts around the lunar south pole. NASA also asked if American companies are interested in providing the LTV as a commercial service, or as a product NASA would purchase and own.
On November 2, 2022, NASA issued a draft request for proposals (RFP) for the LTV as a service (LTVS). The draft was open for feedback until December 1, with a planned final RFP release date of on or about February 8, 2023, a proposals due date approximately 30 days later, and an anticipated contract award date of on or about July 19.
On January 27, 2023, NASA published an update stating that it anticipated that the LTVS final RFP release will be delayed until no later than May 26. On May 26, NASA released its services request for the Lunar Terrain Vehicle, with proposals due on July 10 and a contract award scheduled for November. On October 30, NASA delayed the award of the contract to March 31, 2024, to allow additional time to evaluate proposals.
On April 3, 2024, NASA announced that Intuitive Machines, Lunar Outpost and Venturi Astrolab are the three companies developing the LTV as part of a 12-month feasibility and demo phase. A source selection statement by NASA provided further details on cost and overall feasibility on 9 April, 2024. The Intuitive Machines proposal was for $1.692 billion, Lunar Outpost for $1.727 billion and Astrolab for $1.928 billion to develop the vehicle.
Teams at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, have completed applying a spray-on foam insulation to the launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) for the Artemis III mission. The LVSA is a cone-shaped piece of hardware that connects the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s upper and lower stages and partially encloses the engine of the interim cryogenic propulsion stage. The spray-on foam insulation is a type of thermal protection system that is used to protect the Moon rocket’s hardware from the extreme temperatures, forces, and sounds it’ll experience during launch and ascent. Unlike other parts of the mega rocket, the thermal protection system for the LVSA is applied entirely by hand using a tool similar to a spray gun. It is the largest piece of SLS hardware to be hand sprayed.
The Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment, or CAPSTONE, will be the first spacecraft to fly a unique orbit around the Moon intended for NASA’s future Artemis lunar outpost Gateway. Its six-month mission will help launch a new era of deep space exploration.
Multiple partner businesses contributed to CAPSTONE with support from NASA’s small business programs. The spacecraft was built and tested by Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems, Inc., a Terran Orbital Corporation, operated and managed by Advanced Space, and will be launched by Rocket Lab USA, Inc.
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