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Go to Blogger edit html and find these sentences.Now replace these sentences with your own descriptions.
Go to Blogger edit html and find these sentences.Now replace these sentences with your own descriptions.
Go to Blogger edit html and find these sentences.Now replace these sentences with your own descriptions.
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Watching from Cape Canaveral, Florida, Carpenter’s wife, Rene, and their four children abandoned the television set to watch their husband and father become the fourth American astronaut to travel into space. Leroy Gordon Cooper, Jr.,the sixth American astronaut, finally launched on May 15, 1963.Carpenter, the fourth American astronaut, was finally picked up by the USS Intrepid.
[…] engine reignited 45 minutes later to complete the trans-Jovian injection maneuver. During the preceding Crew-9 mission, an identical Falcon 9 upper stage had failed to deorbit in its intended disposal area during the […]
I will be 70 years old when this spacecraft reaches Europa. Great mission.
I’ll be 71 years old when Clipper reaches Europa. I hope both of our systems will be in good working order. I’m definitely excited about this one.
To all of the staff, engineers, developers,scientists, and builders of the Europa Clipper spacecraft and Space X employees and staff of Falcon Heavy rocket build preparation and launch teams….Congratulations to all of you on a successful and important contribution to the exploration of space….be very proud and know you are part of this great culture of explorers in our time!
[…] reignited 45 minutes later to complete the trans-Jovian injection maneuver. During the preceding Crew-9 mission, an identical Falcon 9 upper stage had failed to deorbit in its intended disposal area during the […]
NASA's massive Europa Clipper spacecraft lifted off atop a Falcon Heavy rocket on Monday. It is one of the most significant interplanetary missions in a generation. Learn more about its history and its objectives in this mission overview.
The post Europa Clipper Sets Sail for Jupiter’s Most Tantalizing Moon first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] For now, the plan to land a Starship on the Moon or Mars relies on sending several more Starships to refuel the one left in orbit. Depending on the Starship's actual payload, this means that between 15-30 launches in total would actually be required to bring one Starship to …. […]
[…] a textbook mission. That all began to change on June 5th when Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched into orbit on the inaugural crewed flight of the Boeing Starliner. “The expectation from the media should not be perfection,” Wilmore said before the launch. […]
[…] and multiple Technical Authorities selected from across NASA’s ten field centers. Initially, NASA and Boeing were confident that the CFT duo would return to Earth inside their original […]
[…] issues prompted NASA to assemble a large team of engineers with diverse backgrounds to analyze Starliner’s performance in detail once Wilmore and Williams managed to dock their capsule to the ISS. The tiger team […]
[…] all began to change on June 5th when Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams launched into orbit on the inaugural crewed flight of the Boeing Starliner. “The expectation from the media should not be perfection,” Wilmore said […]
Nick Hague, a veteran of two spaceflights - including a dramatic launch abort in 2018 - is leading one of the most important crewed missions of the Dragon era. Crew-9 will retrieve the crew of the Boeing Starliner and return them safely to Earth. Learn more about Hague and his mission in this article.
The post Nick Hague Lifts Off on Crew-9 Rescue Mission first appeared on AmericaSpace.
In reply to Alex Longo.
Thank you for the response. All the best to you, Ben, and the rest of the AS family. I’ll be looking forward to the new content.
In reply to Donald.
Hi Donald,
Thank you for your thoughtful note. I am glad that you appreciate our stories so much. I will be sure to pass your comment along to the rest of the team.
We are still here, but in a reduced capacity for the moment. Our senior writer, Ben Evans, recently left to pursue other opportunities. Ben accounted for ~90% of our articles and played a huge role in making the site a source of regular news. I still plan to write occasional stories, as will our owner and our senior photographer, but they will be more sporadic and focussed on in-depth coverage which you can’t find anywhere else. I should also note that we are all unpaid volunteers, so writing is a distant third priority behind work and family (it takes 6+ hours to do a feature story). In my case, I am currently working on four grant proposals and my Master’s thesis, hence the recent gap in publications.
Best regards,
Alex
What has happened to AmericaSpace?
No posts in a month.
I am sad. 🙁
This is power, this is the future
[…] to study. The Lunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) found that meteorite impacts2 and solar wind interactions2 shape its atmosphere. During meteor showers, […]
Yea.. Starship is failing. I wonder how much longer SpaceX will keep this illusion going? I expect that in less than two years, Elon Musk will blame NASA and try to back out of the Artemis program. If he holds a press conference and owns up to his WILDLY OVER OPTIMISTIC Starship failure I will be shocked. But .. I’m guessing he’s gonna just Blame NASA for not giving him enough money.
If ULA doesn’t want others photographers— then AmericaSpace should have text only ULA updates
[…] know that USSF-51 is likely not a spy satellite. ULA has launched both Orion signals intelligence spacecraftand KENNAN High-Resolution Imaging Missions of the Pastbut these launches typically receive National […]
Vulcan is not “partly reusable” – It was and is fully expended.
Later versions of Vulcan may include SMART to recover the engine module (with its 2 BE-4 engines), but that could be years away.
[…] know that USSF-51 is likely not a spy satellite. ULA has launched both Orion signal intelligence spacecraftand KENNAN high-resolution imaging missions in the past, but these launches are typically given […]
ULA's Atlas V rocket completed its final mission for the United States Space Force with a launch at dawn. AmericaSpace presents details on the launch and photos from our remote cameras.
The post Atlas V Completes its Final Space Force Mission first appeared on AmericaSpace.
Am i missing something important here? How is it possible that nasa made it to the moon without 19 rocket launches of fuel? This seems like good evidence for Nasa being deceitful freemason satan worshippers
[…] days ago, the spaceflight world was shocked when a Falcon 9 unexpectedly failed during the Starlink 9-3 mission. The second stage of the rocket was unable to place its Starlink satellites into a stable orbit […]
[…] days ago, the spaceflight world was shocked when a Falcon 9 unexpectedly failed during the Starlink 9-3 mission. The second stage of the rocket was unable to place its Starlink satellites into a stable orbit […]
SpaceX's workhorse Falcon 9 rocket returned to operational service today with a successful launch from Florida. A mishap investigation resulted in the removal of a vulnerable liquid oxygen pressure sensor.
The post Falcon 9 Rapidly Returns to Flight first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] orange scenario has been ready for quite some time now. Previously reported by AmericaSpace's Alex Longo, NASA put the core stage hardware and software through a series of integrated functional tests last […]
[…] orange stage has been ready for quite some time. As reported previously by AmericaSpace’s Alex Longo, NASA put the core stage hardware and software through a series of Integrated Functional Tests last […]
[…] orange stage has been ready for quite some time. As reported previously by AmericaSpace’s Alex Longo, NASA put the core stage hardware and software through a series of Integrated Functional Tests last […]
The enormous 212 ft-tall Space Launch System (SLS) core stage for Artemis-2 has arrived at Kennedy Space Center, following a 900-mile trip on a barge from Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where it was made and assembled. It’s a major milestone in the processing flow for Artemis-2, which will fly the first humans back […]
The post Artemis-2 Core Stage Arrives at Kennedy Space Center first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] which could not be satisfied with preexisting solutions. Along with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and ULA’s Atlas V, the SLS is one of the only American rockets with sufficient reliability to be human-rated. At […]
[…] which could not be satisfied with preexisting solutions. Along with SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and ULA’s Atlas V, the SLS is one of the only American rockets with sufficient reliability to be human-rated. At […]
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[…] the intervening eight years, SpaceX’s workhorse launch vehicle enjoyed a remarkable run of 325 consecutive successful launches. In addition, SpaceX launched ten Falcon Heavies, which are derived from the Falcon 9, during […]
In reply to Alex Longo.
Hi Alex, Yes – very difficult to test when every test takes 2 years and costs $4B.
Since NASA’s models of Avcoat did not predict the spallation, it’s hard to see how they can predict the effect of a change in reentry trajectory. They may come up with a theory of Avcoat spallation but it will be hard to validate their revised model.
A relatively cheap test would be to ask SpaceX to use a Falcon Heavy to send a Dragon capsule on a trajectory for a high speed reentry (like the original test of Orion done with a Delta IV Heavy) – so we can see how PICA-X stands up to lunar return conditions. Perhaps replace half the Dragon heatshield with Avcoat blocks to get a fair comparison.
From what little NASA and GAO have revealed, it looks like Orion’s Avcoat is unpredictable and likely unsafe.
Orion itself is very poor value – perhaps this is the time to shelve it and plan to send early Artemis crew up on Dragon (or Atlas V) to transfer to Starship with extra ECLSS capacity to cover LEO to lunar as well. But NASA will plough on with Orion & SLS because that is what Congress wants & funds.
[…] the intervening eight years, SpaceX’s workhorse launch vehicle enjoyed a remarkable run of 325 consecutive successful launches. In addition, SpaceX launched ten Falcon Heavies, which are derived from the Falcon […]
In reply to Alex Longo.
Thanks Alex. Interesting/surprising that when NASA decided to switch to blocks (to save time or cost) they didn’t switch to a material (PICA) that was known to work as blocks. Since/if this is the only flight test of Avcoat blocks, and it failed, it’s hard to see how they can come up with a flight rational to fly crew in the next Orion with the same heatshield design as this one that spalled so badly.
In reply to Soap.
Yes, it seems like they are getting close to determining the root cause, if they are not at that point already. Once they understand the spallation, the next step is determining flight rationale – in other words, whether they need to modify the reentry trajectory or the heat shield itself in order to fly Artemis 2 safely. The timeline for drawing those conclusions is currently unknown.
Have you heard from NASA that we might not actually hear what those results are publicly until the fall?
The latest NASA statement was that the results of the investigation should be published some time this summer once the IRT established in May completes their review.
Reid Wiseman said about two weeks ago that the investigation team presented their results and reccomendations to Orion program managers at the end of June so the IRT seems like the only the thing left before this is closed out.
[…] Space Coast was treated to a stunning sight on Tuesday As SpaceX's tenth Falcon Heavy lifted off from Launch Complex 39AAboard the rocket was NASA’s GOES-U satellite, which will continue a six-decade legacy of […]
[…] morning’s mission was B1062, which this year alone became the first Falcon 9 booster to reach a 20th launch in April and a 21st last month. She entered service back in November 2020 to lift the fourth Block […]
[…] SpaceX's 68th launch of the year, counting 67 “single-stick” Falcon 9 missions. and last week's unveiling of the three-barreled Falcon Heavy with The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) newest geostationary […]
[…] 4, 1982, Mattingly and Hartsfield were in the process of packing away their research equipment. After seven days in orbit aboard the ColumbiaThe STS-4 mission had been a huge success, the last of four shuttle orbital flight tests (OFTs). […]
[…] Americans have been in space on Independence Day than at any other time since STS-121 in July 2006. And with human-carrying Artemis missions on the horizon, it cannot be too many more years before America’s day of reflection is celebrated from the […]
[…] 4 July 1982, Mattingly and Hartsfield were in the process of packing away their research hardware after seven days in orbit aboard Columbia. STS-4 had been a highly successful mission, the last of four Orbital Flight Tests (OFTs) of the […]
Had this been a Buran type Shuttle-2, it could probably have been turned around faster.
[…] flight marked SpaceX’s 68th launch of the year—counting 67 “single-stick” Falcon 9 missions and last week’s outing of the triple-barreled Falcon Heavy with the latest Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite (GOES-U) for the National Oceanic […]
[…] Wednesday’s just-past-dawn mission will be flown by none other than B1073, the selfsame booster which dramatically aborted on the pad at T-0 on 14 June, after previously suffering a pair of back-to-back weather delays. SpaceX teams elected to temporarily stand her down and reassigned another booster in her stead. […]
[…] Wednesday’s just-past-dawn mission will be flown by none other than B1073, the selfsame booster which dramatically aborted on the pad at T-0 on 14 June, after previously suffering a pair of back-to-back weather delays. SpaceX teams elected to temporarily stand her down and reassigned another booster in her stead. […]
@SpaceX & @ULALaunch have announced a pair of missions to kick off and close out July, including the return of Mighty Atlas.
The post SpaceX, ULA Schedule Missions for Start, End of July first appeared on AmericaSpace.
In reply to Rod Price.
Hi Rod,
I didn’t want to openly speculate in the article, but yes, the correlation between the boundaries of the blocks and the areas which lost material is interesting. During reentry, the greatest thermal and mechanical stresses should be found at the boundaries between two different components or types of material. I looked through archival photos of the Apollo Command Modules while doing research for this article. The spallation on the CM heat shields was much more limited than on Orion, but it was present. It was restricted to the edges of the heat shield and the areas surrounding the bolts which connected the CM to the Service Module (SM), which supports your hypothesis.
Avcoat was used for the Apollo heat shield. However, the Apollo heat shield was a monolithic (single-piece) component with a honeycomb-like structure. Each cell in the honeycomb was filled in by hand, which was a time-consuming process. When NASA tried to scale up this design for the EFT-1 Orion test flight in 2014, they learned that the larger Orion heat shield is prone to cracking as the Avcoat, which is injected into honeycomb cells as a viscous putty, cures. That prompted them to switch to the block design.
When NASA was designing Orion, they considered an alternative to Avcoat called PICA, which was used for the Perseverance, Curiosity, and Crew Dragon heat shields. They rejected PICA because it would have required a block design and because there were no proven gap fillers to seal the voids between the blocks. Presumably, they had to develop a gap filler when they switched to blocks of Avcoat, but designing a segmented heat shield is always difficult and they could have encountered unexpected behavior. To know for certain, we will need to wait until NASA releases the results of the heat shield investigation, which should happen this fall.
Best regards,
Alex
The major spallation on the Artemis-1 Orion heatshield always intersects a block boundary. Suggesting that the spallation originates from the block joins.
Have Avocet blocks been used as a heat shield before ?
OTD in 1997, Columbia launched STS-94, marking the only time that the exact same crew flew the exact same mission on two occasions.
The post Earth to Space in 84 Days: Remembering Columbia’s Back-to-Back 1997 Missions first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] satellites, almost 6,700 of which have been deployed via 179 Falcon 9 launches between May 2019 and last week, Starshield is described as a purpose-built constellation to afford new “disruptive” military […]
[…] satellites, almost 6,700 of which have been deployed via 179 Falcon 9 launches between May 2019 and last week, Starshield is described as a purpose-built constellation to afford new “disruptive” military […]
[…] Tuesday, Florida’s Space Coast was treated to a stunning sight when SpaceX’s tenth Falcon Heavy lifted off of Launch Complex 39A. Onboard the rocket was NASA’s GOES-U satellite, which will continue a six-decade legacy of […]
[…] And from January 2024, SpaceX has also flown multiple Starlinks “Direct to Cellular” to allow mobile network providers to offer “seamless global access to texting, calling and navigation” whether “on land, lakes or coastal waters”, without the need for change hardware or firmware. The Direct-to-Cell satellites, 13 of which will be aboard B1075 for tomorrow's Vandenberg launch, feature advanced modems that serve as cell towers in space to eliminate dead zones with network integration similar to the from a standard roaming partner, according to SpaceX. […]
[…] launches in May alone. Two boosters have reached life-leading 21st flights and in early March a pair of missions flew just one hour and 51 minutes apart, setting a new launch-to-launch turnaround […]
[…] The first part of AmericaSpace’s in-depth story on the Artemis 2 science campaign, covering the status of the project, its leaders, and its contributions to the future of lunar science, can be found HERE. […]
@SpaceX has flown its first 22x-launched Falcon 9, adding a new record to a record-breaking 2024.
The post SpaceX Launches First 22x-Flown Booster, Successfully Lands Offshore first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] The first part of AmericaSpace’s in-depth story on the Artemis 2 science campaign, covering the status of the project, its leaders, and its contributions to the future of lunar science, can be found HERE. […]
While the Artemis 2 mission will spend less than an hour in the vicinity of the Moon, it will still be able to tackle some novel science objectives. The crew will observe and photograph impact, volcanic, and tectonic features to learn more about our nearest neighbor's history and composition.
The post Colors, Impacts, and Volcanoes: Big Science from a Brief Lunar Flyby (Part 2) first appeared on AmericaSpace.
@SpaceX has flown its first Falcon Heavy of 2024, wrapping up its 65th total launch of the year.
The post Falcon Heavy Launches, GOES-U Heads for Geostationary Orbit first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] As previously outlined by AmericaSpace, the GOES-U launch has met with several weeks of delay, pushed from April into June following an oxidizer leak discovered earlier this year in the Falcon Heavy’s B1087 center core during tests at the SpaceX Rocket Development Facility in McGregor, Texas. Flying tonight’s mission, the high-energy requirements and direct insertion of GOES-U into a 22,300-mile (35,900-kilogram) Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) requires B1087 to be expended, while the B1072 and B1086 side-boosters will be recovered, returning to synchronized touchdowns on Landing Zones (LZ)-1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, about eight minutes and 11 seconds after liftoff. […]
[…] As previously outlined by AmericaSpace, the GOES-U launch has met with several weeks of delay, pushed from April into June following an oxidizer leak discovered earlier this year in the Falcon Heavy’s B1087 center core during tests at the SpaceX Rocket Development Facility in McGregor, Texas. Flying tonight’s mission, the high-energy requirements and direct insertion of GOES-U into a 22,300-mile (35,900-kilogram) Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO) requires B1087 to be expended, while the B1072 and B1086 side-boosters will be recovered, returning to synchronized touchdowns on Landing Zones (LZ)-1 and 2 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, about eight minutes and 11 seconds after liftoff. […]
[…] in the wings for almost two weeks, having originally been earmarked to ride the B1073 booster—already a 15-launch veteran—on 12 June. However, after falling foul to a pair of back-to-back weather scrubs, the mission […]
Teams continue to watch the weather as @SpaceX’s first Falcon Heavy of 2024 prepares to “GOES”.
The post Teams Watch Weather, As 2024’s First Falcon Heavy Prepares to Launch GOES-U Tomorrow first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] Despite iffy weather odds, SpaceX threaded the needle with a Starlink-laden mission out of storied Space Launch Complex (SLC)-40 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sunday evening, as it pushed the total number of these flat-packed internet communications satellites orbited since the start of 2024 to just past 1,000. The veteran B1078 booster—flying for her 11th time in a little more than a year—took flight at 1:15 p.m. EDT, kicking off the sixth Falcon 9 launch of June and beginning an anticipated three-day triple-header of missions that will also see another Starlink flight out of Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., and the return of the mammoth Falcon Heavy. […]
[…] Despite iffy weather odds, SpaceX threaded the needle with a Starlink-laden mission out of storied Space Launch Complex (SLC)-40 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Sunday evening, as it pushed the total number of these flat-packed internet communications satellites orbited since the start of 2024 to just past 1,000. The veteran B1078 booster—flying for her 11th time in a little more than a year—took flight at 1:15 p.m. EDT, kicking off the sixth Falcon 9 launch of June and beginning an anticipated three-day triple-header of missions that will also see another Starlink flight out of Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., and the return of the mammoth Falcon Heavy. […]
After a relatively quiet middle of the month, @SpaceX has dramatically picked up the pace with the first mission of an intended three-day triple-header of Falcon 9 launches.
The post SpaceX Launches June’s Sixth Falcon 9 Mission, Deploys 1,000th Starlink of Year first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] then, it has also raised seven batches of Starlink, a pair of O3b mPOWER broadband satellites and the Space Force's top-secret USSF-124 payload comprised of six discrete spacecraft—two hypersonic and ballistic tracking space sensor satellites (HBTSS) for the Missile Defense […]
[…] And from January 2024, SpaceX has also flown multiple Starlinks “Direct to Cellular” to allow mobile network providers to offer “seamless global access to texting, calling and navigation” whether “on land, lakes or coastal waters”, without the need for change hardware or firmware. The Direct-to-Cell satellites, 13 of which will be aboard B1075 for tomorrow's Vandenberg launch, feature advanced modems that serve as cell towers in space to eliminate dead zones with network integration similar to the from a standard roaming partner, according to SpaceX. […]
[…] And since January 2024, SpaceX has also flown multiple “Direct-to-Cell” Starlinks to permit mobile network providers to offer “seamless global access to texting, calling and browsing” whether “on land, lakes or coastal waters”, without the need to change hardware or firmware. The Direct-to-Cell satellites—13 of which will be aboard B1075 for tomorrow’s Vandenberg launch—possess advanced modems which serve as a cellphone tower in space to eliminate dead zones with network integration similar to a standard roaming partner, according to SpaceX. […]
[…] at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station during an “instantaneous” window at 10:52:15 a.m. EDT on 5 June. Wilmore and Williams docked Starliner at the forward port of the station’s Harmony node at 1:34 […]
@NASA_Astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Suni Williams will remain aboard @Space_Station until at least early July, following a joint NASA/Boeing statement on Friday.
The post CFT Starliner Departure Stands Down, Targets NET July Return to Earth first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] which are required for America’s return to the Moon on Artemis 3 were assessed by the GAO: the Orion crew capsule, the Starship lunar lander, and the AxEMU space suit. The agency’s concise summaries […]
[…] increased dramatically in 2024 alone, rising from a peak of nine launches per month by late 2023 to ten by the end of January, eleven and twelve by the end of March and thirteen and fourteen at the close of May, SpaceX has […]
[…] dramatically in 2024 alone, rising from a peak of nine launches per month by late 2023 to ten by the end of January, eleven and twelve by the end of March and thirteen and fourteen at the close of […]
After 10 launchless days, on Tuesday evening @SpaceX resumed Falcon 9 missions with a busy end of June ahead.
The post SpaceX Resumes Falcon 9 Flights, As June Launch Cadence Ramps Up first appeared on AmericaSpace.
OTD in 1983, Sally Ride became the first American woman in space. Four decades later, her legacy continues to grow.
The post Ride, Sally Ride: Remembering the Legacy of America’s First Woman in Space, OTD in 1983 first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] further 56 U.S. women to achieve Earth orbit between Judy Resnik in August 1984 and Jeanette Epps last March. But STS-7 cemented other records: it was the first time five humans launched together aboard the […]
[…] its fair share of political controversy. Aboard Mission 51G—the fourth of nine shuttle flights in the year prior to Challenger’s untimely loss—were NASA’s Dan Brandenstein, John “J.O.” Creighton, Shannon Lucid, John Fabian and Steve […]
[…] its fair share of political controversy. Aboard Mission 51G—the fourth of nine shuttle flights in the year prior to Challenger’s untimely loss—were NASA’s Dan Brandenstein, John “J.O.” Creighton, Shannon Lucid, John Fabian and Steve […]
OTD in 1985, shuttle Discovery launched with 3 nations and 3 satellites for the "Frog & Prince Flight".
The post Unhealthy Environment: Remembering the Shuttle’s “Frog and Prince” Mission, OTD in 1985 first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] As previously reported by AmericaSpace, Wilmore and Williams—both retired U.S. Navy captains, veteran ISS commanders and seasoned shuttle and Soyuz flyers—launched atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from storied Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station during an “instantaneous” window at 10:52:15 a.m. EDT on 5 June. It was the third attempt to get the long-delayed CFT mission airborne, following a scrub on the evening of 6 May due to a faulty oxygen relief valve on the Dual-Engine Centaur (DEC) upper stage and a Ground Support Equipment (GSE) issue that cropped up less than four minutes prior to liftoff on 1 June. […]
As @NASA_Astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Suni Williams pass the halfway point of their mission to @Space_Station, teams are eyeing a return to Earth NET 22 June.
The post CFT Mission Passes Halfway Point, Crew Targets NET 22 June Return first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] As previously reported by AmericaSpace, Wilmore and Williams—both retired U.S. Navy captains, veteran ISS commanders and seasoned shuttle and Soyuz flyers—launched atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket from storied Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station during an “instantaneous” window at 10:52:15 a.m. EDT on 5 June. It was the third attempt to get the long-delayed CFT mission airborne, following a scrub on the evening of 6 May due to a faulty oxygen relief valve on the Dual-Engine Centaur (DEC) upper stage and a Ground Support Equipment (GSE) issue that cropped up less than four minutes prior to liftoff on 1 June. […]
[…] 300 times. In April 2023, a Falcon Heavy flew for the first time with reused fairing halves and last february A Falcon 9 booster mirrored the fairing half for the record 15th […]
[…] at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Floridaat 10:16 p.m. EDT, when attention now turns to takeoff scheduled for noon on Wednesday of a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V from neighboring SLC-41 and the long-awaited Crew Flight […]
[…] crew egress systems. The concept originated with astronaut Gordon Cooper during the lead-up to Alan Shepard’s historic Mercury flight. As the chair of Project Mercury’s Emergency Egress Committee, Cooper was charged with […]
[…] addition, there was simply less urgency to complete the tests after NASA announced a 10-month delay to the Artemis 2 mission. In January, the historic flight was officially postponed to September of 2025 due to persistent […]
[…] opening launch attempt back on 6 May was scrubbed two hours prior to liftoff, by which time Wilmore and Williams were aboard Starliner […]
[…] at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, at 10:16 p.m. EDT, as attention now turns to Wednesday’s scheduled midday liftoff of a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V from neighboring SLC-41 and the long-awaited Crew Flight […]
space is going to be loading up with equipment you have blue orgen,space x,boeing all these systems coming into play and they all seem like they are going faster and faster and more companies wanting to put their systems up their too who knows how much nuke systems are headed our way when we piss someone off or some little piss country with money send or rains down on another country with christ knows what i sure do love space and exploring space i just fear that other are after other things its the easiest way for mass destruction just by the touch of a button
[…] has already been an impressive week for SpaceX, which last Saturday evening and late Tuesday flew a pair of Falcon 9 boosters—laden with dozens of Starlink low-orbiting […]
@SpaceX has launched the 4th flight of its integrated Starship/Super Heavy stack out of Boca Chica, targeting new incremental milestones as its test campaign continues.
The post SpaceX Flies IFT-4, Achieves Super Heavy, Starship Controlled Splashdowns first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] Wednesday’s launch proved third time lucky for Wilmore and Williams, who have been in dedicated training for CFT since June 2022. Their first launch attempt on the evening of 6 May was scrubbed less than two hours before T-0, due to a faulty oxygen relief valve on the Atlas V’s second stage. And a second try last Saturday also came disappointingly to nought due to a Ground Support Equipment (GSE) issue that cropped up less than four minutes prior to the scheduled liftoff. […]
[…] As previously detailed by AmericaSpace, CFT is the second step in the process of certifying Starliner as one of two Commercial Crew vehicles (alongside SpaceX) to deliver astronauts to and from the space station. Two Orbital Flight Tests (OFTs) in December 2019 and May 2022 occurred in an uncrewed capacity, but CFT marks the first occasion that a human crew is aboard to complete a full end-to-end demonstration of the spacecraft and its capabilities from launch, through orbital operations, re-entry and landing. […]
[…] opening launch attempt back on 6 May was scrubbed two hours prior to liftoff, by which time Wilmore and Williams were aboard Starliner […]
@NASA_Astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Suni Williams are primed for their third try to launch Starliner's long-awaited Crew Flight Test (CFT) on Wednesday.
The post CFT Starliner Counts Down to Wednesday Launch, Weather 90% Favorable first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] addition, there was simply less urgency to complete the tests after NASA announced a 10-month delay to the Artemis 2 mission. In January, the historic flight was officially postponed to September of 2025 due to persistent […]
The SLS Mobile Launcher is undergoing preflight testing for the crewed Artemis 2 mission. NASA recently tested its dynamic slidewire baskets, which will transport astronauts to safety in the event of an emergency on the launch pad. A video of the test is included.
The post NASA Tests Mobile Launcher’s Slidewire Baskets first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] on the Atlas V’s second stage. That valve was promptly replaced and tested, with early hopes to fly as soon as 17 May, but in the meantime a small helium leak was detected in Starliner’s service […]
OTD in 1965, America launched its longest manned spaceflight so far and completed the nation's first spacewalk.
The post “And These Two Ain’t Normal”: Remembering Gemini IV and America’s First Spacewalk, OTD in 1965 first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] agonizing launch delay comes almost a month since the first attempt to get CFT off the ground back on 6 May, when teams elected to stand down for what was hoped to be about a week to attend to a faulty […]
[…] agonizing launch delay comes almost a month since the first attempt to get CFT off the ground back on 6 May, when teams elected to stand down for what was hoped to be about a week to attend to a faulty […]
[…] pairs of crewed and uncrewed missions to the International Space Station (ISS) and spacecraft to explore Earth’s oceans and atmospheric health and the potential habitability of the […]
[…] Space Launch Complex (SLC)-40 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Veteran B1076—one of the earliest boosters to fly in 2024 and the first to reach a fifth launch since the start of the year—took flight at 10:37 p.m. EDT […]
@ULALaunch is targeting 12:25:40 p.m. EDT Saturday to launch @NASA_Astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Suni Williams to @Space_Station.
The post SpaceX Completes 14-Mission May, as CFT Starliner Prepares to Shine first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] United Launch Alliance (ULA) counts down to a revised No Before (NET) target of 4:43 pm EDT on Tuesday, May 21 For the long-awaited Crew Flight Test (CFT) of Boeing's CST-100 Starliner, NASA veterans Barry […]
[…] After being cleaned two hours before launch.—with Wilmore and Williams already aboard the Starliner—on the afternoon of May 6, following observations of a faulty oxygen relief valve in the twin-engine Centaur (DEC) upper stage of the Atlas V, the mission was realigned to fly as early as 6:16 pm EDT on the 17thbefore slipping again until no earlier than (NET) at 4:43 pm EDT on the 21st, due to a helium leak in the Starliner service module that was later traced to a flange on a single reaction control booster. When launch occurs, Wilmore and Williams will become the first humans to ride on a member of the “Mighty Atlas” rocket family since Project Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper. flew its day-long Faith 7 mission back in May 1963. […]
[…] Station, Fla., spend at least eight “docked” days aboard the International Space Station (ISS) conducting an extensive array of flight test objectives, then return to a parachute-and-airbag-aided landing on solid ground in the Western United […]
[…] With boosters initially certified by SpaceX for only 15 missions, the “active” status of two fleet leaders was suspended for six months in the first half of last year while recertification began to extend their operational life to 20 flights. Veteran B1058 logged a record-breaking sixteenth mission. last julyone seventeenth in Septemberone eighteenth in November and a nineteenth a few days before christmas. […]
[…] that he is targeting up to 144 flights before the New Year’s Eve bell tolls, a substantial uptick over 2023’s record-setting 96-launch year that demands a flight every 2.5 days or […]
[…] With boosters initially certified by SpaceX only for 15 missions, the “active” status of two fleet-leaders was paused for six months in the opening half of last year as recertification got underway to extend their operational lives to 20 flights. Veteran B1058 went on to record a record-smashing sixteenth mission last July, a seventeenth in September, an eighteenth in November and a nineteenth a few days before Christmas. […]
[…] No earlier than 3:09 p.m. EDT on Saturday, 25 May, NASA astronauts Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Suni Williams will head for orbit atop a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s storied Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 for the long-awaited Crew Flight Test (CFT) of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner spacecraft. The two retired Navy captains will spend at least eight “docked” days aboard the International Space Station (ISS) conducting a range of flight test objectives before returning to a parachute-and-airbag-aided landing in the southwestern United States. […]
[…] With boosters initially certified by SpaceX only for 15 missions, the “active” status of two fleet-leaders was paused for six months in the opening half of last year as recertification got underway to extend their operational lives to 20 flights. Veteran B1058 went on to record a record-smashing sixteenth mission last July, a seventeenth in September, an eighteenth in November and a nineteenth a few days before Christmas. […]
@SpaceX launched its first 21x-flown Falcon 9 booster on Friday, as NASA, ULA and Boeing teams realign for no earlier than 25 May to launch Starliner's first crewed mission to @Space_Station.
The post Life-Leading Falcon 9 Flies, as CFT Starliner Launch Delay Lengthens first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] After being scrubbed two hours prior to launch—with Wilmore and Williams already aboard the Starliner—on the evening of 6 May, following observations of a faulty oxygen relief valve on the Atlas V’s Dual-Engine Centaur (DEC) upper stage, the mission was realigned to fly as soon as 6:16 p.m. EDT on the 17th, before slipping again to No Earlier Than (NET) 4:43 p.m. EDT on the 21st, due to a helium leak in Starliner’s service module that was subsequently traced to a flange on a single reaction control thruster. When launch does occur, Wilmore and Williams will become the first humans to ride a member of the “Mighty Atlas” rocket family since Project Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper flew his day-long Faith 7 mission way back in May 1963. […]
[…] After being scrubbed two hours prior to launch—with Wilmore and Williams already aboard the Starliner—on the evening of 6 May, following observations of a faulty oxygen relief valve on the Atlas V’s Dual-Engine Centaur (DEC) upper stage, the mission was realigned to fly as soon as 6:16 p.m. EDT on the 17th, before slipping again to No Earlier Than (NET) 4:43 p.m. EDT on the 21st, due to a helium leak in Starliner’s service module that was subsequently traced to a flange on a single reaction control thruster. When launch does occur, Wilmore and Williams will become the first humans to ride a member of the “Mighty Atlas” rocket family since Project Mercury astronaut Gordon Cooper flew his day-long Faith 7 mission way back in May 1963. […]
As @NASA_Astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Suni Williams prepare to become the first people in 60+ years to fly a Mighty Atlas, we look back at the rocket's first human payload: U.S. hero John Glenn.
The post On Atlas’ Shoulders: Remembering the Monkeys, Men and Malfunctions of Project Mercury’s Orbital Booster (Part 2) first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] United Launch Alliance (ULA) counts down to a revised No Earlier Than (NET) target of 4:43 p.m. EDT Tuesday, 21 May for the long-awaited Crew Flight Test (CFT) of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, NASA veterans Barry […]
As @NASA_Astronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Suni Williams prepare to fly on Friday, we look back at the last time humans flew a Mighty Atlas over six decades ago.
The post On Atlas’ Shoulders: Remembering the Monkeys, Men and Malfunctions of Project Mercury’s Orbital Booster (Part 1) first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] United Launch Alliance (ULA) counts down to a revised No Earlier Than (NET) target of 4:43 p.m. EDT Tuesday, 21 May for the long-awaited Crew Flight Test (CFT) of Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner, NASA veterans Barry […]
[…] and Suni Williams will spend at least eight “docked” days aboard the sprawling orbital complex executing a complex program of flight test objectives before returning to a parachute-and-airbag-aided landing in the Western United […]
@SpaceX has achieved its 50th launch inside 2024's fifth month as the organization progresses through a record-breaking banner year.
The post As CFT Starliner Moves to NET 21 May, SpaceX Launches 50th Falcon 9 of Year first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] became the ninth Falcon 9 to reach a 15th launch since December 2022. She previously supported the 300th outing by a Falcon 9 in January, helped cement new empirical records in March for the shortest interval between a pair of launches […]
[…] AmericaSpace – For space explorers @SpaceX has launched its sixth Falcon 9 of May, its 49th mission of 2024 and … …more […]
@SpaceX has launched its sixth Falcon 9 of May, its 49th mission of 2024 and has now lofted over 760 Starlinks to orbit this year, following Sunday evening's mission from the Space Coast.
The post 15x-Flown Falcon 9 Flies, Completes Sixth SpaceX Mission of May first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] became the ninth Falcon 9 to reach a 15th launch since December 2022. She previously supported the 300th outing by a Falcon 9 in January, helped cement new empirical records in March for the shortest interval between a pair of launches […]
[…] when the Artemis 2 crew will be able to put their skills to work in cislunar space. In January, the mission was postponed to September of 2025 to rectify issues with Orion’s life support system and batteries. Last week, NASA’s Office […]
[…] through its paces. Their schedule can include activities which range from ascent simulations to water egress training to launch day rehearsals to lunar geology briefings. One key part of the Artemis 2 training […]
[…] Friday, Boeing’s Starliner spacecraft is scheduled to lift off on its inaugural crewed flight following an eleven-day delay instigated by a faulty valve on its Atlas V launch vehicle. Starliner will be piloted by NASA astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams, who will become the […]
[…] The B1082 core—flying for the fourth time after previous space-bound treks in January, February and just last month—rose from Space Launch Complex (SLC)-4E at the mountain-ringed West Coast site at 9:30 p.m. PDT […]
@SpaceX has successfully launched its 75th Falcon 9 mission out of mountain-ringed Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., as its 2024 cadence continues to build.
The post SpaceX Continues Record-Setting Year, Launches 75th Vandenberg Mission first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] p.m. EDT, spearing uphill for the third time in as many consecutive months. This particular booster entered service early in March when she lofted Dragon Endeavour and Crew-8’s Matt Dominick, Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps and […]
[…] AmericaSpace – For space explorers @SpaceX will try again Thursday night for the 75th Falcon 9 mission out of Vandenberg … …more […]
[…] p.m. EDT, spearing uphill for the third time in as many consecutive months. This particular booster entered service early in March when she lofted Dragon Endeavour and Crew-8’s Matt Dominick, Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps and […]
@SpaceX will try again Thursday night for the 75th Falcon 9 mission out of Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif., after teams stood down from Wednesday's opening launch attempt.
The post SpaceX Targets Thursday Evening for Week’s Second Falcon 9 Launch first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] United Launch Alliance (ULA) will return the Atlas V booster from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s storied Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 to the 30-story Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) on Wednesday to replace a faulty oxygen pressure regulation valve on the Centaur upper stage. The decision to rollback the 172-foot-tall (52.4-meter) stack—topped with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner crew-carrying spacecraft—has triggered a lengthier delay until no sooner than 6:16 p.m. EDT Friday, 17 May, for the launch of Crew Flight Test (CFT) Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Pilot Suni Williams for their long-awaited mission to the International Space Station (ISS). […]
As @ULALaunch prepares for a week-plus stand-down of CFT, @SpaceX is ready for a Wednesday double-header of Falcon 9 missions from the East and West Coasts.
The post As CFT Starliner Stands Down Until NET 17 May, SpaceX Prepares for Wednesday Launch Double-Header first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] United Launch Alliance (ULA) will return the Atlas V booster from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station’s storied Space Launch Complex (SLC)-41 to the 30-story Vertical Integration Facility (VIF) on Wednesday to replace a faulty oxygen pressure regulation valve on the Centaur upper stage. The decision to rollback the 172-foot-tall (52.4-meter) stack—topped with Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner crew-carrying spacecraft—has triggered a lengthier delay until no sooner than 6:16 p.m. EDT Friday, 17 May, for the launch of Crew Flight Test (CFT) Commander Barry “Butch” Wilmore and Pilot Suni Williams for their long-awaited mission to the International Space Station (ISS). […]
I SAW IT GO UP AND THOUGH I HAD THE WRONG TIME FOR THE CREWED LAUNCH IT LOOKED GREAT AS USUAL LOOKING FORWARD TO THE EVENING OR NIGHT LAUNCH OF THE DRAGON
[…] that he is targeting up to 144 flights before the New Year’s Eve bell tolls, a substantial uptick over 2023’s record-setting 96-launch year that demands a flight every 2.5 days or […]
@SpaceX has successfully flown its third Falcon 9 mission of May, only hours before @NASAAstronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Suni Williams are set to launch to @Space_Station.
The post “Almost Lost” Falcon 9 Launches Successfully, Hours Before CFT Starliner Mission first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] for the first time, orbit, land and rove on the ochre-hued plains of Mars, circle giant Jupiter and investigate its Trojan minor bodies and visit and gather microscopic surface specimens from the carbonaceous asteroid […]
[…] for the first time, orbit, land and rove on the ochre-hued plains of Mars, circle giant Jupiter and investigate its Trojan minor bodies and visit and gather microscopic surface specimens from the carbonaceous asteroid […]
@NASAAstronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Suni Williams are only hours away from their long-awaited Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission to @Space_Station.
The post ULA, NASA, Boeing Target Instantaneous Launch Tomorrow for CFT Starliner Mission first appeared on AmericaSpace.
OTD in 1961, Alan Shepard became America's first man in space. Shadowed by Yuri Gagarin's pioneering orbital flight three weeks earlier, it proved an enormous shot in the arm for the United States.
The post “What a Beautiful View”: Remembering Shepard’s Sprint for Space, OTD in 1961 first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] Station, Fla., spend at least eight “docked” days aboard the International Space Station (ISS) conducting an extensive array of flight test objectives, then return to a parachute-and-airbag-aided landing on solid ground in the Western United […]
As two @NASAAstronauts prepare to ride @ULALaunch Mighty Atlas to @Space_Station on Monday, AmericaSpace looks back at a troubled decade in development.
The post Best Laid Plans: The Troubled Rise of Starliner (Part 2) first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] Station, Fla., spend at least eight “docked” days aboard the International Space Station (ISS) conducting an extensive array of flight test objectives, then return to a parachute-and-airbag-aided landing on solid ground in the Western United […]
[…] After completing two stunning back-to-back months with 12 Falcon 9 missions apiece, SpaceX kicked off May in fine style with Thursday morning’s launch and landing of a fleet-leading booster out of Vandenberg Space Force Base, Calif. Veteran B1061 took flight from the mountain-ringed West Coast launch site’s Space Launch Complex (SLC)-4E at 11:36 a.m. PDT carrying the inaugural pair of WorldView Legion geospatial imaging satellites to Sun-synchronous orbit and became the third member of SpaceX’s fleet in less than three weeks to reach a 20th mission. […]
After completing a pair of back-to-back, 12-mission months, @SpaceX has begun an ambitious May launch schedule in fine style.
The post 20x-Flown SpaceX Booster Launches WorldView Legion Twins from West Coast first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] Station, Fla., spend at least eight “docked” days aboard the International Space Station (ISS) conducting an extensive array of flight test objectives, then return to a parachute-and-airbag-aided landing on solid ground in the Western United […]
@NASAAstronauts Barry "Butch" Wilmore and Suni Williams are only days away from their Monday night launch to @Space_Station.
The post Crew Flight Test (CFT) Targets Monday Launch, Ambitious Starliner Mission Ahead first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] Station, Fla., spend at least eight “docked” days aboard the International Space Station (ISS) conducting an extensive array of flight test objectives, then return to a parachute-and-airbag-aided landing on solid ground in the Western United […]
[…] space of “Bob and Doug” and was until last December the most-flown member of SpaceX’s fleet, toppled over on the drone ship’s deck and was partially lost at sea. Notable successes included the synchronized return of Falcon Heavy side-boosters to Landing Zones […]
[…] after a half-century of human imagination—Hubble had weathered financial and technical woes and an appalling national tragedy as it weaved its way from the drawing-board to the launch […]
[…] 5:26 p.m. EDT opening launch attempt and Thursday’s 5:05 p.m. EDT backup opportunity to get a 12-times-flown booster airborne for the 39th Falcon 9 flight of the year and the eighth so far this […]
[…] As outlined in an earlier AmericaSpace story, current plans call for Wilmore and Williams to spend up to ten Flight Days (FDs) aloft, with ISS Flight Director Vincent LaCourt having noted that their Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission objectives are attainable in a minimum of eight “docked” days at the ISS. According to the timeline, the astronauts will dock at the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony node about 25 hours after launch to be welcomed aboard the sprawling orbital complex by incumbent Expedition 71 Commander Oleg Kononenko, fellow Russian cosmonauts Nikolai Chub and Aleksandr Grebenkin and NASA’s Matt Dominick, Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps and Tracy Dyson. […]
[…] As outlined in an earlier AmericaSpace story, current plans call for Wilmore and Williams to spend up to ten Flight Days (FDs) aloft, with ISS Flight Director Vincent LaCourt having noted that their Crew Flight Test (CFT) mission objectives are attainable in a minimum of eight “docked” days at the ISS. According to the timeline, the astronauts will dock at the forward-facing port of the station’s Harmony node about 25 hours after launch to be welcomed aboard the sprawling orbital complex by incumbent Expedition 71 Commander Oleg Kononenko, fellow Russian cosmonauts Nikolai Chub and Aleksandr Grebenkin and NASA’s Matt Dominick, Mike Barratt, Jeanette Epps and Tracy Dyson. […]
@NASAAstronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams arrived in Florida on Thursday for their long-awaited Starliner launch, targeted for NET 6 May.
The post Wilmore, Williams Arrive in Florida, Ahead of Historic Starliner Launch NET 6 May first appeared on AmericaSpace.
[…] after a half-century of human imagination—Hubble had weathered financial and technical woes and an appalling national tragedy as it weaved its way from the drawing-board to the launch […]
OTD in 1990, @NASAHubble began its mission to explore the cosmos. It is a mission that continues more than 30 years later.
The post “Somebody Get a Camera”: Remembering the Deployment of Hubble, OTD in 1990 first appeared on AmericaSpace.
In reply to James Hillhouse.
Lunar lander in 2026 is very possible, and probable.
Manned lunar lander is a whole other issue.
[…] space of “Bob and Doug” and was until last December the most-flown member of SpaceX’s fleet, toppled over on the drone ship’s deck and was partially lost at sea. Notable successes included the synchronized return of Falcon Heavy side-boosters to Landing Zones […]
@SpaceX has completed its 300th successful landing of a Falcon vehicle with Tuesday's post-sunset flight of B1078.
The post SpaceX Completes Tenth Launch of April, 300th Falcon Landing first appeared on AmericaSpace.
In reply to Rodney.
Rodney,
In reading and watching his congressional testimony January 17th, I didn’t get the impression that Griffin “hated” Starship. Instead, what he disliked are decisions made by those no longer within NASA in an efforts to return to the Moon, HLS contractors who are promising a capability to land astronauts on the Moon knowing full well that the likelihood of meeting that challenge by promised dates is very low to zero, all of which means that there is a real non-zero chance that China could beat us to the Moon.
Let’s begin with one point Griffin challenged in his January testimony; NASA’s choice of a NRHO, which has a period of 6.5 days. As he testified,
“If a lunar crew encounters a problem on the surface that mandates a return to the comparative safety of the Gateway, then depending upon when that problem occurs, a multi-day wait may be required. It is possible in some scenarios to wait in low lunar orbit (LLO), but access to the Gateway is only possible at periodic intervals.”
What Griffin didn’t mention is that such a stay could last far longer in some cases, such as if the landing crew are forced to make a “touch-and-go” landing, as NASA puts it, and need to remain in a quiescent state.
Regarding NASA’s choice of lunar lander requirements (see NASA’s Appendix H: Human Landing System, Attachment F, HUMAN LANDING SYSTEM (HLS) REQUIREMENTS DOCUMENT, HLS-RQMT-001 Document Rev-R (SRD), (Document Number HLS_RQMT-001) Griffin testified,
“Tactically, the selected mission architectures pose significant concerns. SpaceX’s approach requires an impractically large number of orbital refueling operations for even a single lunar mission, while Blue Origin’s mission design depends on the development of one of the most difficult enabling technologies for long-duration space flight, zero-boiloff cryogenic fuel storage.
These architectures feature concepts – cryogenic propellant storage, likely in large depots with low, controllable boiloff – that are critical to long-term, sustainable human space exploration. But while important, their development is unlikely to be completed easily or quickly, and over the last half-century we have used up the time that could have been devoted to the evolution of Apollo-era systems to a more sustainable architecture. Like it or not, we are engaged in a
competition with others who do not wish us well; timeliness maters.”
What Griffin is pointing out are issues with the Artemis architecture. He points out that none of the HLS landers can go to the Moon without some exotic capability not available today nor likely soon, and that pursuing those capabilities isn’t as important as reaching the Moon before our adversaries do. That isn’t “hating” Starship so much as pointing out obvious downsides to the HLS portion of the Artemis architecture and faced by both SpaceX and Blue Origin.
Regarding Starship in his testimony, Griffin offers a frequentist approach in analyzing the probability of a Starship lunar landing for a given range of required refueling missions and probability of those being successful. As you might recall from probability, each refueling mission is ideally an independent event. The total probability is the product of the individual probabilities. So, if 10 refueling launches are needed and if each has a (unrealistically high) reliability of 99%, then the total probability of success of those 10 missions is 90%. But, if the reliability of each refueling mission drops even a smidge, to say 97%, the total probability of 10 refueling missions drops to 74%; a drop to 95% means a total of just under 60%. I don’t think even the most diehard SpaceX fan can look at those numbers and feel comfortable at the overall mission risk.
Perhaps I’ve evolved too thick a skin having written on space matters over the last 16 years, but Griffin’s testimony regarding Starship doesn’t sound like “hate”, as you write, but well argued, darn hard to refute concerns.
To your point that some in NASA and Blue will be happy when, not if, it becomes unavoidable that Starship will not be ready for Artemis III? With all due respect Rodney, I don’t think most outside of NASA and its contractors realize that there is a zero chance SpaceX will be ready for Artemis III. Or IV. Even Elon admitted last January that SpaceX wouldn’t be ready to land astronauts on the Moon until 2028, and given his record, that likely means sometime in the 2030’s.
The important point is that there is a non-zero chance that we’re going to have a crewed lunar capable lander by 2028 (Elon’s words, not mine) or later. The most important point isn’t whose lander, whether SpaceX or Blue Origin, gets us to the Moon. The most important point, as laid-out by those paying for the Artemis program – that would be Congress – is that we get back to the Moon before our adversaries do.
And to be clear, Griffin made the case in his testimony that between NASA’s lunar architecture, its HLS office’s HLS requirements, the lander contractors, the lunar spacesuit contractors, things are looking bad.
Nobody wants the day of reckoning when it becomes unavoidable for Congress not to notice that NASA’s NRHO choice, the HLS program office’s decision to forbid any use of SLS to launch lunar landers, and the contractors may very well prevent the US from reaching the Moon first. But that day is coming, and likely the pieces will start falling after Artemis II lifts off.
Lastly, as concerns your point about, “…knee jerk reaction can be modified for reusable launch vehicles. eg. if a vehicle fails on its 20th launch, do new or fairly new vehicles need to be stood down ? Or, if a new vehicle fails on its first launch, do proven vehicles need to be stood down ?” Having been a pilot, I know that even long legacy systems can surprise. So, no, that “knee-jerk reaction” won’t, hopefully, ever go away. As Hans Mark, a former NASA Deputy Administrator and professor of mine, once said, “Americans don’t like it when you kill their astronauts.”
In reply to jeff Lee.
Thank you, Jeff! I am glad that you found it to be informative.
In reply to Alex Longo.
Hi Alex, Thanks for responding.
Mike Griffin said to a Congressional committee, IIRC that USA should not use Starship for Artemis and should use government owned vehicles instead. All his other comments I interpret in that light.
During the January press conference on the delays to Artemis 2 and 3, it came across as NASA needed to delay Artemis 2 because of the issues with Orion, so they mentioned Starship and the Axiom space suits for Artemis 3 as a distraction from Orion. “Safety” was their top priority, so they can use more-testing-needed for future delays. They gave the impression that delays were business-as-usual.
I get the impression that Blue Origin, and some in NASA, would be happy to say Starship won’t be safe or on time for Artemis 3 so lets drop it and wait for the Blue Origin lander being developed for Artemis 5.
Yes, after a launch failure there is almost always a long delay for investigation. I hope that knee jerk reaction can be modified for reusable launch vehicles. eg. if a vehicle fails on its 20th launch, do new or fairly new vehicles need to be stood down ? Or, if a new vehicle fails on its first launch, do proven vehicles need to be stood down ? And, as we have seen with Falcon 9, reusable vehicles can be extremely reliable once in high cadence operation. And the reuse allows plenty of practice of transferring propellant to a depot. So all the hand wringing by Mike Griffins about the risk of multiple launches seems overdone.
Sad BTW that the commenting facility on this website (unlike most others) does not seem to allow minor corrections to recent comments.
Thanks for a very concise and well written article. It’s nice so see that you’ve done your research and actually shared articles to back your research. Very refreshing to read a good article without all the political agenda! It was a very good read.
[…] community is when American astronauts will return to the Moon. NASA originally aimed to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024, but that date was pushed back repeatedly to September of 2026 at the earliest. The largest […]
The empty weight of SLS is 188,000 pounds
Starship empty weight is 220,000 pounds.
Suppose we had SLS and air-start RS-25s
What payload does that give you now?
[…] originally aimed to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024, but that date was pushed back repeatedly to September of 2026 at the earliest. The largest source of uncertainty in the schedule is SpaceX’s […]
[…] two failed test flights in April and November of 2023, Starship successfully reached orbital velocity on March 14th. It became the most powerful rocket to ever reach this […]
[…] is when American astronauts will return to the Moon. NASA originally aimed to land the first woman and next man on the Moon by 2024, but that date was pushed back repeatedly to September of 2026 at the […]
