CagleMtnVol
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Space Exploration
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Velo Vol
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Hunerwadel
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CagleMtnVol
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The Constellation program was announced in 2005 it was canceled in 2009 and was basically rebooted into the SLS program in 2010.
So they have been working on basically the same program for 14 years. For comparison SpaceX was founded in 2002.
The Apollo program was announced in 1966 four years later we were on the moon. NASA at some point is going to have to except that there is a risk and you can only test so much.
So they have been working on basically the same program for 14 years. For comparison SpaceX was founded in 2002.
The Apollo program was announced in 1966 four years later we were on the moon. NASA at some point is going to have to except that there is a risk and you can only test so much.
zeppelin128
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zeppelin128
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CagleMtnVol
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That's not correct for one only an Ares-1X first stage prototype was produced and launched.
No real payload was ever launched. The upper stage had no engine and only a dummy payload. It splashed down in the ocean shortly after separation and I could be wrong but I don't think it was ever recovered or was meant to be.
The first stage which was a modified SRB from the shuttle. Suffered some damage when it impacted the ocean faster than expected do to a partial parachute failure. That was a known problem with the SRB parachutes and had happened during Shuttle missions before.
Yes as I said in my original post that Constellation and particularly Ares became SLS.
Hunerwadel
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Lost in the budgetary concerns is the potential cancellation of the James Webb Space Telescope. I honestly don't believe it will happen but congress just talking about it makes me nervous. The JWST potential for discovery is enormous. One thing it will be able to do is analyze the atmospheres of many exoplanets as they transit their star. It should be able to help us determine if the gasses and molecules that are a product of or are necessary for life as we know it are present. Kepler has identified hundreds of potential targets and TESS has already found three hundred more total plants (though very few of them will be candidates to potentially support life).
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CagleMtnVol
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Yet another program way behind schedule and over budget. However, I do think it's too far along to cancel at this point. The main difference being is the JWST is already built and is undergoing additional testing. With the Hubble screw up with the mirror and the fact the JWST won't be in a position to be serviced by anything (at least nothing planned at the moment) I'd tend to think they should be over-cautious on that one.
Hunerwadel
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I would agree but I've learned to never underestimate the sheer stupidity of the US Congress. I meant to include this link in my previous post:
House spending bill fires warning shot at JWST - SpaceNews.com
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I'd tend to think the warning should be sufficient. However, they do have a point in the cost since it's now double what was projected for a life span of only 5-10 years. Almost $9 billion spent and it will be over a decade late. I want to see it as much as anyone but at what point do you feel like you're burning money up?
If I was SpaceX or ULA, I'd propose a deep space mission concept to service it for a life cycle extension or repair as necessary. Kind of like they did with the STS and Hubble. It'd be good practice for a later mission to Mars. I wouldn't be surprised if someone already has that kind of mission scribbled down somewhere. You might think the BFR (yes, I know they changed names again, but don't care) or maybe even the Orion or Dragon could pull it off.
CagleMtnVol
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More testing delays for SpaceX & Boeing.
"SpaceX, Boeing (and NASA) Push Back 1st Test Launches of Private Spaceships
SpaceX's new astronaut taxi won't make its inaugural trip to the International Space Station (ISS) this month after all.
SpaceX and Boeing are developing commercial space capsules — called Crew Dragon and CST-100 Starliner, respectively — to carry NASA astronauts to and from the orbiting lab.
SpaceX had been targeting Feb. 23 for Crew Dragon's shakeout cruise to the ISS, an uncrewed flight called Demo-1. Starliner was scheduled to perform a similar mission in March. But launch dates for both flights have just been pushed to the right, NASA announced today (Feb. 6). [Crew Dragon and Starliner: A Look at the Upcoming Astronaut Taxis]
"The agency now is targeting March 2 for launch of SpaceX's Crew Dragon on its uncrewed Demo-1 test flight. Boeing's uncrewed Orbital Flight Test is targeted for launch no earlier than April," NASA officials wrote in the status update.
"These adjustments allow for completion of necessary hardware testing, data verification, remaining NASA and provider reviews, as well as training of flight controllers and mission managers," they added.
The next big box to check after these demonstration flights will be tests of the private vehicles' emergency escape systems, which would get the capsules away from danger if a problem arose during launch. Boeing plans to run this test in May, and SpaceX will perform its version in June.
Then will come huge milestones — crewed test flights to the ISS. Astronauts haven't launched to orbit from American soil since July 2011, when NASA retired its space shuttle fleet. Since then, the space agency has been dependent on Russian Soyuz rockets and spacecraft to perform this taxi service.
Crew Dragon's crew-carrying demonstration is currently scheduled for July, and Starliner's for no earlier than August, according to the new NASA update. Operational flights will begin sometime thereafter, assuming everything goes well.
The latest delay is far from the first for the commercial-crew program. When NASA inked its big multibillion-dollar deals with SpaceX and Boeing in 2014, for example, agency officials said they expected Crew Dragon and Starliner to be in operation by 2017.
"There still are many critical steps to complete before launch, and, while we eagerly are anticipating these launches, we will step through our test flight preparations and readiness reviews," Kathy Lueders, NASA's commercial crew program manager, said in today's update. "We are excited about seeing the hardware we have followed through development, integration, and ground testing move into flight."
Mike Wall's book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published in November 2018 by Grand Central Publishing. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us @Spacedotcom or Facebook. Originally published on Space.com."
Full Article -- SpaceX, Boeing (and NASA) Push Back 1st Test Launches of Private Spaceships
.
"SpaceX, Boeing (and NASA) Push Back 1st Test Launches of Private Spaceships
SpaceX's new astronaut taxi won't make its inaugural trip to the International Space Station (ISS) this month after all.
SpaceX and Boeing are developing commercial space capsules — called Crew Dragon and CST-100 Starliner, respectively — to carry NASA astronauts to and from the orbiting lab.
SpaceX had been targeting Feb. 23 for Crew Dragon's shakeout cruise to the ISS, an uncrewed flight called Demo-1. Starliner was scheduled to perform a similar mission in March. But launch dates for both flights have just been pushed to the right, NASA announced today (Feb. 6). [Crew Dragon and Starliner: A Look at the Upcoming Astronaut Taxis]
"The agency now is targeting March 2 for launch of SpaceX's Crew Dragon on its uncrewed Demo-1 test flight. Boeing's uncrewed Orbital Flight Test is targeted for launch no earlier than April," NASA officials wrote in the status update.
"These adjustments allow for completion of necessary hardware testing, data verification, remaining NASA and provider reviews, as well as training of flight controllers and mission managers," they added.
The next big box to check after these demonstration flights will be tests of the private vehicles' emergency escape systems, which would get the capsules away from danger if a problem arose during launch. Boeing plans to run this test in May, and SpaceX will perform its version in June.
Then will come huge milestones — crewed test flights to the ISS. Astronauts haven't launched to orbit from American soil since July 2011, when NASA retired its space shuttle fleet. Since then, the space agency has been dependent on Russian Soyuz rockets and spacecraft to perform this taxi service.
Crew Dragon's crew-carrying demonstration is currently scheduled for July, and Starliner's for no earlier than August, according to the new NASA update. Operational flights will begin sometime thereafter, assuming everything goes well.
The latest delay is far from the first for the commercial-crew program. When NASA inked its big multibillion-dollar deals with SpaceX and Boeing in 2014, for example, agency officials said they expected Crew Dragon and Starliner to be in operation by 2017.
"There still are many critical steps to complete before launch, and, while we eagerly are anticipating these launches, we will step through our test flight preparations and readiness reviews," Kathy Lueders, NASA's commercial crew program manager, said in today's update. "We are excited about seeing the hardware we have followed through development, integration, and ground testing move into flight."
Mike Wall's book about the search for alien life, "Out There," was published in November 2018 by Grand Central Publishing. Follow him on Twitter @michaeldwall. Follow us @Spacedotcom or Facebook. Originally published on Space.com."
Full Article -- SpaceX, Boeing (and NASA) Push Back 1st Test Launches of Private Spaceships
.
CagleMtnVol
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And now this....
"NASA Planning to Purchase Additional Soyuz Seats
SEATTLE — NASA is considering buying two additional seats on Soyuz spacecraft to ensure a continued American presence on the International Space Station amid worries about additional delays in commercial crew flights.
In a presolicitation notice filed Feb. 13, NASA announced it was considering contracting with the Russian state space corporation Roscosmos for two Soyuz seats, one on a mission launching in the fall of 2019 and the other in the spring of 2020. The notice was first reported by NASASpaceFlight.com.
The additional seats would ensure that NASA astronauts can remain on the station after the end of this year, when NASA's current access to Soyuz seats runs out. "This Soyuz seat procurement ensures uninterrupted access to the ISS in the event of a delay in U.S. commercial crew launches, mitigating the significant risk to ISS safety and operations that the absence of U.S. crew members at any point in time would cause," the procurement notice states.
NASA originally planned to have commercial crew vehicles under development by Boeing and SpaceX certified by the end of 2017. Both companies, though, have experienced significant delays, and neither company has flown their vehicles yet on uncrewed test flights, let alone thos e with astronauts on board. SpaceX is scheduled to launch its Crew Dragon spacecraft on a test flight without astronauts on board no earlier than March 2.
NASA's most recent public schedule call for both vehicles completing their crewed test flights by late summer, but those plans are subject to further delay. "Past experience has shown the difficulties associated with achieving first flights on time in the final year of development. Typically, problems will be discovered during these test flights," NASA states in the procurement document. "The consequences of no US crew on ISS warrant protection by acquiring additional seats."
The two seats would ensure NASA astronauts would remain on the station through September 2020, by which point the agency expects at least one of the two commercial crew vehicles to be certified and starting to fly astronauts. Even if both vehicles are certified before then, NASA argues that the overlap period between Soyuz and commercial crew will be beneficial.
"Overlap with US commercial crew capability is required to allow smooth and safe transition to a new US capability," the document states. "This overlap in crew transportation capability provides assurance of continuous safe operation and research activity on ISS."
NASA regularly bought Soyuz seats, albeit at steadily increasing prices, from Roscosmos in the post-shuttle era as it developed commercial crew vehicles. The last contract, signed in 2015, covered Soyuz seats on missions to the ISS through 2018. At that time, NASA was still expecting commercial crew vehicles to enter service by the end of 2017.
In 2017, NASA agreed to buy five Soyuz seats from Boeing, who had obtained them as part of an agreement with RSC Energia to settle a legal dispute regarding Sea Launch. Two of the seats were used to augment the size of the NASA crew on the station in 2017 and 2018, while three were reserved for transporting crews to the ISS in 2019 as a hedge against commercial crew delays.
It's not clear how the two Soyuz seats became available. In late 2016, shortly before buying the seats from Boeing, NASA officials said it was too late to contract directly with Roscosmos for seats because of the multi-year lead time required. NASA spokespersons did not respond to request for comments Feb. 15 about these seats or the estimated price NASA would pay Roscosmos for them.
The latest annual report of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), an independent board that advises NASA on safety issues, recommended that NASA develop a contingency plan for accessing the station should commercial crew flights suffer more delays.
"Due to the potential for delays in the schedule for the first [commercial crew program] flights with crew, senior NASA leadership should work with the Administration and the Congress to guarantee continuing access to ISS for U.S. crew members until such time that U.S. capability to deliver crew to ISS is established," the report, released Feb. 8, stated. NASA had not provided a formal response to that recommendation at the time the report was printed.
This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry. "
Full Article -- NASA Planning to Purchase Additional Soyuz Seats
.
"NASA Planning to Purchase Additional Soyuz Seats
SEATTLE — NASA is considering buying two additional seats on Soyuz spacecraft to ensure a continued American presence on the International Space Station amid worries about additional delays in commercial crew flights.
In a presolicitation notice filed Feb. 13, NASA announced it was considering contracting with the Russian state space corporation Roscosmos for two Soyuz seats, one on a mission launching in the fall of 2019 and the other in the spring of 2020. The notice was first reported by NASASpaceFlight.com.
The additional seats would ensure that NASA astronauts can remain on the station after the end of this year, when NASA's current access to Soyuz seats runs out. "This Soyuz seat procurement ensures uninterrupted access to the ISS in the event of a delay in U.S. commercial crew launches, mitigating the significant risk to ISS safety and operations that the absence of U.S. crew members at any point in time would cause," the procurement notice states.
NASA originally planned to have commercial crew vehicles under development by Boeing and SpaceX certified by the end of 2017. Both companies, though, have experienced significant delays, and neither company has flown their vehicles yet on uncrewed test flights, let alone thos e with astronauts on board. SpaceX is scheduled to launch its Crew Dragon spacecraft on a test flight without astronauts on board no earlier than March 2.
NASA's most recent public schedule call for both vehicles completing their crewed test flights by late summer, but those plans are subject to further delay. "Past experience has shown the difficulties associated with achieving first flights on time in the final year of development. Typically, problems will be discovered during these test flights," NASA states in the procurement document. "The consequences of no US crew on ISS warrant protection by acquiring additional seats."
The two seats would ensure NASA astronauts would remain on the station through September 2020, by which point the agency expects at least one of the two commercial crew vehicles to be certified and starting to fly astronauts. Even if both vehicles are certified before then, NASA argues that the overlap period between Soyuz and commercial crew will be beneficial.
"Overlap with US commercial crew capability is required to allow smooth and safe transition to a new US capability," the document states. "This overlap in crew transportation capability provides assurance of continuous safe operation and research activity on ISS."
NASA regularly bought Soyuz seats, albeit at steadily increasing prices, from Roscosmos in the post-shuttle era as it developed commercial crew vehicles. The last contract, signed in 2015, covered Soyuz seats on missions to the ISS through 2018. At that time, NASA was still expecting commercial crew vehicles to enter service by the end of 2017.
In 2017, NASA agreed to buy five Soyuz seats from Boeing, who had obtained them as part of an agreement with RSC Energia to settle a legal dispute regarding Sea Launch. Two of the seats were used to augment the size of the NASA crew on the station in 2017 and 2018, while three were reserved for transporting crews to the ISS in 2019 as a hedge against commercial crew delays.
It's not clear how the two Soyuz seats became available. In late 2016, shortly before buying the seats from Boeing, NASA officials said it was too late to contract directly with Roscosmos for seats because of the multi-year lead time required. NASA spokespersons did not respond to request for comments Feb. 15 about these seats or the estimated price NASA would pay Roscosmos for them.
The latest annual report of the Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP), an independent board that advises NASA on safety issues, recommended that NASA develop a contingency plan for accessing the station should commercial crew flights suffer more delays.
"Due to the potential for delays in the schedule for the first [commercial crew program] flights with crew, senior NASA leadership should work with the Administration and the Congress to guarantee continuing access to ISS for U.S. crew members until such time that U.S. capability to deliver crew to ISS is established," the report, released Feb. 8, stated. NASA had not provided a formal response to that recommendation at the time the report was printed.
This story was provided by SpaceNews, dedicated to covering all aspects of the space industry. "
Full Article -- NASA Planning to Purchase Additional Soyuz Seats
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CagleMtnVol
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Hunerwadel
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Thanks for the heads up. The NASA Channel usually televises launches.
Anyone ever go see a space shuttle launch? Wife and I saw one in 2009 from the Kennedy Space Center. You had to buy tickets to watch from there. Tickets were limited and you're pretty far away but I'm glad I got to see it. It was STS-125. Its mission was to repair Hubble.
Anyone ever go see a space shuttle launch? Wife and I saw one in 2009 from the Kennedy Space Center. You had to buy tickets to watch from there. Tickets were limited and you're pretty far away but I'm glad I got to see it. It was STS-125. Its mission was to repair Hubble.
hog88
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CagleMtnVol
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CagleMtnVol
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zeppelin128
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