Aug. 11, 2008
WASHINGTON -- In a news conference Monday, NASA managers discussed how the agency will be adjusting the budget, schedule and technical performance milestones for its Constellation Program to ensure the first crewed flight of the Ares I rocket and Orion crew capsule in March 2015.
The Constellation Program is developing the spacecraft and systems, including the Ares I and Ares V rockets, the Orion crew exploration vehicle, and the Altair lunar lander, that will take astronauts to the International Space Station after the retirement of the space shuttle, and eventually return humans to the moon.
"Since the program's inception, NASA has been working an aggressive plan to achieve flight capability before our March 2015 target," said Rick Gilbrech, associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters in Washington. "We are still confident the Constellation Program will make its first flight to the International Space Station on or before that date. Our new path forward better aligns our project schedules with our existing funds to ensure we can address the unplanned challenges that always arise when developing a complex flight system."
NASA will retire the space shuttles in 2010 and had established a goal of achieving flight capability for the Constellation Program before 2015 to narrow the gap in America's human spaceflight capability. As such, NASA aligned Constellation contracts and internal milestones against a date much earlier than March 2015 to incentivize an earlier flight capability.
As part of an annual budget process that evaluates the program's budget, schedule and technical performance milestones, NASA will be working with its contractors to discuss how program plans and internal milestones should be adjusted -- a process that will take several months and require contract modifications and associated milestone realignments. Such adjustments are not unusual for a complex development program as work matures and schedules and resources are aligned.
For more information about the Constellation Program, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/constellation
- end -
Courtesy of www.nasa.gov
Working in outerspace to benefit planet Earth
Work on Ares and Launch Pad Continue at Kennedy Space Center
August 8, 2008
On Launch Pad 39B, workers are installing a lightning protection system. Each of the three new lightning towers will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire centenary system. This improved lightning protection system also allows for the taller height of the Ares I compared to the space shuttle.
The pad, previously used for Apollo and shuttle launches, is being modified to support future launches of Ares and Orion spacecraft.
Ares I is a two-stage rocket that will transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle to low Earth orbit. The first stage will consist of a single reusable solid propellant rocket booster, similar to those used on space shuttles, with an additional fifth segment. The second, or upper, stage will consist of a J-2X liquid oxygen- and liquid hydrogen-fueled main engine and a new upper stage fuel tank.
The first Ares test launch is scheduled for April 2009.
(Courtesy of www.nasa.gov)
On Launch Pad 39B, workers are installing a lightning protection system. Each of the three new lightning towers will be 500 feet tall with an additional 100-foot fiberglass mast atop supporting a wire centenary system. This improved lightning protection system also allows for the taller height of the Ares I compared to the space shuttle.
The pad, previously used for Apollo and shuttle launches, is being modified to support future launches of Ares and Orion spacecraft.
Ares I is a two-stage rocket that will transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle to low Earth orbit. The first stage will consist of a single reusable solid propellant rocket booster, similar to those used on space shuttles, with an additional fifth segment. The second, or upper, stage will consist of a J-2X liquid oxygen- and liquid hydrogen-fueled main engine and a new upper stage fuel tank.
The first Ares test launch is scheduled for April 2009.
(Courtesy of www.nasa.gov)
August 1, 2008 Weekly Summary
**TO EXPAND THE ARTICLE PLEASE CLICK THE RECTANGULAR BOX IN THE UPPER-RIGHT HAND CORNER**
NASA Debuts Web Site for First Ares Test Flight
WASHINGTON -- NASA is developing new spacecraft, the Ares rockets and Orion crew capsule, to deliver astronauts to the International Space Station and send them on their way to the moon. The first test flight of the spacecraft, known as Ares I-X, is scheduled to launch in spring 2009. The latest information about this launch is now available at:
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/ares/flighttests/aresIx/index.html
The Web site was created to offer key information about the details and objectives of the Ares I-X test flight. The site features articles, images and videos that outline the objectives of the Ares I-X test flight and explain how these objectives will influence the design and flight of the Ares I rocket and Orion crew capsule.The Ares I-X flight will test hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I rocket. It also will provide critical data during ascent of the integrated Orion crew exploration vehicle and the Ares I launch vehicle stack -- data that will be used to design a vehicle system that is safe and fully operational before astronauts begin traveling into orbit. The Ares I-X test flight will bring America one step closer to a return to the moon by 2020 and eventual trips to Mars and destinations beyond. For more information about NASA's exploration plans, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/constellation
MEDIA ADVISORY : M08-131 Courtesy of www.nasa.gov
http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/ares/flighttests/aresIx/index.html
The Web site was created to offer key information about the details and objectives of the Ares I-X test flight. The site features articles, images and videos that outline the objectives of the Ares I-X test flight and explain how these objectives will influence the design and flight of the Ares I rocket and Orion crew capsule.The Ares I-X flight will test hardware, facilities and ground operations associated with the Ares I rocket. It also will provide critical data during ascent of the integrated Orion crew exploration vehicle and the Ares I launch vehicle stack -- data that will be used to design a vehicle system that is safe and fully operational before astronauts begin traveling into orbit. The Ares I-X test flight will bring America one step closer to a return to the moon by 2020 and eventual trips to Mars and destinations beyond. For more information about NASA's exploration plans, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/constellation
MEDIA ADVISORY : M08-131 Courtesy of www.nasa.gov
NASA Technology: Putting the California wildfires into perspective
NASA is lending a hand to those battling recent California wildfires with detailed imaging of the blazes from NASA’s Aqua satellite.
"The MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily images of Northern and Southern California in additional resolutions and formats, including an infrared-enhanced version that highlights the presence of burned ground," said NASA's Earth Observatory team.
With a particularly dry spring continuing to plague the state, a staggering 364,600 acres, or nearly 570 square miles of the state have been left charred.
"The MODIS (Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) Rapid Response Team provides twice-daily images of Northern and Southern California in additional resolutions and formats, including an infrared-enhanced version that highlights the presence of burned ground," said NASA's Earth Observatory team.
With a particularly dry spring continuing to plague the state, a staggering 364,600 acres, or nearly 570 square miles of the state have been left charred.
"Places where the sensor detected actively burning fires are outlined in red. Smoke spreads north up the coast. The two fires pictured are among the largest of scores of fires burning in the state," NASA officials explained of the images.
This imaging is not only sheding new light on the damage from the fires of 2008, but giving hope to those battling the flames. By lending a broader perspective and sharing this valuable tool, NASA is helping firefighters to more easily predict, plan, and end the devistation of one of mother nature's most dangerous forces.
Image and information courtesy of www.nasa.gov
Inspiring words from NASA Administrator Mike Griffin
January 22, 2008
"Today’s topic is motivated by the inquiries I’ve had lately, in one forum or
another, concerning various aspects of NASA’s post-Shuttle spaceflight
architecture. None of the questions is new, and all of them were elucidated during
our Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS). The architecture is
essentially as it was coming out of ESAS back in September 2005, and the
architectural trades we made then when considering mission requirements,
operations concepts, performance, risk, reliability, and cost hold true today.
But more than two years have gone by, and the logic behind the choices we
made has receded into the background. People come and go, new questioners
lacking subject matter background appear, and the old questions must be answered
again if there is to be general accord that NASA managers are allocating public
funds in a responsible fashion. And so it seemed to me that the time was right to
review, again, why we are developing the post-Shuttle space architecture in the
way that we are."
For the complete Speech please visit http://www.nasa.gov/news/speeches/admin/index.html and select the January 22, 2008 option.
"Today’s topic is motivated by the inquiries I’ve had lately, in one forum or
another, concerning various aspects of NASA’s post-Shuttle spaceflight
architecture. None of the questions is new, and all of them were elucidated during
our Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS). The architecture is
essentially as it was coming out of ESAS back in September 2005, and the
architectural trades we made then when considering mission requirements,
operations concepts, performance, risk, reliability, and cost hold true today.
But more than two years have gone by, and the logic behind the choices we
made has receded into the background. People come and go, new questioners
lacking subject matter background appear, and the old questions must be answered
again if there is to be general accord that NASA managers are allocating public
funds in a responsible fashion. And so it seemed to me that the time was right to
review, again, why we are developing the post-Shuttle space architecture in the
way that we are."
For the complete Speech please visit http://www.nasa.gov/news/speeches/admin/index.html and select the January 22, 2008 option.
From Mere Plans to Mammoth Production
As the Space Shuttle winds down its service to NASA in 2010, many wonder where mankind will go from here. The answer is in the highly publicized Constellation program and its Orion and Ares projects. Orion will replace the space shuttle and the Ares V launch vehicle is set to replace the previous Crew Launch Vehicle for future excursions to the Moon and later Mars. On December 17, 2007, NASA made the major step from plans to implementation and began testing the engines built to power the Ares launch vehicle ( http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/dec/HQ_07281 ). This future generation of NASA exploration vessels will surely open new doors for our understanding of not only Mars, and the Moon, but our planet Earth itself. For more information on the Constellation ProgramAres and Orion visit http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/constellation/main .
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