Orion
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NASA insists its Mars rocket will still launch in 2019
NASA is aiming to launch its deep space-bound Space Launch System (SLS) in December 2019, even though a review has suggested it's not likely to fly until mid-2020. The launch date has already been pushed back once due to technical issues, but NASA is confident it will hit its 2019 target and has taken steps to "protect" the launch date.
Getting NASA astronauts safely out of Orion
As Project Mercury astronaut Gus Grissom learned, NASA spaceflights are not over after splashdown. During his 1961 mission, he barely escaped when the hatch blew too soon and took the "Liberty Bell" capsule to the bottom of the sea. Ever since, NASA has taken splashdown exit procedures very seriously, and it's no exception for the manned Orion capsule that's intended to go to Mars on the tip of the massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.
NASA study finds first SLS launch should be unmanned for safety
It's an exciting time for spaceflight, for sure. Both NASA and SpaceX have plans in place to send rockets and humans into our solar system. Elon Musk's company wants to use the moon as a pit stop on its way to Mars, and NASA wanted to include a human crew on its now-delayed launch to test a new rocket and companion capsule. Today, however, a study by NASA has concluded that sending astronauts on the first flight is not feasible as the costs of keeping them safe are just too high.
NASA pushes first launch of its Mars rocket to 2019
The Space Launch System (SLS), the heavy rocket NASA plans to send humans to Mars with, won't get its first launch until 2019. Tech problems have delayed the project years later than Congress' originally estimated it would debut, but space agency officials have confirmed that the big lifter's initial flight will be pushed back again from late 2018 to sometime in 2019.
New NASA budget focuses almost exclusively on space
Congress has finally passed a bill authorizing NASA's new budget that gives the agency annual funding of$19.5 billion. The paperwork remains mostly unchanged from when it was passed in the Senate last December, with only minor alterations being made. The NASA Transition Authorization Act of 2017 was passed without opposition and focuses almost exclusively on space travel and science. Details about the agency's more contentious Earth-based research, however, will have to wait another day.
Moon mission will test an anti-radiation vest for astronauts
For astronauts headed to Mars, the biggest threat might not be an unforgiving climate or dwindling supplies -- it could be gamma ray radiation that gradually wrecks their bodies. Explorers may soon have a way to shield themselves, though. StemRad has revealed that its AstroRad anti-radiation vest is set to trialed aboard the Orion capsule when it orbits around the Moon during its late 2018 dry run. The non-metallic, layered shields are custom-fitted to each astronaut in order to protect their vital organs without bogging them down.
NASA wants to send humans aboard the first SLS flight
The first Space Launch System flight scheduled for 2018 was supposed to be unmanned, designed to test the new rocket and its companion Orion capsule. But now NASA has grander plans for its maiden flight: acting administrator Robert M. Lightfoot Jr. has announced that the agency is considering adding a crew on board. While authorities already expect the SLS debut to be delayed by a year, its first manned flight wasn't supposed to take place until 2021 at the earliest.
NASA dominated space and social media in 2016
"We all have a thirst for wonder," American astronomer Carl Sagan wrote in his sci-fi novel Contact. "It's a deeply human quality." And it's partly thanks to this "thirst" that NASA had the space game on lock this year, even though it doesn't have access to as much money as it used to. The agency stepped into 2016 armed with $19.3 billion in government funding. Yes, that's almost a $1 billion more than what the administration originally asked for, but it's also significantly lower than NASA's budget in previous years, when adjusted for inflation.
NASA seeks public input on how to cut SLS and Orion costs
NASA has admitted in its latest Request for Information (RFI) that it's spending a bit too much money on the Space Launch System's and the Orion capsule's development. The agency is asking for public input on how to minimize the "production, operations and maintenance costs" of the rocket-and-spacecraft system -- an issue it needs to address soon since it will be under a new administration within a couple of months.
Orion spacecraft may fall behind schedule, go over budget
Going to space is expensive. Really expensive -- which is why every now and then, Congress has the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) perform a non-partisan, independent review of NASA projects. The latest GAO report looks at the space agency's Orion crew capsule program, and the verdict isn't good. According to the study, the Orion program runs not only the risk of going over budget, but of missing its proposed August 2021 launch date, too.
NASA details preparations for SLS' and Orion's first flight
NASA began preparing for Orion's 2018 maiden flight atop the Space Launch System quite some time ago. Since both Orion and SLS are new technologies, the space agency has been subjecting both to a series of rigorous tests, which it has listed and explained in detail in a Tumblr post. NASA says it's been examining every component of the capsule and had blasted it with deafening sounds, earthquake-like vibrations and strong, hurricane-like winds in the past to test its durability. The spacecraft also underwent water impact testing with human dummies inside, wherein it was dropped into a pool from 16 feet above the surface. It's slated to go through more water impact tests simulating different wind and wave conditions in the future.
NASA wants the industry's ideas for deep space habitats
NASA announced on Thursday that it is seeking development proposals for deep space habitats -- the kind that astronauts will call home on trips to Mars and beyond. This call is the second part of NASA's public-private partnership, Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships (NextSTEP), which requested initial concept proposals last October.
NASA starts drop testing Orion with a dummy crew on board
The Orion capsule's first manned mission isn't scheduled to take off until 2023 at the earliest. NASA is already preparing for it, though, and has begun a series of water impact tests using a mockup of the spacecraft with a dummy crew on board. Engineers at the Langley Research Center dropped the mockup in a 20-foot-deep Hydro Impact Basin from 16 feet above the surface for the first test out of nine.
Leap Motion's new motion-sensing tech is built for VR
For several years now, Leap Motion has been working on bringing hand gestures to virtual reality. And it makes sense; using your hands to move digital objects is way more natural than fiddling with a controller. But to do this, you needed to strap one of the company's motion sensor peripherals in front of an existing VR headset, which is a little clunky to say the least. Plus, the sensor was still running the same software built for desktop PCs; a holdover from the days when Leap Motion's main focus was the aforementioned PC accessory. Now, however, the company is ready to take the next leap forward. Today it's announcing Orion, a brand new hardware and software solution that's built just for VR.
NASA's first SLS launch will send cubesats into deep space
NASA announced on Tuesday that the first mission for its new Space Launch System in 2018, dubbed Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), will send more than a dozen mini-satellites as well as an unmanned Orion spacecraft into deep space.
NASA tests Orion spacesuit in low-gravity environment
Since NASA modified its old "pumpkin suit" for future missions aboard the Orion spacecraft, it has to undergo testing to ensure that it's tougher and more mobile than its predecessor. These days, NASA has been testing it aboard a C9 aircraft, which can fly in parabolas to simulate weightlessness. The agency even built a mock-up Orion cabin inside in order to see if astronauts will be capable of performing various tasks while wearing the suit. Since the Orion capsule is meant for deep space missions, the Modified Advanced Crew Escape Suit is being developed to be able to sustain crew members in case of emergency and to protect them during spacewalks. Unfortunately, it'll take almost a decade before we see it used for an actual trip to space, as Orion's first manned mission won't happen until 2023.
NASA wants to hire more astronauts
Have you dreamed of becoming a space explorer? You now have your chance to do something about it: after a four-year silence, NASA is once again hiring new astronauts. The recruiting drive will run between December 14th and mid-February, with the final selections made public in mid-2017. You'll need the right mix education, experience and stamina to even get your foot in the door (there's a long-term spaceflight physical, for example). However, it could easily be worth clearing that high bar.
NASA's Space Launch System inches even closer to flight
NASA has been toiling away on its heavy-lifting Space Launch System since around 2011, and now those rocket plans have taken another giant leap toward actual usability. The Administration announced earlier today that one of the SLS's three main configurations has successfully gone through its critical design review phase, two months after the program turned in its official findings to an independent review board.
NASA preps Orion heat shield for its first flight aboard the SLS
The Orion capsule's heat shield survived its test flight back in December just fine. In fact, Orion Program Manager Mark Kirasich says it "met every expectation" during reentry, enduring temperatures that reached 4,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Thanks to the data NASA gathered from the same test, though, its engineers were able to come to the conclusion that the heat shield used for that flight won't make it through Orion's first mission with the Space Launch System scheduled to happen in 2018. The multi-purpose vehicle will travel farther during the Exploration Mission 1 three years from now. As such, it's bound to encounter colder temperatures and to travel faster -- and hence, face even worse heat -- upon reentry.
NASA enlists student help with Mars mission design challenge
Are you a college student? Want to be a part of NASA's mission to send astronauts to Mars? Well, you're in luck. The space agency has announced the Breakthrough, Innovative, and Game-changing (BIG) Idea Challenge that aims to get design help from university students. The challenge is to create a solution for slowing NASA's massive payload with inflatable spacecraft heat shields or hypersonic inflatable aerodynamic decelerator (HIAD) technology. While NASA managed to successfully land the Curiosity rover on Mars, a spacecraft with a crew on board would weigh between 15-30 tons -- slightly heavier than the rover's one-ton load. Couple that weight with the planet's thin atmosphere and you can understand why NASA needs to develop a new system to slow the vehicle's approach. What's more, NASA hopes that the HIAD tech could be used on other missions, too.
