02 December 2014
Orion service module contract for Airbus
... in uncrewed mode, during the EFT-1 test flight out to 5,800 km beyond low-Earth orbit. An Orion launch on the heavy lift Space Launch System (SLS) rocket will occur in 2017. The SLS has Boeing as its main contractor, with...
02 October 2019
First look at China's new spacecraft capable of deep-space travel
... they are developing the Long March 9 – a Saturn V-class super-heavy-lift rocket comparable in capacity to NASA’s Space Launch System – that will be capable of lifting 50 tons to a Earth-Moon transfer orbit, and 44 tons to a Earth-Mars transfer orbit...
18 December 2019
US Senate suggests Artemis delay after requested funding halved
.... The Exploration portion of the budget (which includes most of the Artemis program) will see the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS), receive $2,585.9 million, of which $300 million is for the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS); Orion gets...
22 July 2021
Factory of the future for Orion capsules
... Processing Facility to the Launch Abort System Facility on July 10 for Orion’s emergency launch-abort system to be added. Next, at KSC’s Vertical Assembly Facility, Orion will be placed atop NASA’s first Space Launch System rocket. Bill Nelson...
February 2020
Climate change and spaceports – a difficult balance
... can have a hefty carbon footprint often due to the burning of solid rocket fuels, as on the US Space Shuttle and upcoming Space Launch System (SLS). The engines of the SpaceX Falcon F9 (pictured) use RP-1 and liquid oxygen, whereas the cleanest...
03 December 2021
NASA selects three companies to develop commercial space stations
... company has also been won a booster production and operations contract by NASA valued up to $3.19 billion to support the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket through 2031. The award includes follow-on production and flight sets for Artemis IV through...
