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By NASA
Early conceptual renderings of cargo variants of human lunar landing systems from NASA’s providers SpaceX, left, and Blue Origin, right. The large cargo landers will have the capability to land approximately 26,000 to 33,000 pounds (12-15 metric tons) of large, heavy payload on the lunar surface. Credit: SpaceX/Blue Origin NASA, along with its industry and international partners, is preparing for sustained exploration of the lunar surface with the Artemis campaign to advance science and discovery for the benefit of all. As part of that effort, NASA intends to award Blue Origin and SpaceX additional work under their existing contracts to develop landers that will deliver large pieces of equipment and infrastructure to the lunar surface.
NASA expects to assign demonstration missions to current human landing system providers, SpaceX and Blue Origin, to mature designs of their large cargo landers following successful design certification reviews. The assignment of these missions builds on the 2023 request by NASA for the two companies to develop cargo versions of their crewed human landing systems, now in development for Artemis III, Artemis IV, and Artemis V.
“NASA is planning for both crewed missions and future services missions to the Moon beyond Artemis V,” said Stephen D. Creech, assistant deputy associate administrator for technical, Moon to Mars Program Office. “The Artemis campaign is a collaborative effort with international and industry partners. Having two lunar lander providers with different approaches for crew and cargo landing capability provides mission flexibility while ensuring a regular cadence of Moon landings for continued discovery and scientific opportunity.”
NASA plans for at least two delivery missions with large cargo. The agency intends for SpaceX’s Starship cargo lander to deliver a pressurized rover, currently in development by JAXA (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency), to the lunar surface no earlier than fiscal year 2032 in support of Artemis VII and later missions. The agency expects Blue Origin to deliver a lunar surface habitat no earlier than fiscal year 2033.
“Based on current design and development progress for both crew and cargo landers and the Artemis mission schedules for the crew lander versions, NASA assigned a pressurized rover mission for SpaceX and a lunar habitat delivery for Blue Origin,” said Lisa Watson-Morgan, program manager, Human Landing System, at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “These large cargo lander demonstration missions aim to optimize our NASA and industry technical expertise, resources, and funding as we prepare for the future of deep space exploration.”
SpaceX will continue cargo lander development and prepare for the Starship cargo mission under Option B of the NextSTEP Appendix H contract. Blue Origin will conduct its cargo lander work and demonstration mission under NextSTEP Appendix P. NASA expects to issue an initial request for proposals to both companies in early 2025.
With the Artemis campaign, NASA will explore more of the Moon than ever before, learn how to live and work away from home, and prepare for future exploration of Mars. NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, exploration ground systems, and Orion spacecraft, along with commercial human landing systems, next-generation spacesuits, Gateway lunar space station, and future rovers are NASA’s foundation for deep space exploration.
For more on NASA’s Human Landing System Program, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/hls
-end-
James Gannon
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
james.h.gannon@nasa.gov
Corinne Beckinger
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
corinne.m.beckinger@nasa.gov
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Last Updated Nov 19, 2024 EditorJessica TaveauLocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
Human Landing System Program Artemis Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Marshall Space Flight Center View the full article
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By NASA
NASA Deputy Administrator Pam Melroy (front center left) discusses NASA 2040 on Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2024, the agency’s strategic initiative for aligning workforce, infrastructure, and technologies to meet the needs of the future with various groups of employees at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The initiative launched in June 2023 to implement meaningful changes to ensure the agency remains the global leader in aerospace and science in the year 2040 while also making the greatest impacts for the nation and the world.
NASA will focus on addressing the agency’s aging infrastructure, shaping an agency workforce strategy, improving decision velocity at many levels, and exploring ways to achieve greater budget flexibility.
Photo credit: NASA/Glenn Benson
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The Aerostar Thunderhead balloon carries the STRATO payload into the sky to reach the stratosphere for flight testing. The balloon appears deflated because it will expand as it rises to higher altitudes where pressures are lower.Credit: Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control Center of Excellence for Advanced Technology Aerial Firefighting/Austin Buttlar NASA is participating in a collaborative effort to use high-altitude balloons to improve real-time communications among firefighters battling wildland fires.
The rugged and often remote locations where wildland fires burn mean cell phone service is often limited, making communication between firefighters and command posts difficult.
The flight testing of the Strategic Tactical Radio and Tactical Overwatch (STRATO) technology brought together experts from NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, the U.S. Forest Service, high-altitude balloon company Aerostar, and Motorola to provide cell service from above. The effort was funded by the NASA Science Mission Directorate’s Earth Science Division Airborne Science Program and the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate Flight Opportunities program.
“This project leverages NASA expertise to address real problems,” said Don Sullivan, principal investigator for STRATO at NASA Ames. “We do a lot of experimental, forward-thinking work, but this is something that is operational and can make an immediate impact.”
Flying High Above Wildland Fires
Soaring above Earth at altitudes of 50,000 feet or more, Aerostar’s Thunderhead high-altitude balloon systems can stay in operation for several months and can be directed to “station keep,” staying within a radius of few miles. Because wildland fires often burn in remote, rugged areas, firefighting takes place in areas where cell service is not ideal. Providing cellular communication from above, from a vehicle that can move as the fire changes, would improve firefighter safety and firefighting efficiency.
The STRATO project’s first test flight took place over the West Mountain Complex fires in Idaho in August and demonstrated significant opportunities to support future firefighting efforts. The balloon was fitted with a cellular LTE transmitter and visual and infrared cameras. To transmit between the balloon’s cell equipment and the wildland fire incident command post, the team used a SpaceX Starlink internet satellite device and Silvus broadband wireless system.
When tested, the onboard instruments provided cell coverage for a 20-mile radius. By placing the transmitter on a gimbal, that cell service coverage could be adjusted as ground crews moved through the region.
The onboard cameras gave fire managers and firefighters on the ground a bird’s-eye view of the fires as they spread and moved, opening the door to increased situational awareness and advanced tracking of firefighting crews. On the ground, teams use an app called Tactical Awareness Kit (TAK) to identify the locations of crew and equipment. Connecting the STRATO equipment to TAK provides real-time location information that can help crews pinpoint how the fire moves and where to direct resources while staying in constant communication.
Soaring Into the Future
The next steps for the STRATO team are to use the August flight test results to prepare for future fire seasons. The team plans to optimize balloon locations as a constellation to maximize coverage and anticipate airflow changes in the stratosphere where the balloons fly. By placing balloons in strategic locations along the airflow path, they can act as replacements to one another as they are carried by airflow streams. The team may also adapt the scientific equipment aboard the balloons to support other wildland fire initiatives at NASA.
As the team prepares for further testing next year, the goal is to keep firefighters informed and in constant communication with each other and their command posts to improve the safety and efficiency of fighting wildland fires.
“Firefighters work incredibly hard saving lives and property over long days of work,” said Sullivan. “I feel honored to be able to do what we can to make their jobs safer and better.”
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Last Updated Nov 14, 2024 Related Terms
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By NASA
As the agency continues to explore for the benefit of all, NASA is in the process of searching for a new headquarters facility in Washington or the immediate surrounding area.
The current NASA Headquarters lease expires in August 2028, and the agency already has evaluated multiple options including leasing or purchasing within the District of Columbia. Through a request for information published Thursday, NASA took a small step in a longer process to determine the best outcome for the agency and U.S. taxpayers.
“With a new facility on the horizon, NASA has a unique opportunity to better meet the needs of a new generation of explorers, discoverers, and public servants – the Artemis Generation,” said Bob Gibbs, associate administrator, Mission Support Directorate. “The next NASA Headquarters will reflect our journey in a facility that inspires and engages the public, aligns with new ways of working, fosters innovation and connection, and maximizes taxpayer funding.”
NASA is asking for responses from members of the development community, local and state jurisdictions, academia, other federal agencies, commercial aerospace partners, and other interested parties to help inform its decision.
Needs for a new headquarters includes approximately 375,000 to 525,000 square feet of office space to house NASA’s workforce. The desired location is within walking distance to a Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority station. In addition, the new location also needs parking options, as well as convenient access to food establishments.
Other ideal characteristics for a new setting include the capability to renovate the space to create a dynamic, flexible, and adaptive work environment inclusive of open work areas, enclosed offices, open collaboration areas, teaming rooms, conference rooms, sensitive compartmented information facilities, and secured storage spaces, to include potential stakeholder meeting, Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) educational outreach, and storage spaces.
Responses to the request for information are due no later than 12 p.m. EST on Jan. 15, 2025. This call for ideas is for informational purposes only and is intended to assist NASA with its planning and strategic decisions regarding a future facility. It is not a request for a lease proposal or a solicitation for a contract or other agreement, and it does not obligate NASA in any way.
Under the leadership of the administrator, NASA Headquarters provides overall guidance and direction to the agency, through 10-field centers and a variety of installations nationwide.
To learn more about NASA and its missions, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov
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Last Updated Nov 14, 2024 LocationNASA Headquarters Related Terms
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Note: The following article is part of a series highlighting propulsion testing at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. To access the entire series, please visit: https://www.nasa.gov/feature/propulsion-powering-space-dreams/.
An aerial image from 1965 shows the dual flame trenches of the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-1/B-2) under construction at NASA’s Stennis Space Center (then known as Mississippi Test Operations) taking shape.NASA/Stennis Since the United States sent the first humans to the Moon more than 60 years ago, NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, has answered the call to help power the nation’s space dreams.
“History shows NASA Stennis is the country’s premier rocket engine test site and the go-to place for propulsion testing,” NASA Stennis Director John Bailey said. “It started with Apollo and continued through space shuttle. Now, we are going back to the Moon and beyond with Artemis – and it all comes through NASA Stennis.”
As the nation raced to send the first humans to the Moon, NASA selected a remote location in Hancock County, Mississippi, in October 1961 to test the needed rocket stages. Thanks to a massive construction project, the site conducted its first Saturn V rocket stage test in April 1966. In the next four-plus years, NASA Stennis tested 27 Saturn V stages, including those that launched 12 astronauts to walk on the Moon.
“Talking to people working here during those years, you hear how much they believed in the mission,” said Joe Schuyler, director of the NASA Stennis Engineering and Test Directorate. “Their hard work helped America reach the Moon and showed us the possibilities for NASA Stennis.”
Construction workers bring down a tree during the early days of construction for NASA’s Stennis Space Center. Tree-cutting to start what was the largest construction project in Mississippi – and one of the largest in the United States – at the time began May 17, 1963.NASA/Stennis NASA Stennis (then known as the Mississippi Test Facility) conducts its first-ever test firing – a 15-second hot fire of the Saturn V S-II-C second stage prototype – on the A-2 Test Stand on April 23, 1966.NASA/Stennis An aerial image from early 1967 shows the completed A-2 Test Stand in the foreground and the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-1/B-2) in the background at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, then known as the Mississippi Test Facility.NASA/Stennis NASA officials view the first space shuttle main engine test on the Fred Haise Test Stand (formerly the A-1 Test Stand) at NASA’s Stennis Space Center (then known as National Space Technology Laboratories) on May 19, 1975.NASA/Stennis A 1979 image offers a close-up view of a space shuttle main propulsion test article hot fire on the B-2 side of the Thad Cochran Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center (then known as National Space Technology Laboratories). Main propulsion test article testing involved installing a shuttle fuel tank, a mockup of the shuttle orbiter and the vehicle’s three-engine configuration on the stand, then firing all three engines simultaneously, as would be done during an actual launch.NASA/Stennis As Apollo missions neared an end, plans were underway to drastically reduce the NASA Stennis footprint. Enter the space shuttle. NASA considered three locations to test engines for its new reusable vehicle before selecting NASA Stennis on March 1, 1970, ensuring the center’s future for the next several decades.
Space shuttle main engine testing proved challenging as the site transitioned from handling full rocket stages to firing single engines. “A big part of the challenge was the fact that teams were testing an entire engine from the very start,” NASA Test Operations Chief Maury Vander said. “Typically, you begin testing components, then progress to a full engine. Teams had a lot to learn in real time.”
NASA Stennis teams also tested the shuttle Main Propulsion Test Article with three engines firing simultaneously. The testing was particularly critical given the first shuttle mission would carry astronauts.
NASA Stennis teams worked diligently to demonstrate the shuttle system would operate safely, an effort characterized as one of the site’s finest hours. Following the first shuttle mission in 1981, astronauts Robert Crippen and John Young visited the south Mississippi site. “The effort that you contributed made it possible for us to sit back and ride,” Crippen told NASA Stennis employees.
From 1975 to 2009, NASA Stennis tested every main engine to help power 135 shuttle missions that enabled historic missions, such as those that deployed and repaired the Hubble Space Telescope and assembled the International Space Station, enabling its many scientific experiments and spinoff technologies. The site also tested every engine and component upgrade and helped troubleshoot performance issues. It led test campaigns following shuttle accidents to help ensure safe returns to flight. In total, the site conducted 2,307 tests for 820,475.68 seconds of accumulated hot fire.
NASA conducts the final test of a space shuttle main engine on the A-2 Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center on July 29, 2009. The Space Shuttle Program concluded two years later with the STS-135 shuttle mission. NASA / Stennis An on-stand camera offers a closeup view of the first test of an RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand (formerly the A-1 Test Stand) at NASA’s Stennis Space Center on Jan. 9, 2015. RS-25 engines power the core stage of NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket.NASA/Stennis Crews at NASA’s Stennis Space Center install the first core stage of NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) on the B-2 side of the Thad Cochran Test Stand on Jan. 21-22, 2020. Following testing, the stage would help launch the Artemis I mission in November 2022.NASA/Stennis NASA conducts a full-duration RS-25 hot fire April 3, 2024, on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, achieving a major milestone for future Artemis flights of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. It marked the final hot fire of a 12-test series to certify production of new RS-25 engines by lead contractor L3Harris (formerly known as Aerojet Rocketdyne) to help power NASA’s SLS rocket on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond, beginning with Artemis V.NASA/Stennis Even as NASA Stennis tested main engines to power shuttle missions, the site led in testing next-generation engines, including the Fastrac, XRS-2200 linear aerospike, and J-2X. It also developed its E Test Complex, with multiple test stands and cells, to support a range of component and engine test projects, including those of commercial aerospace companies.
A landmark agreement between NASA Stennis and Aerojet Rocketdyne (now known as L3Harris) in 1998 marked the site’s first test partnership with such a company. “That was the starting point,” said Vander. “Today, we are a preferred partner for multiple companies and test projects, large and small.”
NASA Stennis also is testing RS-25 engines and related systems to help power NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on Artemis missions to the Moon. When the agency travels to Mars, it is expected the missions will launch with engines tested at the Mississippi site as well.
“The Gulf Coast of Mississippi helped achieve our space dreams of the past, and NASA Stennis continues supporting today’s dreams,” Bailey said. “It is a true testament to the expertise and dedication of our entire team and the incredible support of surrounding communities and the whole state.”
For information about NASA’s Stennis Space Center, visit:
Stennis Space Center – NASA
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Last Updated Nov 13, 2024 EditorNASA Stennis CommunicationsContactC. Lacy Thompsoncalvin.l.thompson@nasa.gov / (228) 688-3333LocationStennis Space Center Related Terms
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