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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
NASA marked a key milestone Feb. 18 with installation of RS-25 engine No. E20001, the first new production engine to help power the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on future Artemis missions to the Moon.
The engine, built by lead SLS engines contractor L3Harris (formerly Aerojet Rocketdyne), was installed on the Fred Haise Test Stand in preparation for acceptance testing next month. It represents the first of 24 new flight engines being built for missions, beginning with Artemis V.
Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18.NASA/Danny Nowlin The NASA Stennis test team will conduct a full-duration, 500-second hot fire, providing critical performance data to certify the engine for use on a future mission. During missions to the Moon, RS-25 engines fire for about 500 seconds and up to the 111% power level to help launch SLS, with the Orion spacecraft, into orbit.
The engine arrived at the test stand from the L3Harris Engine Assembly Facility on the engine transport trailer before being lifted onto the vertical engine installer (VEI) on the west side deck. After rolling the engine into the stand, the team used the VEI to raise and secure it in place.
The upcoming acceptance test follows two certification test series that helped verify the new engine production process and components meet all performance requirements. Four RS-25 engines help launch SLS, producing up to 2 million pounds of combined thrust.
All RS-25 engines for Artemis missions are tested and proven flightworthy at NASA Stennis prior to use. RS-25 tests are conducted by a team of operators from NASA, L3Harris, and Syncom Space Services, prime contractor for site facilities and operations.
Explore More NASA Stennis Images View the full article
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By USH
The ongoing mystery surrounding recent drone sightings has become increasingly complex, with conflicting reports making it difficult to draw definitive conclusions. However, a new and intriguing element has emerged alongside these drones sightings: numerous accounts of mysterious orbs, potentially of alien origin, flying at both low and high altitudes.
Reports of mysterious orbs have been increasing in recent weeks. These orbs have been sighted at both high altitudes and closer to urban areas.
Orb sighting over New Jersey on December 17, 2024Watch video UFO Sightings Daily
Pilots have reported encounters to air traffic control. Listen to conversations between pilots and traffic control.
And a passenger aboard United Airlines flight UA2359 from Chicago to Newark recently captured footage of these mysterious orbs. The video, shared online by the user “EasilyAmusedEE” on December 16, 2024, shows objects at altitudes between 40,000 and 50,000 feet—far beyond the capabilities of consumer drones. The footage was reportedly taken using an iPhone 16 Pro Max.
Video plane passenger films unknown orbs.
About the drone sightings: Meanwhile, eyewitness accounts describe these so-called drones as crafts that emit no noise, suggesting advanced technology. Additionally, there are claims that these crafts seem to intentionally draw attention, as they have reportedly interfered with cars (lamps flickering), electronics, streetlights (lamps flickering), and even fully charged batteries, which are said to be instantly drained in their presence.
Video shows among other (drone/orb) sightings, cars lamps flickering, streetlights lamps flickering, fully charged batteries drained.
This surge in Orb sightings raises more questions. Are these orbs extraterrestrial in origin? Could they be deliberately associated with the drone phenomena, or is their timing coincidental? Some suggest the possibility of a false flag operation, hinting at a deeper and potentially misleading agenda by the U.S. government.
Whether these drones and Orbs sightings point to advanced human technology, extraterrestrial activity, or a mix of both, one thing is clear: there is something significant going on.View the full article
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By NASA
This article is from the 2024 Technical Update.
The NASA Engineering and Safety Center (NESC) has developed an analytical model that predicts diffusion between two gases during piston purging of liquid hydrogen (LH2) tanks. This model helps explain dramatic helium savings seen in a recent Kennedy Space Center (KSC) purge, shows that undesired turbulent mixing occurred in Space Shuttle External Tank purges, and is applicable to future helium purges of the Space Launch System Core Stage LH2 tanks.
Background
In 2023, work was completed on a new 1.3-million-gallon (174,000 standard cubic feet (scf)) liquid hydrogen tank at KSC in support of the Space Launch System[1], see Figure 1. Per contract, the vendor delivered this tank filled with gaseous nitrogen, leaving KSC ground operations the task of replacing the nitrogen with helium: a necessary step prior to introducing liquid hydrogen, which would freeze the nitrogen. Prior helium/nitrogen purges on the Apollo/Space Shuttle era 850,000-gallon (114000 scf) LH2 tanks were performed by pumping
out the nitrogen, introducing helium, drawing samples, and then repeating if necessary. However, the new tank did not have a vacuum port, so instead, it was decided to introduce the helium from the top of the tank and push the nitrogen out of the bottom. Two million scf of helium was obtained and made ready for fear the two gases would mix, resulting in a long and expensive purge. Surprisingly, this top-down, or piston purge, resulted in a rapid replacement of the nitrogen with helium, using only 406,000 scf of helium, about 1.6 million scf less than planned (at $1/scf this is a $1.6 million dollar savings). To better understand this remarkable result, the NESC was asked to address the questions; why did this work so well and can it be improved further?
Figure 1: The new 1.3-million-gallon LH2 tank Upon realizing that the purge was diffusion limited and could be modelled, variations were studied, leading to three important conclusions. The flow rate should be increased until the onset of turbulent mixing; once started, the purge should not be stopped because this allows additional diffusion to occur; and trying to improve the purge by varying temperature or pressure has little benefit. Purging of the huge LH2 spheres is rare, but purging of flight tanks is common. In 2008, purge data from three Space Shuttle External Tanks was measured using a mass spectrometer and the NESC was asked to apply the diffusion model to this data. Doing this showed
evidence that turbulent mixing occurred indicating that the flow rates needed to be decreased. Having such a model has provided insight into the use of piston-type helium purges at KSC, with the goal of saving helium and manpower. This work is now directly applicable to purging the LH2 tank on the Space Launch System Core Stage.
The Binary Gas Sensor
During past purges, gas samples were taken to a lab to indicate the status of the purge but doing that for a piston purge would introduce time delays, allowing unwanted diffusion to take place. Fortuitously, an independent NESC assessment[4] was evaluating a binary gas sensor, with an excellent combination of cost, size, power, and weight to implement in the field, providing rapid real-time monitoring of the purge gas ratio. Using this sensor made the piston purging of the new LH2 tank successful.
References
Fesmire, J.; Swanger, A.; Jacobson, J; and Notardonato, W.: “Energy efficient
large-scale storage of liquid hydrogen,” In IOP Conference Series: Materials
Science and Engineering, vol. 1240, no. 1, p. 012088. IOP Publishing, 2022. Youngquist, R.; Arkin C.; Nurge, M.; Captain, J.; Johnson, R.; and Singh, U.:
Helium Conservation by Diffusion Limited Purging of Liquid Hydrogen Tanks,
NASA/TM-20240007062, June 2024. Singh, U.: Evaluation and Testing of Anaerobic Hydrogen Sensors for the
Exploration Ground Systems Program, NASA/TM-20240012664, Sept. 2024. View the full article
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By NASA
Technicians work to complete operations before propellant load occurs ahead of launch for NASA’s Europa Clipper spacecraft inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 2024. NASA/Kim Shiflett NASA’s Europa Clipper mission moves closer to launch as technicians worked on Wednesday, Sept. 11, inside the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility to prepare the spacecraft for upcoming propellant loading at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
The spacecraft will explore Jupiter’s icy moon Europa, which is considered one of the most promising habitable environments in the solar system. The mission will research whether Europa’s subsurface ocean could hold the conditions necessary for life. Europa could have all the “ingredients” for life as we know it: water, organics, and chemical energy.
Europa Clipper’s launch period opens on Thursday, Oct. 10. It will lift off on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket from Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39A. The spacecraft then will embark on a journey of nearly six years and 1.8 billion miles before reaching Jupiter’s orbit in 2030.
The spacecraft is designed to study Europa’s icy shell, underlying ocean, and potential plumes of water vapor using a gravity science experiment alongside a suite of nine instruments including cameras, spectrometers, a magnetometer, and ice-penetrating radar. The data Europa Clipper collects could improve our understanding of the potential for life elsewhere in the solar system.
Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
View the full article
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Credit from left to right: Stijn Te Strake/Unsplash, Yamaha Motor Corp USA, Maja Petric/Unsplash, Adele Payman/Unsplash The agriculture industry faces several challenges, including limited resources and growing demands to reduce agriculture’s environmental impact while increasing its climate resilience. NASA Aeronautics is dedicated to expanding its efforts to assist commercial, industry, and government partners in advancing aviation systems that could modernize capabilities in agriculture.
In NASA’s 2025 Gateways to Blue Skies Competition: AgAir (Aviation Solutions for Agriculture) collegiate student teams will conceptualize novel aviation systems that can be applied to agriculture by 2035 or sooner with the goal of improving production, efficiency, environmental impact, and extreme weather/climate resilience.
Action Required: Teams of 2 to 6 students to submit a 5-7-page Proposal and 2-minute Video summarizing the team’s proposal concept. Deadline: Proposal and Video Submissions are due February 17, 2025. Forum & Award: We’ll pay you to travel! Up to 8 finalist teams will be selected by a panel of NASA and industry subject matter experts to receive an $8,000 stipend to facilitate full participation in the Gateways to Blue Skies Competition & Forum, held at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Mountain View, CA, in May 2025. Winners are offered internships within NASA Aeronautics during the academic year following the competition. Contact: blueskies@nianet.org Read More Explore More
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