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By NASA
On the left, the Canopee transport carrier containing the European Service Module for NASA’s Artemis III mission arrives at Port Canaveral in Florida, on Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024, before completing the last leg of its journey to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout via truck. On the right, NASA’s Pegasus barge, carrying several pieces of hardware for Artemis II, III, and IV arrives at NASA Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf on Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024. Credit: NASA From across the Atlantic Ocean and through the Gulf of Mexico, two ships converged, delivering key spacecraft and rocket components of NASA’s Artemis campaign to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
On Sept. 3, ESA (European Space Agency) marked a milestone in the Artemis III mission as its European-built service module for NASA’s Orion spacecraft completed a transatlantic journey from Bremen, Germany, to Port Canaveral, Florida, where technicians moved it to nearby NASA Kennedy. Transported aboard the Canopée cargo ship, the European Service Module—assembled by Airbus with components from 10 European countries and the U.S.—provides propulsion, thermal control, electrical power, and water and oxygen for its crews.
“Seeing multi-mission hardware arrive at the same time demonstrates the progress we are making on our Artemis missions,” said Amit Kshatriya, deputy associate administrator, Moon to Mars Program, at NASA Headquarters in Washington. “We are going to the Moon together with our industry and international partners and we are manufacturing, assembling, building, and integrating elements for Artemis flights.”
NASA’s Pegasus barge, the agency’s waterway workhorse for transporting large hardware by sea, ferried multi-mission hardware for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket, the Artemis II launch vehicle stage adapter, the “boat-tail” of the core stage for Artemis III, the core stage engine section for Artemis IV, along with ground support equipment needed to move and assemble the large components. The barge pulled into NASA Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39B Turn Basin Thursday.
The spacecraft factory inside NASA Kennedy’s Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building is set to buzz with additional activity in the coming months. With the Artemis II Orion crew and service modules stacked together and undergoing testing, and engineers outfitting the Artemis III and IV crew modules, engineers soon will connect the newly arrived European Service Module to the crew module adapter, which houses electronic equipment for communications, power, and control, and includes an umbilical connector that bridges the electrical, data, and fluid systems between the crew and service modules.
The SLS rocket’s cone-shaped launch vehicle stage adapter connects the core stage to the upper stage and protects the rocket’s flight computers, avionics, and electrical devices in the upper stage system during launch and ascent. The adapter will be taken to Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building in preparation for Artemis II rocket stacking operations.
The boat-tail, which will be used during the assembly of the SLS core stage for Artemis III, is a fairing-like structure that protects the bottom end of the core stage and RS-25 engines. This hardware, picked up at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, will join the Artemis III core stage engine section housed in the spaceport’s Space Systems Processing Facility.
The Artemis IV SLS core stage engine section arrived from NASA Michoud and also will transfer to the center’s processing facility ahead of final assembly.
Under the Artemis campaign, NASA will land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the lunar surface, establishing long-term exploration for scientific discovery and preparing for human missions to Mars. The agency’s SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft, and supporting ground systems, along with the human landing system, next-generation spacesuits and rovers, and Gateway, serve as NASA’s foundation for deep space exploration.
For more information on NASA’s Artemis missions, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/artemis
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Rachel Kraft
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1600
Rachel.h.kraft@nasa.gov
Allison Tankersley, Antonia Jaramillo Botero
Kennedy Space Center, Florida
321-867-2468
Allison.p.tankersley@nasa.gov/ antonia.jaramillobotero@nasa.gov
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By European Space Agency
The two new Galileo satellites launched in April have entered service, completing the second of three constellation planes. With every addition to the constellation, the precision, availability and robustness of the Galileo signal is improved. The next launch is planned in the coming weeks and the remaining six Galileo First Generation satellites will join the constellation in the next years.
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By NASA
2 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Two robotic arms wrapped in gold material sitting on top of a black and silver box.Naval Research Laboratory NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) have signed an interagency agreement to collaborate on a satellite servicing demonstration in geosynchronous Earth orbit, where hundreds of satellites provide communications, meteorological, national security, and other vital functions.
Under this agreement, NASA will provide subject matter expertise to DARPA’s Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) program to help complete the technology development, integration, testing, and demonstration. The RSGS servicing spacecraft will advance in-orbit satellite inspection, repair, and upgrade capabilities.
NASA is excited to support our long-term partner and advance important technologies poised to benefit commercial, civil, and national objectives. Together, we will make meaningful, long-lasting contributions to the nation’s in-space servicing, assembly, and manufacturing (ISAM) capabilities.
Pam Melroy
NASA Deputy Administrator
NASA will use expertise from the agency’s On-orbit Servicing, Assembly, and Manufacturing 1 project and other relevant efforts to provide hands-on support to RSGS in the areas of space robotics, systems engineering, spacecraft subsystems, integration and testing, operator training, and spaceflight operations. NASA’s involvement in RSGS will continue advancing the agency’s understanding of and experience with complex ISAM systems.
DARPA will continue to lead the RSGS program, which has already achieved several important milestones, including the completion of two dexterous robotic arms designed for inspection and service that have been stress-tested for an on-orbit environment and the integration of those arms with their associated electronics, tools, and ancillary hardware to produce the fully integrated robotic payload.
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Last Updated Sep 05, 2024 EditorLoura Hall Related Terms
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By NASA
5 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
More than 100 scientists will participate in a field campaign involving a research vessel and two aircraft this month to verify the accuracy of data collected by NASA’s new PACE satellite: the Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem mission. The process of data validation includes researchers comparing PACE data with data collected by similar, Earth-based instruments to ensure the measurements match up. Since the mission’s Feb. 8, 2024 launch, scientists around the world have successfully completed several data validation campaigns; the September deployment — PACE-PAX — is its largest. From sea to sky to orbit, a range of vantage points allow NASA Earth scientists to collect different types of data to better understand our changing planet. Collecting them together, at the same place and the same time, is an important step used to verify the accuracy of satellite data.
NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) satellite launched in February 2024 and is collecting observations of the ocean and measuring atmospheric particle and cloud properties. This data will help inform scientists and decision makers about the health of Earth’s ocean, land surfaces, and atmosphere and the interactions between them.
Technicians work to process the NASA’s Plankton, Aerosol, Cloud, ocean Ecosystem (PACE) observatory on a spacecraft dolly in a high bay at the Astrotech Space Operations Facility near the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Monday, Dec. 4, 2023. Credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett To make sure the data from PACE’s instruments accurately represent the ocean and the atmosphere, scientists compare (or “validate”) the data collected from orbit with measurements they collect at or near Earth’s surface. The mission’s biggest validation campaign, called PACE Postlaunch Airborne eXperiment (PACE-PAX), began on Sept. 3, 2024, and will last the entire month.
“If we want to have confidence in the observations from PACE, we need to validate those observations,” said Kirk Knobelspiesse, mission scientist for PACE-PAX and an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. “This field campaign is focused on doing just that.”
Scientists will make measurements both from aircraft and ships. Based out of three locations across California — Marina, Santa Barbara, and NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards — the campaign includes more than 100 people working in the field and several dozen instruments.
“This campaign allows us to validate data for both the atmosphere and the ocean, all in one campaign,” said Brian Cairns, deputy mission scientist for PACE-PAX and an atmospheric scientist at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City.
On the ocean, ships, including the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) research vessel Shearwater, will gather data on ocean biology and the optical properties of the water. Scientists onboard will gather water samples to help define the types of phytoplankton at different locations and their relative abundance, something that PACE’s hyperspectral Ocean Color Instrument measures from orbit.
Members of the PACE-PAX team – from left to right, Cecile Carlson, Adam Ahern (NOAA), Dennis Hamaker (NPS), Luke Ziemba, and Michael Shook (NASA Langley Research Center) – in front of the Twin Otter aircraft as they prep for the start of the campaign. Credit: Judy Alfter/NASA Overhead, a Twin Otter research aircraft operated by the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California, will collect data on the atmosphere. At altitudes of up to 10,000 feet, the aircraft will sample and measure cloud droplet sizes, aerosol sizes, and the amount of light that those particles scatter and absorb. These are the atmospheric properties that PACE observes with its two polarimeters, SPEXOne and HARP2.
At a higher altitude — approximately 70,000 feet up — NASA’s ER-2 aircraft will provide a complementary view from above clouds, looking down on the atmosphere and ocean in finer detail than the satellite, but with a narrower view.
The NASA ER-2 high-altitude aircraft preparing for flight on Jan. 29, 2023. The aircraft is based at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center Building 703 in Palmdale, California.Credit: NASA/Carla Thomas The plane will carry several instruments that are similar to those on PACE, including two prototypes of PACE’s polarimeters, called SPEXAirborne and AirHARP. In addition, two instruments called the Portable Remote Imaging SpectroMeter and Pushbroom Imager for Cloud and Aerosol Research and Development — from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasedena, California, and NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, respectively — will measure essentially all the wavelengths of visible light (color). The remote sensing measurements are key for scientists who want to test the methods they use to analyze PACE satellite data.
Together, the instruments on the ER-2 approximate the data that PACE gathers and complement the in situ measurements from the ocean research vessel and the Twin Otter.
As the field campaign team gathers data, PACE will be observing the same areas of the ocean surface and atmosphere. Once the campaign is over, scientists will look at the data PACE returned and compare them to the measurements they took from the other three vantage points.
“Once you launch the satellite, there’s no more tinkering you can do,” said Ivona Cetinic, deputy mission scientist for PACE-PAX and an ocean scientist at NASA Goddard.
Though the scientists cannot alter the satellite anymore, the algorithms designed to interpret PACE data can be adjusted to make the measurements more accurate. Validation checks from campaigns like PACE-PAX help scientists ensure that PACE will be able to return accurate data about our oceans and atmosphere — critical to better understand our changing planet and its interconnected systems — for years to come.
“The ocean and atmosphere are such changing environments that it’s really important to validate what we see,” Cetinic said. “Understanding the accuracy of the view from the satellite is important, so we can use the data to answer important questions about climate change.”
By Erica McNamee
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
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Last Updated Sep 04, 2024 EditorKate D. RamsayerContactErica McNameeerica.s.mcnamee@nasa.govLocationGoddard Space Flight Center Related Terms
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
The Dash 7 aircraft that will be modified into a hybrid electric research vehicle under NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration project is seen taking off from Moses Lake, Washington en route to Seattle for a ceremony unveiling its new livery. The aircraft is currently operating with a traditional fuel-based propulsion system but will eventually be modified with a hybrid electric system. NASA / David C. Bowman Parked under the lights inside a hangar in Seattle, a hybrid electric research aircraft from electric motor manufacturer magniX showed off a new look symbolizing its journey toward helping NASA make sustainable aviation a reality.
During a special unveiling ceremony hosted by magniX on Aug. 22, leaders from the company and NASA revealed the aircraft, with its new livery, to the public for the first time at King County International Airport, commonly known as Boeing Field.
The aircraft is a De Havilland Dash 7 that was formerly used for carrying cargo. Working under NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration (EPFD) project, magniX will modify it to serve as a testbed for hybrid electric aircraft propulsion research.
The company’s goal under EPFD is to demonstrate potential fuel savings and performance boosts with a hybrid electric system for regional aircraft carrying up to 50 passengers. These efforts will help reduce environmental impacts from aviation by lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
This livery recognizes the collaborative effort focused on proving that hybrid electric flight for commercial aircraft is feasible.
“We are a research organization that continues to advance aviation, solve the problems of flight, and lead the community into the future,” said Robert A. Pearce, associate administrator for NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate. “Through our EPFD project, we’re taking big steps in partnership to make sure electric aviation is part of the future of commercial flight.”
Lee Noble, director for NASA’s Integrated Aviation Systems Program (right) and Robert Pearce, associate administrator for NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (middle) chat with an AeroTEC test pilot for the Dash 7. Battery packs are stored along the floor of the cabin for magniX’s hybrid electric flight demonstrationsNASA / David C. Bowman Collaborative Effort
NASA is collaborating with industry to modify existing planes with new electrified aircraft propulsion systems. These aircraft testbeds will help demonstrate the benefits of hybrid electric propulsion systems in reducing fuel burn and emissions for future commercial aircraft, part of NASA’s broader mission to make air travel more sustainable.
“EPFD is about showing how regional-scale aircraft, through ground and flight tests, can be made more sustainable through electric technology that is available right now,” said Ben Loxton, vice president for magniX’s work on the EPFD project.
Thus far, magniX has focused on developing a battery-powered engine and testing it on the ground to make sure it will be safe for work in the air. The company will now begin transitioning over to a new phase of the project — transforming the Dash 7 into a hybrid electric research vehicle.
“With the recent completion of our preliminary design review and baseline flight tests, this marks a transition to the next phase, and the most exciting phase of the project: the modification of this Dash 7 with our magniX electric powertrain,” Loxton said.
To make this possible, magniX is working with their airframe integrator AeroTEC to help modify and prepare the aircraft for flight tests that will take place out of Moses Lake, Washington. Air Tindi, which supplied the aircraft to magniX for this project, will help with maintenance and support of the aircraft during the testing phases.
The Dash 7 that will be modified into a hybrid electric research vehicle under NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration project on display with its new livery for the first time. In front of the plane is an electric powertrain that magniX will integrate into the current aircraft to build a hybrid electric propulsion system.NASA/David C. Bowman Creating a Hybrid Electric Aircraft
A typical hybrid electric propulsion system combines different sources of energy, such as fuel and electricity, to power an aircraft. For magniX’s demonstration, the modified Dash 7 will feature two electric engines fed by battery packs stored in the cabin, and two gas-powered turboprops.
The work will begin with replacing one of the aircraft’s outer turboprop engines with a new, magni650-kilowatt electric engine – the base of its hybrid electric system. After testing those modifications, magniX will swap out the remaining outer turboprop engine for an additional electric one.
Earlier this year, magniX and NASA marked the milestone completion of successfully testing the battery-powered engine at simulated altitude. Engineers at magniX are continuing ground tests of the aircraft’s electrified systems and components at NASA’s Electric Aircraft Testbed (NEAT) facility in Sandusky, Ohio.
By rigorously testing these new technologies under simulated flight conditions, such as high altitudes and extreme temperatures, researchers can ensure each component operates safely before taking to the skies.
The collaboration between EPFD, NASA, GE Aerospace, and magniX works to advance hybrid electric aircraft propulsion technologies for next-generation commercial aircraft in the mid-2030 timeframe. NASA is working with these companies to conduct two flight demonstrations showcasing different approaches to hybrid electric system design.
Researchers will use data gathered from ground and flight tests to identify and reduce certification gaps, as well as inform the development of new standards and regulations for future electrified aircraft.
“We at NASA are excited about EPFD’s potential to make aviation more sustainable,” Pearce said. “Hybrid electric propulsion on a megawatt scale accelerates U.S. progress toward its goal of net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, benefitting all who rely on air transportation every day.”
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Last Updated Sep 03, 2024 EditorJim BankeContactMichael Jorgensen Related Terms
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