 EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE - Sierra Nevada Corporation's (SNC) Space Systems Dream Chaser flight vehicle arrived at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center in Edwards, Calif., Wednesday to begin tests of its flight and runway landing systems.
The tests are part of pre-negotiated, paid-for-performance milestones with NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP), which is facilitating U.S.-led companies' development of spacecraft and rockets that can launch from American soil. The overall goal of CCP is to achieve safe, reliable and cost-effective U.S. human access to and from the International Space Station and low-Earth orbit.
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| Dream Chaser Photo Credit: Sierra Nevada Corp. |
Tests at Dryden will include tow, captive-carry and free-flight tests of the Dream Chaser. A truck will tow the craft down a runway to validate performance of the nose strut, brakes and tires. The captive-carry flights will further examine the loads it will encounter during flight as it is carried by an Erickson Skycrane helicopter. The free flight later this year will test Dream Chaser's aerodynamics through landing.
Meanwhile, on the east coast, several NASA astronauts will be at the agency's Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va., this week to fly simulations of a Dream Chaser approach and landing to help evaluate the spacecraft's subsonic handling. The test will measure how well the spacecraft would handle in a number of different atmospheric conditions and assess its guidance and navigation performance.
"Unique public-private partnerships like the one between NASA and Sierra Nevada Corporation are creating an industry capable of building the next generation of rockets and spacecraft that will carry U.S. astronauts to the scientific proving ground of low-Earth orbit," said William Gerstenmaier, NASA's associate administrator for human exploration and operations in Washington. "NASA centers around the country paved the way for 50 years of American human spaceflight, and they're actively working with our partners to test innovative commercial space systems that will continue to ensure American leadership in exploration and discovery."
The Dream Chaser Space System is based on Langley's Horizontal Lander HL-20 lifting body design concept. The design builds on years of analysis and wind tunnel testing by Langley engineers during the 1980s and 1990s. Langley and SNC joined forces six years ago to update the HL-20 design in the Dream Chaser orbital crew vehicle. In those years SNC has worked to refine the spacecraft design. SNC will continue to test models in Langley wind tunnels. Langley researchers also helped develop a cockpit simulator at SNC's facility in Louisville, Colo., and the flight simulations being assessed at the center.
NASA is partnered with SNC, Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) and The Boeing Company to meet CCP milestones for integrated crew transportation systems under the Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) initiative. Advances made by these companies under their funded Space Act Agreements ultimately are intended to lead to the availability of commercial human spaceflight services for government and commercial companies.
While NASA works with U.S. industry partners to develop commercial spaceflight capabilities, the agency also is developing the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System (SLS), a crew capsule and heavy-lift rocket to provide an entirely new capability for human exploration. Designed to be flexible for launching spacecraft for crew and cargo missions, SLS and Orion will expand human presence beyond low-Earth orbit and enable new missions of exploration in the solar system.
|  FRENCH GUIANA - The second flight of ESA’s newest launch vehicle has been completed from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. Two Earth observation satellites, ESA’s Proba-V and Vietnam’s VNREDSat‑1A, were released into different orbits, demonstrating the rocket’s versatility. Estonia’s first satellite, the ESTCube‑1 technology demonstrator, was also released into orbit. Vega lifted off at 02:06 GMT on 7 May (23:06 local time 6 May; 04:06 CEST 7 May) on a complex mission requiring five upper-stage boosts and lasting about twice as long as its first launch, in February 2012. The three solid-propellant stages performed flawlessly and, after two burns of the liquid-propellant upper stage, Proba‑V was released into a circular orbit at an altitude of 820 km, over the western coast of Australia, some 55 minutes into flight.
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| Vega's Rainy Launch Photo Credit: Arianespace |
The satellite is now being controlled by ESA’s centre in Redu, Belgium, where it is undergoing a health check and testing before the operational phase starts to monitor the vegetation coverage on Planet Earth. After releasing Proba-V, the upper stage performed a third burn and the top half of the egg-shaped Vega Secondary Payload Adapter was ejected. After a fourth burn to circularise the orbit at an altitude of 704 km, VNREDSat-1A was released 1 hour 57 minutes into flight. ESTCube‑1 was ejected from its dispenser three minutes later. A fifth and last burn will now place the spent upper stage on a trajectory that ensures a safe reentry that complies with new debris mitigation regulations. “It is another great day for ESA, for its Member States and for Europe. Thanks to decisions taken by Member States, ESA and European industry are demonstrating once again their capabilities of innovation. Among the Member States, special mention goes to Italy which has led the Vega Programme, Belgium which has led the Proba projects at ESA, and France which has led the development and maintenance of the European spaceport here in Kourou. We are also proud to have made possible the launch of the first satellite from Estonia. ,” said Jean-Jacques Dordain, Director General of ESA. The flight was conducted under the Vega Research and Technology Accompaniment programme (VERTA) that aims at demonstrating the versatility of the launch system. It also marked the start of the transition from ESA to Arianespace as launch operator. Arianespace provided flight analysis, preparation and operations, and the marketing that secured VNREDSat‑1A as Vega’s first commercial payload. This second mission demonstrated Vega’s capability to launch multiple satellite stacks with the new VESPA multiple launch adapter, as well as its overall flexibility. It also introduced new flight software developed by contractor ELV and a new tracking station in the northwest of French Guiana that ensures telemetry links during some phases of the flight when they could be affected by the plume from the solid propellants. “Vega has confirmed that it is ready to deliver a high-quality service for small payloads to low Earth orbit,” said Antonio Fabrizi, ESA’s Director of Launchers. “Europe now has the capability to serve both the government and commercial market in this growing market segment. “Since the qualification flight one year ago, the marketplace has warmly embraced the arrival of Vega, and today we launched the first commercial satellite.” The Proba‑V primary payload is a 138,2 kg satellite built by Qinetiq Space Belgium. “With the launch of this third Proba satellite, ESA’s small satellite series has come of age,” notes Franco Ongaro, ESA Director of Technical and Quality Management. “This flight affirms ESA’s capacity to provide concepts and flexible mission designs that address specific needs in a short time. Proba‑V will be an operational satellite as soon as it is commissioned, supplying data to an eagerly waiting community. “In addition, it continues the tradition of being a technology demonstrator for innovative technology that will benefit the wider European space community for years to come.” Proba‑V is based on the platform flown on two previous ESA missions and carries the Vegetation imager to map global vegetation cover every two days, as a follow-on to the first generation of Vegetation imagers on France’s Spot-4 and -5 satellites. Proba-V is flying in the same orbit as Spot-5 in order to take over from the ageing satellite on its retirement next year. Vegetation is a high-technology optical imager designed to provide 350 m-resolution imagery in four visible and infrared bands with an impressive 2250 km swath width that will allow daily coverage of all areas within 35–75ºN and 35–56ºS. These data will be processed and provided to a wide community of international users, including the European Commission. In addition to this primary payload, Proba also hosts a series of technology payloads such as a receiver to detect aircraft in flight around the globe, a communications amplifier based on the latest gallium nitride technology, a novel pair of radiation monitors and a photonics experiment testing fibre optics for space. More information on Proba can be found at: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Technology/Proba_Missions VNREDSat-1A (Vietnam Natural Resources, Environment, Disaster Satellite) is a 115,3 kg commercial remote sensing satellite built by Astrium for Vietnam’s Academy of Sciences and Technologies. Its launch was contracted through Arianespace in January. ESTCube-1 is Estonia’s first satellite. This 1.3 kg CubeSat was designed and built by students from the University of Tartu with a contribution from the Finnish Meteorological Institute. It will deploy a 10 m-long tether to demonstrate electrostatic manoeuvring through the plasma flow, which could lead to electrostatic solar sails for propellantless interplanetary travel. About Vega As technology advances allow satellites to shrink, demand is increasing for smaller satellites, in particular for scientific and Earth observation missions. As an affordable response to European institutional needs and to maintain its competitiveness in the world’s launch services market, Europe has developed the Vega launch system. Vega is able to inject payloads of up to 1.5 tonne into low polar orbits at altitudes of 300–1500 km. With a length of 30 m and a diameter of 3 m, it has three solid-propellant stages (P80, Zefiro-23 and Zefiro-9) and a liquid-propellant stage (AVUM: Attitude and Vernier Upper Module). Unlike most small launchers, it is able to place multiple payloads in orbit. The VERTA programme covers a batch of five missions to demonstrate the flexibility of the system, promoting the smooth introduction of the vehicle for commercial exploitation. Seven ESA Member States (Italy, France, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, Switzerland and Sweden) are contributing to the Vega programme. The industrial prime contractor is ELV SpA, 70% of which is owned by Avio SpA and 30% by Italy’s ASI space agency. The flight manifest for Vega is currently: Kazakhstan’s DZZ-HR high-resolution remote sensing satellite (2014), the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle reentry demonstrator (2014), the LISA Pathfinder mission to demonstrate the technologies for the future Laser Interferometer Space Antenna gravity-wave detection mission (2015), and the Aeolus satellite to map Earth’s wind profiles (2015). More information on Vega at: http://www.esa.int/Our_Activities/Launchers/Launch_vehicles/Vega About the European Space Agency The European Space Agency (ESA) is Europe's gateway to space. ESA is an intergovernmental organisation, created in 1975, with the mission to shape the development of Europe’s space capability and ensure that investment in space delivers benefits to the citizens of Europe and the world. ESA has 20 Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland and the United Kingdom, of whom 18 are Member States of the EU. ESA has Cooperation Agreements with eight other Member States of the EU and is discussing an Agreement with the one remaining (Bulgaria). Canada takes part in some ESA programmes under a Cooperation Agreement. ESA is also working with the EU on implementing the Galileo and Copernicus programmes. By coordinating the financial and intellectual resources of its members, ESA can undertake programmes and activities far beyond the scope of any single European country. ESA develops the launchers, spacecraft and ground facilities needed to keep Europe at the forefront of global space activities. Today, it launches satellites for Earth observation, navigation, telecommunications and astronomy, sends probes to the far reaches of the Solar System and cooperates in the human exploration of space. Learn more at www.esa.int |  MOJAVE, Calif. – Today, Virgin Galactic, the world’s first commercial spaceline owned by Sir Richard Branson’s Virgin Group and Abu Dhabi’s aabar Investments PJS, completed the first rocket-powered flight of its space vehicle, SpaceShipTwo (SS2). The test, conducted by teams from Scaled Composites (Scaled) and Virgin Galactic, officially marks Virgin Galactic’s entrance into the final phase of vehicle testing prior to commercial service from Spaceport America in New Mexico.
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| Spaceship 2 takes to the sky! |
“The first powered flight of Virgin Spaceship Enterprise was without any doubt, our single most important flight test to date,” said Virgin Galactic Founder Sir Richard Branson, who was on the ground in Mojave to witness the occasion. “For the first time, we were able to prove the key components of the system, fully integrated and in flight. Today’s supersonic success opens the way for a rapid expansion of the spaceship’s powered flight envelope, with a very realistic goal of full space flight by the year’s end. We saw history in the making today and I couldn’t be more proud of everyone involved.” The test began at 7.02am local time when SS2 took off from Mojave Air and Space Port mated to WhiteKnightTwo (WK2), Virgin Galactic’s carrier aircraft. Piloting SS2 were Mark Stucky, pilot, and Mike Alsbury, co-pilot, who are test pilots for Scaled, which built SS2 for Virgin Galactic. At the WK2 controls were Virgin Galactic’s Chief Pilot Dave Mackay, assisted by Clint Nichols and Brian Maisler, co-pilot and flight test engineer, respectively, for Scaled. Upon reaching 47,000 feet altitude and approximately 45 minutes into the flight, SS2 was released from WK2. After cross-checking data and verifying stable control, the pilots triggered ignition of the rocket motor, causing the main oxidizer valve to open and igniters to fire within the fuel case. At this point, SS2 was propelled forward and upward to a maximum altitude of 55,000 feet. The entire engine burn lasted 16 seconds, as planned. During this time, SS2 went supersonic, achieving Mach 1.2. “We partnered with Virgin Galactic several years ago with the aspiration to transform and commercialize access to space for the broader public,” said His Excellency Khadem Al Qubaisi, Chairman of aabar InvestmentsPJS. “Today’s test is another key milestone in realizing that aspiration. Our partnership goes from strength to strength, and is an excellent example of aabar’s desire to participate in the development of world class technologies that are commercially viable and strategically important, both for the company, its shareholders, and for Abu Dhabi.” The entire rocket-powered flight test lasted just over 10 minutes, culminating in a smooth landing for SS2 in Mojave at approximately 8am local time. “The rocket motor ignition went as planned, with the expected burn duration, good engine performance and solid vehicle handling qualities throughout,” said Virgin Galactic President & CEO George Whitesides. “The successful outcome of this test marks a pivotal point for our program. We will now embark on a handful of similar powered flight tests, and then make our first test flight to space.” In the coming months, the Virgin Galactic and Scaled test team will expand the spaceship’s powered flight envelope culminating in full space flight, which the companies anticipate will take place before the end of 2013. “I’d like to congratulate the entire team,” said President of Scaled Kevin Mickey. “This milestone has been a long time coming and it’s only through the hard work of the team and the tremendous support of Virgin Galactic that we have been able to witness this important milestone. We look forward to all our upcoming tests and successes. |  WALLOPS ISLAND - Lookout SpaceX you have some competition! Orbital sciences corporation has successfully launched its new Antares booster rocket clearing the way for an orbital test flight of its Cygnus ISS resupply system. This will make the company only the second commercial provider to conduct an ISS resupply mission. SpaceX was the first and has so far flown 2 successful missions to ISS.
Unlike most American space launches, which launch out of NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Antares was launched out of the Wallops Island Flight Facility in Virginia. Wallops is America's oldest launch facility but up until today had only launched sounding rockets. When the 130 foot tall booster thundered out of Launch Complex 0A, spewing 750,000 pounds of fire in the process, it became by far the largest rocket to ever launch from that facility.
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| Launch of Antares 1 Photo Credit: NASA |
"Today's successful test marks another significant milestone in NASA's plan to rely on American companies to launch supplies and astronauts to the International Space Station, bringing this important work back to the United States where it belongs," said NASA Administrator Charles Bolden. "Congratulations to Orbital Sciences and the NASA team that worked alongside them for the picture-perfect launch of the Antares rocket.
Orbital plans to launch its Cygnus demonstration flight this summer. Much like the SpaceX Dragon, Antares will Cygnus into a low Earth orbit. From there it will spend about two days chasing down the International Space Station. Upon arrival Cygnus will be captured by the station's robot arm and birthed to the station. The crew will then unload about 800 pounds of cargo and fill the spacecraft with trash and unneeded equipment. At the end of the mission the spacecraft will be un-berthed using the station's robot arm and then released into space. Here is where things differ between Cygnus and Dragon. Where as Dragon would return to Earth, Cygnus will dive into the Earths atmosphere and destroy itself. The differences between the two systems will give NASA increased flexibility in how it decides to conduct a particular re-supply mission.
In addition to its main payload, the Cygnus Simulator, Antares carried three additional payloads - Alexander, Graham, and Bell. These are three student built microsats that use cell phones as computers. If you go the the web site: WWW.phonesat.com you can listen in to the satellites as they orbit the Earth. RG |  HOUSTON, April 5, 2013 – The structure that will join the Boeing [NYSE: BA] Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 spacecraft to an Atlas V rocket has successfully completed a preliminary design review, another step toward the return of humans to space on a U.S. vehicle. This is the third milestone under the company’s Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap) agreement with NASA that Boeing achieved on schedule.
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| Artists rendering of an Atlas V on the launch pad with a Boeing CST-100 on top. Photo Credit: ULA |
The structure, known as the Launch Vehicle Adapter, is being designed by United Launch Alliance (ULA), which also makes the Atlas V. Completion of this milestone means detailed engineering of the adapter can begin as progress toward the first two CST-100 test flights, as early as 2016, continues. “This review was an outstanding integrated effort by the Boeing, ULA and NASA teams,” said John Mulholland, vice president and program manager of Boeing Commercial Crew Programs. “It sets the baseline for us to proceed to wind tunnel testing and the launch segment review in June.” Boeing completed two additional CCiCap milestones earlier this year: the Engineering Release 2.0 software release, which lays the groundwork for spacecraft control and communications, and the Landing & Recovery Ground Systems and Ground Communications design review, which establishes a plan for the equipment and infrastructure needed for ground communications and landing and recovery operations. Boeing's Commercial Crew Program includes the design, manufacture, test and evaluation, and demonstration of an integrated Commercial Crew Transportation System – comprised of the CST-100 spacecraft, launch vehicle, and ground and mission operations – for NASA's Commercial Crew Development program. The Boeing system will provide crewed flights to the International Space Station and also support the Bigelow Aerospace orbital space complex. The program is based on Boeing's experience and innovation evolved from more than 50 years of human spaceflight and nearly 100 years of commercial aviation. A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $33 billion business with 59,000 employees worldwide. Follow us on Twitter: @BoeingDefense. |  March 26, 2013, Mojave, California - XCOR Aerospace today announced a first in aviation and space history, the firing of a full piston pump-powered rocket engine. This breakthrough is the foundation for fully reusable spacecraft that can fly multiple times per day, every day. It is a game changing technology that has the power to fundamentally alter the way we as a society view, visit, and utilize the abundant resources around our planet and in our solar system.
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| The XCOR® Lynx® rocket propulsion system is tested under full piston pump power. Photo Credit: XCOR |
The initial portion of XCOR's pump test program culminated in a 67-second engine run with the propulsion system mated to the flight weight Lynx fuselage. After the installation of the flight sized liquid oxygen tank, the next test sequence will extend the engine run duration to the full powered flight duration of the Lynx Mark I suborbital vehicle. “Through use of our proprietary rocket propellant piston pumps we deliver both kerosene and liquid oxygen to our rocket engines and eliminate the need for heavy, high-pressure fuel and oxidizer tanks. It also enables our propulsion system to fly multiple times per day and last for tens of thousands of flights,” said XCOR Chief Executive Officer Jeff Greason. “This is one more step toward a significant reduction in per-flight cost and turnaround time, while increasing overall flight safety.” Boeing provided additional funding to complete the XCOR test sequence and advance low-cost rocket propulsion technology. The demonstrated results of the full pump fed engine firing for extended periods helps to ensure the technology migrates into broader global applications. “Unlike the expensive and finicky turbopumps on today’s rocket propulsion systems, XCOR’s piston pumps are designed to be as powerful in their thrust class as turbines, but as easy to manufacture, maintain and operate as an automotive engine,” said XCOR Chief Operating Officer Andrew Nelson. “This is the culmination of a 12 year program to develop this unique technology. The kerosene piston pump has been successfully flight-proven during our 40-flight test program on the X-Racer aircraft. We’ll be entering another flight test program soon with Lynx and these pumps and engines will power XCOR and the industry to the next level.” # # # About XCOR Aerospace: XCOR Aerospace is on the verge of becoming the most active spaceflight company in the world based on our safer, reliable and reusable rocket-powered vehicles, propulsion systems, advanced non-flammable composites and rocket piston pumps. XCOR is building Lynx, a piloted, two-seat, fully reusable liquid rocket-powered vehicle that takes-off and lands horizontally. The Lynx-family of vehicles serves three primary missions depending on their specific type including: research & scientific missions, private spaceflight, and micro satellite launch (only on the Lynx Mark III). Lynx production models (designated Lynx Mark II) are designed to be robust, multi-mission (research / scientific or private spaceflight) commercial vehicles capable of flying to 100+ km in altitude up to four times per day. Lynx vehicles are available to customers in the free world on a wet lease basis. XCOR also works with aerospace prime contractors and government customers on major propulsion systems development. XCOR Aerospace is based in Mojave, California and is creating a new Research and Development Center in Midland, Texas. (www.xcor.com) |  ARLINGTON, Va., March 28, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- ATK (NYSE: ATK) successfully tested its newly developed CASTOR® 30XL upper stage solid rocket motor today at the U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) in Tennessee.
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| ATK successfully ground tested its new CASTOR 30XL upper stage solid rocket motor March 27, 2013, at the U.S. Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Complex (AEDC) in Tennessee. This motor will be used for NASA commercial and government launch vehicles. (PRNewsFoto/ATK) |
The test was the final qualification for the ATK commercial motor, which was jointly developed by ATK and Orbital Sciences Corporation (NYSE: ORB) in just 20 months from concept to completion. The CASTOR 30XL is designed to ignite at altitudes in excess of 100,000 feet. In order to accurately test the motor performance, the static fire was conducted at AEDC using a vacuum chamber specially designed to simulate upper atmospheric conditions. Initial data indicate the motor performed as designed, and ATK will now analyze the results against its performance models. "I am very pleased with our successful CASTOR 30XL test," said Scott Lehr, ATK vice president and general manager of Defense and Commercial Systems. "In less than two years, the ATK/Orbital team designed and built the motor that was fired today. We look forward to seeing this stage become part of the Antares launch vehicle, supporting ISS cargo resupply missions for NASA." The motor is intended for use by Orbital as an enhanced second stage of the Antares™ launch vehicle. Antares is slated to perform commercial cargo re-supply missions to the International Space Station (ISS) for NASA, to be demonstrated under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services program for later delivery missions to the ISS under the Commercial Resupply Services contract. The CASTOR 30XL solid rocket motor is 92 inches in diameter, 236 inches in length and weighs approximately 58,000 lbs. The nozzle is eight feet long with a submerged design with a high-performance expansion ratio (56:1) and a dual density exit cone well-suited for high altitude operation. The CASTOR 30XL is a high-performing upper stage motor in ATK's commercial product line of solid rocket motors. The company's flight-proven rocket motors are utilized for military and commercial customer missions. A basic version of the CASTOR 30 motor was tested at AEDC in December 2009 and will fly the initial Antares missions. The CASTOR 30XL is an upgraded version that will fly later operational missions requiring greater payload capacity. The CASTOR 30XL motor was tested at AEDC due to their unique capability of being able to simulate second stage flight conditions. The Air Force base has 27 test units with capabilities that are unique in the United States and 14 that are unique world-wide. A key partner supporting ATK through development and production of the CASTOR 30XL motor is Moog Inc. in East Aurora, N.Y., which produced the Thrust Vector Control (VTC) System. This system was developed by the C30 program to have common hardware for future use on other ATK motors. ATK is an aerospace, defense, and commercial products company with operations in 21 states, Puerto Rico, and internationally. News and information can be found on the Internet at www.atk.com. Certain information discussed in this press release constitutes forward-looking statements as defined in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Although ATK believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. Forward-looking information is subject to certain risks, trends and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those projected. Among those factors are: changes in governmental spending, budgetary policies and product sourcing strategies; the company's competitive environment; the terms and timing of awards and contracts; and economic conditions. ATK undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements. For further information on factors that could impact ATK, and statements contained herein, please refer to ATK's most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and any subsequent quarterly reports on Form 10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. |  HOUSTEN - The SpaceX Dragon fired its engines for the last time Tuesday at 11:42 a.m. EDT sending it through the Earth’s atmosphere for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean at 12:34 p.m. A team of SpaceX engineers, technicians and divers will recover the vehicle off the coast of Baja, California, for the journey back to shore which will take about 30 hours.
Dragon's release from Canadarm2 occurred at 6:56 a.m. The Expedition 35 crew commanded the spacecraft to slowly depart from the International Space Station. Ground controllers earlier sent commands to the Canadarm2 to unberth Dragon from the Harmony node at 4:10 a.m. EDT.
› Listen to Tom Marshburn's comments after Dragon's departure
› Read about Dragon’s March 1 launch
› Read about Dragon’s March 3 capture
Dragon's return date, originally scheduled for March 25, was postponed due to inclement weather developing near its targeted splashdown site in the Pacific Ocean. The additional day spent attached to the orbiting laboratory will not affect science samples scheduled to return aboard the spacecraft. NASA Television will provide coverage of Dragon's departure beginning at 4 a.m. EDT.
The Dragon spacecraft launched atop the Falcon 9 rocket on the SpaceX-2 commercial resupply mission March 1 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. Two days later Flight Engineer Tom Marshburn captured the Dragon just 32 feet away from the station with the Canadarm2. Ground controllers then took over Canadarm2 operations and berthed Dragon to the Harmony node.
Hatches to the commercial cargo craft were opened about four hours later beginning three weeks of cargo transfer activities. Station crew members swapped 1,200 pounds of cargo delivered to the station with 2,600 pounds of gear to be returned to Earth.
› Read about the research gear delivered aboard Dragon
Experiment gear and space hardware were delivered for NASA and its Russian, Canadian, European and Japanese space station partners. Over twice as much gear was returned including trash, station hardware and biological samples collected and stored in freezers during the course of research for analysis on the ground.
Dragon’s rendezvous with the station was delayed by a day after three of four thrusters did not fire as commanded. SpaceX engineers resolved the problem and continued Dragon’s mission to the station after consultation with NASA managers.
A third SpaceX commercial resupply services mission is targeted for launch at the end of September.
Dragon originally performed two demonstration flights, the first in December 2010 for just two orbits and the second in May 2012. The second Dragon demonstration mission actually arrived at the space station, delivered non-essential cargo and stayed for six days after three days of approach and rendezvous tests. Its first official resupply mission under NASA’s Commercial Resupply Services contract was in October 2012 during Expedition 33 and lasted three weeks.
|  HUNTSVILLE, ALA - He described it as "snow white." But NASA astronaut Don Pettit was not referring to the popular children's fairy tale.
Rather, he was talking about the white coating of the Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) Dragon spacecraft that reflected from the International Space Station's light. As it approached the station for the first time in May 2012, the Dragon's trunk might have been described as the "fairest of them all," for its pristine coating, allowing Pettit to clearly see to maneuver the robotic arm to grab the Dragon for a successful nighttime berthing.
This protective thermal control coating, developed by Alion Science and Technology Corp., based in McLean, Va., made its bright appearance again with the March 1 launch of SpaceX's second commercial resupply mission. Named Z-93C55, the coating was applied to the cargo portion of the Dragon to protect it from the rigors of space.
"For decades, Alion has produced coatings to protect against the rigors of space," said Michael Kenny, senior chemist with Alion. "As space missions evolved, there was a growing need to dissipate electrical charges that build up on the exteriors of spacecraft, or there could be damage to the spacecraft's electronics. Alion's research led us to develop materials that would meet this goal while also providing thermal controls. The outcome of this research was Alion's proprietary Z-93C55 coating."
Kenny said Alion thoroughly tested the newly formulated coatings in the lab and provided them for NASA's Materials International Space Station Experiments (MISSE)-1 and 2 for further evaluation. MISSE-1 and 2, a test bed for materials and coatings flown on the outside of the station, evaluated the effects of atomic oxygen, direct sunlight, and extremes of heat and cold. The experiment allowed the development and testing of new materials to better withstand space environments, and the results provided an improved understanding of the durability of various materials when they are exposed to the space environment.
"Z-93C55 performed beyond expectations on MISSE, so it is now a viable alternative to the standard thermal control coatings," said Kenny. "The flight data provided through the MISSE experiments was essential to its development."
NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., was responsible for performing the pre- and post-flight measurements of these coating materials.
"We measured the optical properties the same as we would for flight hardware, before and after the MISSE flight," said Miria Finckenor, Marshall engineer and MISSE investigator. "We also looked for any mass loss, any cracking or flaking, and any changes in fluorescence due to space environmental effects."
"The optical properties needed to be stable," added Finckenor. "If the coating darkened, then the capsule would be warmer, causing any active thermal control system to work harder, which could limit the life of the thermal control system and thus the life span of the spacecraft."
Z-93C55 is a two-part system consisting of a pigment and a binder solution. Special additives enhance electrical conductivity without affecting thermal control properties, so the cured coating can handle high temperatures and survive the stresses of launching.
"The coating is actually an improved version of our Z-93P coating, which has had a long history in the aerospace industry," said Kenny. "It was used on Apollo missions, the station's radiators and many other missions. Z-93C55 is a thoroughly tested and qualified material, having gone through extensive testing in space simulation chambers and experimental missions."
The coating also was used on NASA's Juno, Gravity Recovery and Interior (GRAIL) and Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter missions, among others.
Because shipping aerospace hardware to coating facilities is often challenging, costly and time consuming, the Alion engineers created a portable coatings application system.
This unit can be easily transported to anywhere in the world efficiently and is much more cost-effective. Experts sprayed more than 250 square feet of coatings -- about 10 gallons for each trunk -- onsite at SpaceX facilities in California and Florida to prepare for launch.
"When most people think about coatings, they're probably thinking about paint that makes their bedroom or kitchen look good, or a shiny coat of wax for their car," said Kenny. "But we get to work on coatings that help critical systems perform better and last longer, in space and here on Earth. And that means we're helping important missions of all kinds succeed, every day."
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Miria Finckenor, materials engineer at the Marshall Space Flight Center, removes a sample from a Materials International Space Station Experiment (MISSE) Passive Experiment Container at Langley Research Center. Approximately 35 members of the MISSE team traveled from across the country to witness the "grand opening" of MISSE-1 and 2 in 2005. (NASA/Jeff Caplan)
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|  Hawthorne, CA – Space Exploration Technologies’ (SpaceX) Merlin 1D engine has achieved flight qualification, a major milestone for the next generation Merlin engine. Through a 28 test qualification program, the Merlin 1D accumulated 1,970 seconds of total test time, the equivalent run time of over 10 full mission durations, and is now fully qualified to fly on the Falcon 9 rocket. The program included four tests at or above the power (147,000 pounds of thrust) and duration (185 seconds) required for a Falcon 9 rocket launch. The Merlin 1D engine was also tested at propellant inlet and operating conditions that were well outside the bounds of expected flight conditions. SpaceX's testing program demonstrated a ratio of 4:1 for critical engine life parameters such as firing duration and restart capacity to the engine's expected flight requirements. The industry standard is 2:1. “The Merlin 1D successfully performed every test throughout this extremely rigorous qualification program,” said Elon Musk, SpaceX CEO and chief designer. “With flight qualification now complete, we look forward to flying the first Merlin 1D engines on Falcon 9’s Flight 6 this year.” The Merlin 1D builds on the technology of the Merlin engines used on the first five flights of Falcon 9. With nine Merlin 1Ds on the first stage, the Falcon 9 rocket will produce nearly 1.5 million pounds of thrust in a vacuum. The Merlin 1D has a vacuum thrust-to-weight ratio exceeding 150, the best of any liquid rocket engine in history. This enhanced design makes the Merlin 1D the most efficient booster engine ever built, while still maintaining the structural and thermal safety margins needed to carry astronauts. Additionally, the new engine is designed for improved manufacturability by using higher efficiency processes, increased robotic construction and reduced parts count. Testing took place at SpaceX's rocket development facility in McGregor, Texas. |
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