NASA Orion Spaceship Blog

Russia could fall further behind the United States and other nations in space research if it fails to quickly build a replacement to its Soviet-designed spacecraft, the head of the nation’s top rocket builder said.  Read more

Marshall Space Flight Center’s Danny Davis, manager of the Upper Stage of the new Ares I Crew Launch Vehicle, has given a fascinating inside overview of the vehicle that will transport Lockheed Martin’s Orion.  Read more

NASA has completed the Ares I crew launch vehicle system requirements review. The review brings the agency one step closer to developing a new mode of space transportation for astronauts on missions to explore the moon, Mars and other destinations.The system requirements review confirmed that the Ares I system requirements were complete, validated and responsive to mission requirements.

It also confirmed that the Ares I architecture and design concept can fulfill the mission objectives and that the Ares project is ready to begin engineering design activities. The Ares preliminary design review is scheduled for mid-2008.  Read more

ATK Thiokol Propulsion, a division of weapon and propulsion systems designer Alliant Techsystems Inc., on Friday signed a $48 million contract with NASA for work on a launch vehicle.

The Ares I crew launch vehicle will take the Orion crew and exploration vehicle into low orbit around the Earth. ATK Thiokol designed and developed the craft for $63 million under previous contracts. NASA will award a prime contract in February.  Read more

NASA has produced a video program that showcases the work Stottler Henke Associates, Inc. has done over the past decade, building upon a NASA Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to create intelligent training software and an innovative planning and scheduling software product now used in the aerospace and commercial aviation industries.

This software has evolved over several subsequent NASA contracts into what now is called Aurora(TM), and will be used in Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle.  Read more

NASA is budgeting for the development of a more powerful “Ares IV” crew launch vehicle (CLV) that could be test-flown in the second quarter of 2017, Flight International can exclusively reveal.

The proposed Ares IV would use the core stage from the Ares V heavylift launcher, two five-segment solid rocket boosters and the upper stage from the Ares I CLV to launch the Block 2 lunar mission Orion crew exploration vehicle. The 113m (367ft)-tall Ares IV would be capable of launching 41,100kg (90,420lb) to 240km (385 miles), with maximum g during ascent of 4.92 and core, upper stage separation at 327s, for direct trans-lunar injection.  Read more

What should we do if an asteroid is on a collision course with Earth? This question is being taken increasingly seriously by scientists as more is learnt about the impact a near earth object (NEO) would have on the future of civilization.It might sound like the plot of a Hollywood movie, but one gigantic asteroid is scheduled to come within 20,000 miles of Earth in the near future — a near miss in cosmic measurements — and the possibility remains that it could hit our planet and cause catastrophic devastation never seen before.  Read more

Even though he attends college in the shadow of the Kennedy Space Center, Adam Humphries can’t name any of the astronauts who just returned home on space shuttle Discovery.

And he has no idea why they paid a visit to the International Space Station.

“It’s not something that everybody is really into,” said Humphries, 18, a student at Brevard Community College, less than 10 miles from the space center. “It’s not interesting anymore. There’s nothing new that everybody can catch onto.”

NASA’s imagemakers are taking a hard look at how to win over media-saturated teens and 20-somethings growing up on YouTube and Google.  Read more

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