NASA this week completed its first review of all systems for the Orion spacecraft and the Ares I and Ares V rockets. The review brings the agency a step closer to launching its next human space vehicle.

NASA said the review results for its Constellation Program provide the foundation for design, development, construction and operation of the rockets and spacecraft necessary to take explorers to Earth orbit, the moon, and eventually to Mars.

‘We have established the foundation for a safe and strong transportation system and infrastructure. It is a historic first step,’ said Constellation Program manager Jeff Hanley of NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The system requirements review is one of a series of reviews before NASA and its contractors build the Orion capsule, the Ares launch vehicles, and establish ground and mission operations. The review guidelines narrow the scope and add detail to the system design.

‘We are confident these first requirements provide an exceptional framework for the vehicle system,’ said Chris Hardcastle, Constellation Program systems engineering and integration manager at Johnson. ‘This team has done a significant amount of analysis which will bear out as we continue with our systems engineering approach and refine our requirements for the next human space transportation system.’

As part of the review and analysis, NASA has confirmed the planned Ares I launch system has enough thrust to put the Orion spacecraft in orbit. In fact, the Ares I thrust provides a 15 percent margin of performance in addition to the energy needed to put the fully crewed and supplied Orion into orbit for a lunar mission. Engineers established Orion’s take-off weight for lunar missions at over 27,200kg.

Each Constellation project also is preparing for a narrower, project-level systems review in February and March 2007 covering the Orion crew exploration vehicle, launch support, mission support and space suits.

Once the project-level reviews are complete, the Constellation Program will hold another full review to reconcile the baseline from the first review with any updates from the project reviews. A review of equipment associated with surface exploration and science activities on the moon is expected in the spring of 2009.

The latest system requirements review is the first NASA has completed for a human spacecraft system since space shuttle development in October 1972. The Constellation Program system requirements are the product of 12 months of work by a NASA-wide team.

NASA’s Space Shuttle Program successfully fired a reusable solid rocket motor Thursday, Nov. 16, at a Utah facility. The two-minute test provided important information for nighttime shuttle launches and for the development of the rocket that will carry the next human spacecraft to the moon. The static firing of the full-scale, full-duration flight support motor was performed at 6 p.m. MST at ATK Launch Systems Group, a unit of Alliant Techsystems Inc. in Promontory, Utah, where the shuttle’s solid rocket motors are manufactured.

The flight support motor, or FSM-13, burned for approximately 123 seconds, the same time each reusable solid rocket motor burns during an actual space shuttle launch. The Reusable Solid Rocket Motor Project Office at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages these tests to qualify any proposed changes to the rocket motor and to determine whether new materials perform as well as those now in use.

The motor firing also provided the Space Shuttle Program with data on how image quality is affected by night launch conditions. The data will help determine camera settings and techniques that are most suitable for future night shuttle launches and those which could possibly enhance imagery gathered during a day launch. “Full-scale static testing such as this is a key element of the ‘test before you fly’ standard and ensures continued quality and performance,” said Jody Singer, manager of the Reusable Solid Rocket Motor Project, part of the Space Shuttle Propulsion Office at Marshall.

The shuttle solid rocket motor firing also supports NASA’s future exploration goals to return humans to the moon. The test provided data for development of the first stage reusable solid rocket motor for NASA’s Ares I, the launch vehicle that will carry the Orion crew module to space. Engineers with NASA’s Exploration Launch Projects Office at Marshall, which manages the Ares launch vehicles, will analyze motor-induced, roll-torque measurements. The information – how the motor affects the rotation and twisting of a system – is needed for the Ares I control system design.

NASA is appraising a human mission to a near-Earth asteroid — gauging the scientific merit of the endeavor while testing out spacecraft gear, as well as mastering techniques that could prove useful if a space rock ever took aim at our planet.

Astronauts, engineers and scientists at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston have been looking into the capabilities of the Orion vehicle for the mission to a near-Earth asteroid. Full Story

Sources inside the development of the Ares 1 launch vehicle (aka Crew Launch Vehicle or “The Stick”) have reported that the current design is underpowered to the tune of a metric ton or more. As currently designed, Ares 1 would not be able to put the present Orion spacecraft design (Crew Exploration Vehicle) into the orbit NASA desires for missions to the ISS. This issue is more pronounced for CEV missions to the moon.The Ares 1 SRR (System Requirements Review) was held last week at MSFC. Mike Griffin was in attendance. Others participated off-site via webex.com.

It is widely known that both Mike Griffin and Scott Horowitz are reluctant (to say the least) about abandoning their current launch vehicle concept. Alternate approaches such as using EELVs are not welcome solutions by either Griffin or Horowitz.

One possible solution to the Stick’s current design problems is to add side-mounted solid rocket motors. Many inside the program are not so sure that this solution is worth the effort. Others suggest that starting from a clean sheet of paper may be the only prudent course of action.

Florida, the nation’s premier launch site since the 1960s thanks to NASA’s largesse, is in danger of being eclipsed in a fast-changing space race.

In less than four years when the space shuttle program ends, one-third of the 15,000 space-related jobs on Florida’s Space Coast will be eliminated.

Meanwhile, a growing number of billionaire businessmen are proving that space is not just NASA anymore. These entrepreneurs, used to thinking big while profiting bigger, are into everything from commercial satellite launches to space tourism. And, instead of heading to Florida, they’re taking their fledgling businesses to places as far-flung as an atoll in the Pacific Ocean and Star City, Russia.

Kennedy Space Center in Titusville, the nation’s first spaceport, has even been upstaged by New Mexico, which ponied up more than $200-million to build a spaceport in the desert and signed Richard Branson’s Virgin Galactic as its first tenant. Coming soon: suborbital flights at $200,000 a pop.

Amid this growing competition for space business, Florida has created a new space organization. But it has hired a guy from Pennsylvania with no aerospace background to run the show.

Surprising? Not at all, said Steve Kohler, the man selected by Gov. Jeb Bush to head Space Florida, which replaced a confusing trifecta of state bureaucracies: Florida Space Authority, Florida Space Research Institute and Florida Aerospace Finance Corp.

“What was sought was a completely fresh outlook,” said Kohler, who started work at a temporary office at Kennedy Space Center on Oct. 2. “I’m coming with a wide-open aperture.”

Kohler, 49, has a strong background in economic development, having once headed a task force for then-Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge that brought thousands of jobs to the ailing Rust Belt. That, say Kohler’s supporters, is more important than being well-versed in the aerospace industry.

“We can teach him about space – that the pointy end goes up,” said Jim Banke, vice president of Florida operations for the nonprofit Space Foundation and a member of Space Florida’s spaceport subcommittee. “It’s the guts of economic development we’ve got to be concerned about. This is all about people having good work in the Sunshine State.”

The pressure is on. The shuttle program has required the skills of a standing army of thousands of engineers and systems inspectors. The nation’s next stage of space travel – the Constellation program that will take Americans back to the moon and eventually to Mars – is going to use Apollo-like capsules atop rockets that won’t require the same degree of maintenance. These spacecraft, to be built by Lockheed Martin, won’t begin flying until at least 2012.

Banke, an aerospace journalist for 20 years, said it has taken Florida’s NASA-centric community a couple of years for the reality of the shuttle’s imminent demise to sink in.

“We can no longer just wait for NASA to send its check down from Washington,” he said. “We’ve got to move quickly and do something bold, something visible to show we mean business.”

Space Florida was created after a yearlong review of the state’s aerospace industry led by Lt. Gov. Toni Jennings. Even as Jennings’ commission was meeting, insiders were working feverishly to nail down a major deal: Lockheed’s promise to perform final assembly and integration of the Orion spacecraft at Kennedy Space Center. Cost to Florida: $35-million to refurbish a mothballed Apollo facility. Benefit: 300 to 400 jobs.

Now Space Florida’s leader has to use the Orion assembly deal as leverage to persuade Lockheed’s subcontractors to manufacture in Florida. Kohler compared the challenge to an effort in Pennsylvania, when he tried to bring suppliers for an $80-million General Electric locomotive project into the state.

“It’s all about penetrating more deeply into the supply chain operations,” he said. “The human infrastructure that exists in this region is a distinct advantage. There’s a larger-than-average number of highly trained technical professionals. We just need to identify these people and do the appropriate matchmaking. Or in some cases, just get out of the way and allow the commercial connections to work.”

Kohler’s next priority will be to woo the two commercial launch companies recently awarded NASA contracts to provide service to the International Space Station after the shuttle retires. These companies, SpaceX in El Segundo, Calif., and Rocketplane Kistler in Oklahoma City, are charged with finding the most cost-efficient, reliable way to move cargo and crew to low-Earth orbit. Kistler plans to launch its rocket from southern Australia. SpaceX has built a launch site on Kwajalein in the Marshall Islands, northeast of Australia.

Elon Musk, SpaceX’s chief executive, said the atoll was chosen because it’s close to the equator, has a wider range of launch directions and is cheaper than Cape Canaveral. But Musk, who co-founded PayPal, expects to launch from the Cape in a few years, despite daunting regulatory demands and expense.

“Florida needs to remain focused on ensuring that the bureaucracy is kept to a minimum and that Florida is the most cost-effective place to launch rockets,” said Musk, who has invested $100-million of his fortune into SpaceX. “It’s just like a city trying to attract Southwest Airlines.”

The analogy is telling because many people think aerospace will develop along the same path as general aviation, with government and military spending eventually being dwarfed by expenditures in the commercial and tourist industry.

“In 10, 20 or 30 years, the new business will surpass what we have now,” said Winston Scott, an astronaut who headed Florida Space Authority from 2003 until July and works for a NASA subcontractor in Houston. “Florida needs to lay the infrastructure now. Otherwise, they’ll be second to other states.”

Dr. Peter Diamandis, who co-founded Zero Gravity Corp., Space Adventures and the X Prize competition, has spent the past 20 years trying to make space accessible to the average person. Though Zero-G started flying out of Kennedy Space Center in June, Diamandis said the company made a proposal to the state a year ago to base Zero-G’s growing education and research program in Florida. He is waiting for a response.

“Houston, Las Vegas and San Diego have been extremely interested in courting us,” said Diamandis, who was to meet with Space Florida’s Kohler this weekend.

“It’s really Florida’s option to lose.”

NASA Constellation have approved the Rollercoaster Escape System to be used as the Emergency Egress Systems (EES) for astronauts and pad crew to race away from the Ares I pad, should an emergency be called.The Rollercoaster system led the September trade study as the preferred option, and will now be offered as a contract to potential vendors.

Irvin Aerospace, the world’s first parachute engineering, design and manufacturing company founded in 1919, was selected by Jacobs Sverdrup for NASA to develop parachutes for NASA’s Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle (CEV). Following the space shuttles retirement in 2010, NASA plans to replace the aging shuttle fleet with a number of reusable Orion spacecraft. Orion is expected to carry crew members to the International Space Station, the Moon and beyond.

Working with an integrated product team (IPT) that includes NASA, Jacobs Sverdrup, and engineers from Irvin Aerospace, the design team will develop a CEV Parachute Assembly System (CPAS) which is scheduled to begin testing in approximately 6 months.

“We are extremely pleased with the opportunity to work with Jacobs and NASA,” said Dave Berry, President of Irvin Aerospace. “Our company is very proud to be selected and we will focus our energies on working together in support of our Nation’s Space Program.”

Irvin is also working with NASA’s Langley Research Center to explore the suitability of a Landing Airbag System for the final landing attenuation for the Orion spacecraft. Irvin was recently awarded a development contract from Rocketplane Kistler under NASA’s recent Commercial Orbital Transpiration Services (COTS) program to complete the development of the RpK K-1 vehicle to provide commercial cargo deliver and eventually crew delivery services to the International Space Station.

The Orion contract award will add 10-15 engineering positions at Irvin’s Santa Ana, California headquarters as well as a number of high skilled manufacturing positions. In addition, the RpK COTS award is expected to provide a similar number of engineering and manufacturing jobs.

Florida is not content with just winning the assembly and launch work for NASA’s next human spaceship.

Gov. Jeb Bush and the president of the state’s new space agency say they aim to capture more pieces of NASA’s next moon-landing program as well as investment and jobs created by space tourism and other private space businesses.

“We need to attract high-wage jobs,” Bush said. “We need to target our resources for high wage jobs in targeted areas and space is one of them.”

Space Florida, meeting Friday for the first time under new president Steve Kohler, mostly took care of basic transition housekeeping such as approving an initial $8.5 million annual budget and establishing target deadlines for hiring staff, reports and planning documents. Still, the governor and several of his highest-ranking economic development officials traveled to Kennedy Space Center to gather with the Space Florida board to get started on the new agency’s work.

Kohler, who took over the agency less than three weeks ago, gave the board of directors and the governor’s contingent a broad overview of the agency’s strategy going forward. While the strategy and detailed plans are still being defined, the highlights of the work to be done in the months and years ahead are:

• Making sure the state does what it can to maintain the skilled workers that could otherwise be lost when the shuttle program retires in 2010 and NASA begins transitioning to a new vehicle that is intended to be maintained and flown by far fewer people.
• Trying to land more of the support businesses, such as suppliers, for the Orion Crew Exploration Vehicle. Lockheed Martin Corp. has committed to do final assembly of the new Apollo-like spacecraft at a state-refurbished building at Kennedy Space Center. Now, the state wants to capture as many spinoff businesses as possible.
• Assessing the projects, commitments and property holdings of several space-related agencies that are being folded into the new Space Florida. For example, Kohler said the new organization wants to make sure that it is enabling new investment in space but not necessarily being the owner and operator of lots of buildings and facilities. Members of the board toured some key state-owned or state-financed facilities at KSC and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station as part of Friday’s daylong activities.

Approximately half of the agency’s $8.5 million goes to operating expenses such as paying salaries and benefits and fixed costs for facilities such as the Space Life Sciences Laboratory constructed near KSC. The other half goes for economic development projects and other incentives aimed at luring new space jobs to Florida, whether from existing aerospace companies or the creation of new companies.

“We need to stay in the specialty spaces, the high end niches,” the governor said. The state will thrive there because those sectors, such as space, will bring in higher-paying specialty jobs that will help grow the state’s economy. That makes the new space agency important to state’s overall economic development strategy, Bush said.

In other business, the board voted to increase the loan the state has helped secure to finance a new shuttle simulator ride at the Visitor Complex from $35 million to $40 million. The complex operator, Delaware North Park Services, is constructing a ride aimed at giving tourists a chance to experience what it feels like to launch in a space shuttle. The Shuttle Launch Experience is set to open later this spring. The additional funds will pay for enhanced services around the ride, such as a pizza restaurant, better landscaping and a Kodak photo stand, officials said. The ride will be paid for over time with a portion of the tourist complex’s ticket sales.

Charming cottage, secluded location, stunning panoramic views…

A Swedish artist has asked experts to help design one of Sweden’s iconic little red cottages – but this one will stand on the Moon.

Mikael Genberg has recruited the Swedish Space Corporation (SSC) to help plan the operation.

The little red houses are found across the Swedish countryside, but Mr Genberg says he wants this one to become “an international symbol”.

He says if everything goes to plan, the house may appear on the Moon in 2011.

Mr Genberg has arranged a competition for students and companies to design a house that could be contained in a small, light package, that would open up once landed on the Moon’s surface.

“The house itself is supposed to be very small… the package will build itself up to a house,” Mr Genberg told the BBC’s Europe Today programme.

“It’s going to be an unmanned landing – we hope it’s going to land in 2011.”

“It has to be very, very light, but so that it in some way hardens so that it stands for thousands of years when it’s up there.”

There were two main reasons for the project, he said.

“First we want to prove that the impossible is possible.

“But when we put this house on the Moon, which is a kind of Swedish endeavour right now, we want to make it an international symbol… it will represent the position of our own planet in the universe, like a fragile thing.”

He hoped the house might have a practical use, too.

“We know where the Americans want to land people in 2020… It would be nice if we had a house for them when they come,” he said.

The state-owned SSC has been happy to get involved in the project, which could cost 500m kroner (£36m).

“If we manage to do this Sweden will be the third country to occupy the moon”, the SSC’s Fredrik von Scheele told the Swedish newspaper The Local.

MOSCOW, Oct. 18 — Russia is building a new spaceship that can fly to the moon.

Nikolai Sevastyanov, head of Russia’s Rocket and Space Corporation Energia, told RIA Novosti the final design of a modernized spaceship has been given the working name of Soyuz-K.

Sevastyanov said the new spaceship is being designed so it can be launched both from the Baikonur space center and equatorial Kourou space center, RIA Novosti reported.

He said Russia plans to conduct its first manned flight around the moon in 2011-2012.