Main Engine Cut OffAlternative NASA Exploration Crew Vehicles
This is going to be an extremely interesting transition period. More of a “Let’s modernize this roadmap,” instead of a “Tear it all up!”
452 results for “NASA”
SpaceX External Cargo Manifest and the Missing NanoRacks Airlock
Chris Gebhardt of NASASpaceFlight wrote up a rundown of external cargo for SpaceX CRS flights 10 through 20. The NanoRacks airlock isn’t mentioned anywhere, which is counter to what Mike Johnson talked about in my interview with him.
Orbital ATK’s Next-Generation Launcher
How Orbital ATK got to where they are today, what makes their next rocket so appealing, and how things might play out in the future.
Next Cygnus to Fly on Atlas V
This is an interesting development that could point a few directions.
T+28: The Future of NASA and the Moon
NASA released an RFI for small scientific payloads bound for the lunar surface, meant to “address strategic knowledge gaps” associated with human missions to the Moon. I talk about how this could indicate a shift of the SLS/Orion roadmap, and how NASA may be focusing on lunar surface missions in order to build more political capital for the program of record.
What’s Next for SpaceX
We should get some closure in the next few weeks on the AMOS-6 front. They’re getting started with static fires and testing in McGregor again, which means the investigation is entering the wrap-up and sign-off phases. The return-to-flight mission seems to be Iridium NEXT out of Vandenberg, with a flight out of 39A in mid-December.
Lunar Commercial Cargo Lite
A commercial cargo-style program for getting payloads to the Moon would be wonderfully interesting. It would be well-timed to be used as NASA participation in the Moon Village idea that is talked about within ESA (and pretty much everywhere but the US).
Post-EM-1 Mobile Launcher Revamp
Chris Bergin of NASASpaceFlight, with an encyclopedic post about the work that will need to take place—between EM-1 and 2—to revamp the Mobile Launcher to support the Exploration Upper Stage.
Russia’s Federation Spacecraft Still Targeting 2021 Test Flight
It’s important to keep the budgets of NASA and other governmental agencies in context: NASA is spending billions per year on Orion’s development. Roscosmos is spending an average of $122 million per year on Federation.
T+27: Financial vs. Political Capital and Mission Sustainability
In light of the recent Schiaparelli lander failure, I discuss the differences between missions supported by financial and political capital, and how those differences will play out in the next era of space exploration.