. | . |
Glenn's legacy of testing spacecraft spans from Apollo to Artemis by Robert S. Arrighi for NASA News Cleveland OH (SPX) Aug 28, 2022
In early 2020, NASA's Glenn Research Center achieved a major milestone for the Artemis Program by verifying that the systems on NASA's new Orion spacecraft functioned in a simulated space environment. Project manager Nicole Smith explained, "We like to say, 'we test like we fly." The center began testing spacecraft as they fly over 50 years earlier while preparing the Centaur stage to transport landers to the Moon prior to the Apollo missions in the 1960s. In July 1962, NASA decided to use General Dynamics' new, unproven Centaur rocket with an Atlas booster to launch a series of Surveyor spacecraft to the lunar surface to scout landing sites for Apollo. After a failed preliminary launch attempt, the Centaur program was transferred to the Lewis Research Center (today, NASA Glenn) in the fall of 1962 for an intensive review. The center built or updated several facilities specifically for Centaur. The most significant modification was the conversion of the Altitude Wind Tunnel into a vacuum tank known as the Space Power Chambers (SPC). Center Director Abe Silverstein, who had recently served as NASA's chief of Space Flight Programs, personally oversaw Lewis' Centaur effort. Silverstein's experience with Project Mercury influenced his belief that all new space hardware should be tested in simulated space conditions prior to launch. The low pressure, cold temperatures, and radiation in space could affect the operation of electronics and other systems. A dome was added to the new SPC space tank in 1963 so the Centaur could stand vertically inside. A 42-foot-high copper cryoshroud built around the vehicle produced the low temperatures of space, and 259 high-powered lamps simulated solar radiation on the vehicle. Massive diffusion pumps removed the air to create the near vacuum found at 100 miles altitude. On March 19, 1964, a Centaur vehicle was lowered into the chamber and onto a test stand for testing. During the SPC test program, Lewis engineers recreated entire Centaur missions without firing the engines. This included mimicking the launch phase, separation from the Atlas, first engine burn, coast, second engine burn, and deactivation of the systems. The Centaur was subjected to 20 to 30 of these cycles to verify the performance of different electronics packages in space. The SPC tests, which revealed that pressurization of the electronics cannisters was harmful and that overall power levels should be low to minimize overheating, were a key component of Lewis' extensive effort to ensure that Centaur was not only ready for flight but did not delay the Apollo missions. An Atlas-Centaur successfully launched the first Surveyor to the Moon on May 30, 1966. Centaurs delivered six additional Surveyors to the lunar surface prior to the first Apollo landing in July 1969. Centaur has gone on to launch dozens of probes, satellites, and observatories and remains active today. As NASA's Artemis prepares to return to the Moon, the center tested the Orion spacecraft for eight weeks in 2020 in the vacuum, low temperatures, and radiation of space inside the Space Environments Complex at Plum Brook Station (today, Armstrong Test Facility). The vehicle was then tested in ambient conditions to ensure radio frequency signals did not disrupt the electronics. The tests went exceptionally well, and the Orion vehicle was returned to the Kennedy Space Center on March 25, 2020, to prepare for the Artemis I initial launch in August 2022.
Northrop Grumman's boosters ready to launch Artemis to Luna Kennedy Space Center FL (SPX) Aug 28, 2022 Two Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) five-segment solid rocket boosters will help launch the first flight of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket from Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center, Florida as early as August 29, 2022, as part of the Artemis I mission. Manufactured at Northrop Grumman's northern Utah facility, the world's largest rocket boosters will provide over 75 percent of the rocket's thrust at launch for the first in a series of Artemis missions. "Northrop Grumman's solid rocket ... read more
|
|
The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us. |