The 38-page document, released Wednesday, paints the manufacturer’s quality control practices as inadequate and its workforce as insufficiently trained, blaming it for cost increases and schedule delays in the development of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) Block 1B. Yet the space agency has neglected to punish Boeing financially for these flaws, arguing that doing so would run contrary to the terms of its contract.

The heavy-lift rocket, a more powerful configuration of NASA’s existing SLS Block 1, is intended to make its maiden voyage in 2028 on the Artemis IV mission, a crewed lunar landing. It has been under development since 2014. Boeing is under contract to build Block 1B’s Exploration Upper Stage (EUS)—which will increase the SLS’ cargo capacity by about 40 percent—as well as the core stages for Block 1 on Artemis I and the upcoming Artemis II. Other SLS contractors include Aerojet Rocketdyne and Northrop Grumman.

A Day Late, A Dollar Short

Originally, the EUS was allocated a budget of $962 million and intended to fly on Artemis II, which in January was pushed to no earlier than September 2025. But by the OIG’s estimate, EUS costs are expected to balloon to $2 billion through 2025 and reach $2.8 billion by the time Artemis IV lifts off in 2028.

The office projects total SLS Block 1B costs will hit $5.7 billion before then—that’s more than $700 million over the Agency Baseline Commitment (ABC) NASA made last year. The EUS, at nearly triple its original budget, would account for close to half of those costs.

Add to that an expected six-year delay in the delivery of the system, and the OIG predicts Artemis IV’s launch could be postponed.

“NASA’s fiscal year 2024 SLS Program budget projections do not account for the additional funds needed for EUS development in fiscal years 2024 through 2027,” the report says. “Without additional funding, scheduled work will continue to be pushed into subsequent years as has been the case for the EUS over the last decade, leading to further cost increases and schedule delays.”

For example, the OIG says, NASA is evaluating potential risks to the EUS stage controller and avionics that could delay its delivery by another 14 months. NASA officials disagreed with the analysis.

Mismanaged and Inexperienced

The OIG interviewed officials at NASA headquarters, Marshall Space Flight Center, Michoud Assembly Facility, the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), and Boeing. It also reviewed NASA and its contractors’ budgets, contract obligations, and quality control documents, among other materials.

In short, the office found that Boeing’s quality management system at Michoud does not adhere to NASA or international standards.

For example, Boeing Defense’s Earned Value Management System (EVMS)—which NASA uses to measure contract cost and schedule progress and is required on all projects with a lifecycle cost greater than $250M—has been disapproved by the Department of Defense since 2020. Officials claim this precludes Boeing from reliably predicting an EUS delivery date.

“Boeing’s process for addressing contractual noncompliance has been ineffective, and the company has generally been nonresponsive in taking corrective actions when the same quality control issues reoccur,” the OIG says.

The DCMA has issued several corrective action requests (CARs), handed down when quality control issues are identified, for the EVMS. Between September 2021 and September 2023, the agency issued Boeing a whopping 71 CARs after identifying quality control issues in the manufacturing of core and upper stages at Michoud. According to officials, that’s a massive number for a system that has been in development for so long.

“Boeing officials incorrectly approved hardware processing under unacceptable environmental conditions, accepted and presented damaged seals to NASA for inspection, and used outdated versions of work orders,” the report says. “DCMA also found that Boeing personnel made numerous administrative errors through changes to certified work order data without proper documentation.”

According to Safety and Mission Assurance officials at NASA and DCMA officials at Michoud, Boeing’s quality control issues stem from a workforce that is, by and large, unqualified.

During a visit to Michoud in 2023, for example, inspectors discovered that welding on a component of the SLS Core Stage 3 did not meet NASA standards. Per the report, unsatisfactory welding performed on a set of fuel tanks led directly to a seven-month delay in EUS completion.

“According to NASA officials, the welding issues arose due to Boeing’s inexperienced technicians and inadequate work order planning and supervision,” the OIG says. “The lack of a trained and qualified workforce increases the risk that Boeing will continue to manufacture parts and components that do not adhere to NASA requirements and industry standards.”

Complicating matters further is the relocation of SLS core stage production for Artemis III from Michoud to Kennedy, which will require Boeing to transition a decade of production processes developed at the former site to the latter.

The OIG said the manufacturer is developing a more robust, hands-on training program that could revamp its workforce but is long overdue.

“Some technicians reported they had to hunt through layers of documentation to identify required instructions and documentation of work history and key decisions related to the hardware,” the report says.

Further, maintaining that workforce may be difficult—the OIG predicts Boeing will spend an average of $26 million per month on EUS personnel through 2027. That was the norm for the company from February to August 2023.

Boeing management has also dropped the ball at higher levels. For instance, in the leadup to Artemis I, Boeing underestimated the complexity of building the SLS core stage, and EUS funding had to be redirected to that project.

“This ultimately led to a nearly one-year delay in EUS work and an additional $4 billion in funding to Boeing to cover the costs for the core stage development work,” according to the OIG.

In addition, NASA officials believe Boeing’s supply chain woes are of its own making, stemming from late negotiations and contract agreements.

Next Steps for NASA

The OIG report paints the picture of a company in disarray from top to bottom.

The office did not pin the blame entirely on Boeing. It criticized NASA, for example, for spending more than $3 billion over ten years without submitting an ABC to Congress and the Office of Budget and Management. The ABC is the only official cost and schedule baseline used to measure project performance against expectations.

The office’s four recommendations, however, center around the manufacturer.

First, the OIG calls on the associate administrator of NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD), alongside the agency’s assistant administrator for procurement and chief of safety and mission assurance, to collaborate with Boeing on a more robust, NASA-approved quality management system. It also recommends officials penalize the company financially for its previous violations.

The OIG further directs the ESDMD to conduct a cost overrun analysis of Boeing’s EUS contract to minimize the impact to Artemis missions. Finally, it asks the associate administrator to coordinate with the DCMA to ensure Boeing’s compliance with EVMS requirements.

NASA agreed with three of the four recommendations and proposed actions to take. Interestingly, though, it rejected the suggestion of fining Boeing.

“NASA interprets this recommendation to be directing NASA to institute penalties outside the bounds of the contract,” said Catherine Koerner, deputy associate administrator of the ESDMD, in NASA’s response to the report. “There are already authorities in the contract, such as award fee provisions, which enable financial ramifications for noncompliance with quality control standards.”

Essentially, the agency believes it can keep Boeing in check by rewarding good behavior rather than penalizing mismanagement. The OIG, predictably, disagrees, characterizing NASA as “unresponsive” to what it considers significant safety concerns.

“In the end, failure to address these issues may not only hinder the Block 1B’s readiness for Artemis IV but also have a cascading impact on the overall sustainability of the Artemis campaign and NASA’s deep space human exploration efforts,” the report says.

Boeing will look to improve some of its quality control issues under the leadership of new CEO Kelly Ortberg, the ex-boss of Rockwell Collins who took over after the ousting of former CEO Dave Calhoun.

Calhoun’s departure this month comes as the company continues to be grilled over the loss of a door plug on a Boeing 737 Max 9 in January as well as persistent issues with Starliner, its semireusable spacecraft under contract with NASA for astronaut rotation missions to the  International Space Station. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams may end up spending eight months on the orbital laboratory, rather than eight days as intended.

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The post NASA Investigation Finds Boeing Hindering Americans’ Return to Moon appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

During a press conference Tuesday afternoon, NASA officials announced that the Artemis II and Artemis III moon missions—planned for this year and next, respectively—will be pushed to September 2025 and September 2026. Artemis II is expected to put NASA astronauts in lunar orbit, while Artemis III aims to land them on the moon, where they would become the first humans to visit the lunar south pole.

The Artemis program is effectively the descendant of the Apollo missions, which concluded decades earlier. But unlike Apollo, it represents a shift toward leveraging private sector companies, such as SpaceX and Blue Origin, for key vehicle components.

Despite speculation that the Artemis lunar landing could be pushed to Artemis IV—which NASA affirmed is still on track for 2028—the space agency said no changes will be made to the flight plan of either mission, and no flights will be added. However, for a variety of reasons, many related to safety, both Artemis II and III will fly later than initially planned.

As Jim Free, associate administrator of NASA, put it: “We’ll launch when we’re ready.”

Safety First

Attending Tuesday’s press conference were Free, NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, Deputy Associate Administrator of the Moon to Mars program Amit Kshatriya, and Associate Administrator of the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Catherine Koerner. The four officials—plus representatives from NASA industry partners such as SpaceX and Lockheed Martin—fielded questions from media about why the missions were delayed.

According to NASA, several issues discovered during Artemis I, which carried the agency’s reusable Orion capsule around the moon in 2022, are causing delays to Artemis II. These center around the spacecraft’s heat shield, abort capabilities, and electrical systems and could pose threats its occupants.

Kshatriya said heat shield erosion during Artemis I caused pieces of the thermal cover to fly off—an outcome not predicted by NASA. The agency said it discovered the issue while rewatching the watershed flight and has spent “the bulk of 2023” working to understand its root cause.

Orion is also dealing with a design flaw in the motor valve circuitry for its life support system, which was tested and approved for Artemis II but not the subsequent mission. The spacecraft’s digital motor controllers are hampering its carbon dioxide scrubber, which absorbs the gas to provide breathable air for astronauts. Artemis I did not test any life support systems, but they will be added to Artemis II along with a new abort system.

Further, NASA found a deficiency in Orion’s batteries. The issue won’t hinder the spacecraft’s ability to separate from the booster in an emergency, but the agency said it could cause unexpected effects.

“We’re still very early in that investigation,” said Kshatriya.

The effort to replace and retest the faulty components will be tremendous, NASA said, but essential for Orion to fly on Artemis II and beyond. Nelson said the revised mission timeline will “give Artemis teams more time to work through the challenges.”

Even more work will need to be done for Artemis III, which NASA said will introduce several new components and systems: a human landing system (HLS), docking module, propellant transfer system, and spacesuits to name a few. Kshatriya said the timeline for that mission remains “very aggressive.”

Free said NASA expects the development of SpaceX’s Starship HLS and Axiom’s next-generation spacesuits will take additional time. The agency has also yet to solve the issue of propellant transfer, or in-flight refilling, which involves a spacecraft drawing fuel from another spacecraft or stationary outpost.

A SpaceX representative attending the media briefing estimated the company will need to complete ten refueling missions before Starship HLS lands on the moon, which the company hopes will happen in 2025. 

The representative added that SpaceX’s Starship—the largest and most powerful rocket ever built—is working toward a NASA tipping point demo to explore propellant transfer between tanks. The company does not consider this a propellant test mission, but the maneuver will be studied during Starship’s third orbital test flight, expected in February.

When asked, the representative did not provide a minimum number of Starship orbital test flights needed before a lunar landing. But the propellant transfer flight, whenever that happens, will be the one that matters most.

“We’ve been building the machine to build the machine,” the representative said.

Free added that development of NASA’s Gateway space station—which is expected to fly on a future Artemis mission—and the Block 1B variant of its Space Launch System (SLS) also necessitated delays. 

But NASA officials said the larger gaps between the missions will allow the agency to incorporate more lessons from previous flights into each increasingly complex Artemis project. SpaceX and Blue Origin, for example, will be required to develop cargo variants of their human lunar landers as part of their obligations for Artemis IV, NASA said Tuesday.

A Clearer Outlook?

When one questioner mentioned the space industry’s doubts about the new timeline—arising from previous Artemis delays—Free explained what makes NASA so confident.

He said the agency now has a better understanding of Orion and other Artemis vehicles. The bigger reassurance, however, is the industry’s support: Free said 11 industry and contractor partners attended Tuesday’s press conference, and all of them contributed to the revised mission schedule.

Kshatriya pointed to the SLS core stage delivery to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility as a sign of readiness, adding that the spacecraft’s booster segments are ready to stack and the upper stage is “ready to go.” Further, NASA’s European Space Agency (ESA) partners will ship a service model to the agency in a few months, he said.

Nelson, meanwhile, dispelled fears that China could beat the U.S. to a moon landing. He expressed confidence that the rival superpower would not reach the lunar surface before Artemis III. But with the delay, the two competitors’ schedules are undoubtedly more aligned.

Nelson also pointed to the agency’s recent progress, most notably a partnership with the United Arab Emirates to build the airlock for Gateway and the launch of Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) missions.

The NASA administrator emphasized that Artemis will only be the beginning of the new era of American spaceflight. The agency is also developing its Moon to Mars program, which Nelson said will rely on international partners to land an American on Mars. Reaching the moon, he said, will be the first step toward missions to the red planet in the future.

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The post NASA Delays First Crewed U.S. Moon Landing in Half a Century to 2026 appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Northrop Grumman on Tuesday delivered 10 booster motor segments, which the space agency will use for its Artemis II mission, to Kennedy Space Center in Florida from its manufacturing plant in Utah. The delivery should keep NASA on track to launch the first crewed Artemis mission, which is expected to send four astronauts on a jaunt around the moon in November 2024—so long as prelaunch activities continue to go as planned.

The 10 segments built by Northrop will form twin solid rocket boosters designed to power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) super-heavy lift rocket. In preparation for Artemis II, the boosters will be the first element of the SLS to be stacked on the mobile launch platform.

NASA says the SLS “is the only rocket that can send [NASA’s Orion deep exploration spacecraft], astronauts, and supplies to the moon in a single mission.” It has a greater payload mass, volume, and departure energy than any other single rocket and made its debut on the successful Artemis I mission, the program’s first, uncrewed flight, last November.

According to Northrop, the twin boosters will provide some 7.2 million pounds of thrust at launch—more than three-quarters of the total power generated by the SLS. They’ll help Orion reach 24,500 mph on its way to the moon. Last week, the agency and its contractor completed a subscale booster thrust test to validate the technology.

“The arrival of the SLS solid rocket booster motor segments is an important turning point as NASA and our Artemis partners begin readying for stacking and launch preparations for Artemis II,” said Amit Kshatriya, deputy associate administrator for the Moon to Mars program office at NASA headquarters. “Fully stacked, these boosters for NASA’s SLS rocket are the largest, most powerful ever built for spaceflight and will help send the first astronauts around the moon [for the first time] in more than 50 years.”

The 10 booster motor segments that will form the @NASA_SLS rocket’s twin, five-segment solid rocket boosters for the @NASAArtemis II mission, arrived at @NASAKennedy on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. Due to their weight, the booster motor segments traveled by rail across eight states… pic.twitter.com/LkH5hqBM7C

— NASA's Exploration Ground Systems (@NASAGroundSys) September 26, 2023

Now, teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program are processing each segment before integrating them at Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building. They’ll then inspect the motor, forward, and aft assemblies of the twin boosters, rotate them to a vertical position, and move the segments one at a time for stacking, forming a pair of 17-story-tall boosters.

The @NASAArtemis II aft skirts for the @NASA_SLS rocket’s twin solid rocket boosters were transported from the Booster Fabrication Facility to the Rotation Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at @NASAKennedy in Florida on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023.

The aft skirts were refurbished… pic.twitter.com/noiKfqglCm

— NASA's Exploration Ground Systems (@NASAGroundSys) September 27, 2023

After the boosters are stacked, engineers will then integrate the SLS’s 212-foot core stage, for which Boeing is the lead contractor. All four RS-25 engines for the core were structurally joined this week at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The engines, built by California-based Aerojet Rocketdyne, will provide an additional 2 million pounds of thrust at launch

Combined, the boosters and engines will deliver 8.8 million pounds of thrust. That number mirrors SLS data from Artemis I, which sent an uncrewed Orion capsule into orbit 40,000 miles beyond the moon. Figures collected from the 1.4 million-mile journey showed the 312-foot-tall rocket “met or exceeded all performance expectations.”

As NASA works toward stacking the SLS, EGS teams are simultaneously conducting ground systems tests, the first of which took place last week.

Artemis II: On Schedule?

Northrop’s delivery of the booster motor segments, as well as the integration of the RS-25 engines to the core stage, keeps NASA in line with a rough timeline shared with Ars Technica last month by Jeremy Parsons, deputy manager of the EGS program.

By Parsons’ estimate, the SLS core stage will ship to Kennedy from NASA’s New Orleans assembly plant next month. Stacking of the twin boosters is expected to begin in February, followed by core stage stacking in April. Orion will also be fueled that month and is expected to be stacked sometime in mid-2024. But the timeline gets a bit fuzzy by then, and Ars Technica reported Artemis II’s launch date “almost certainly will slip two or three years.”

The goal of Artemis II is to test Orion and SLS systems before Artemis III returns U.S. and Canadian astronauts to the moon. Going by Parsons’ timeline, the mission is expected to launch nearly two years after Artemis I, which damaged the mobile launch pad more severely than anticipated.

However, the massive structure returned to Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy in August, and excitement is starting to build for the marquee mission.

Human for Scale: Look closely and you may be able to spot one of our team members standing near the railing of '0' deck of the towering mobile launcher, which will launch @NASAArtemis II around the Moon next year. The launcher, which stands 380-feet-tall above ground, is… pic.twitter.com/9yAOTJMYr4

— NASA's Exploration Ground Systems (@NASAGroundSys) September 26, 2023

Artemis II crewmembers—who are slated to also fly on Artemis III—were revealed in April, representing the first woman and person of color to land on the moon. Mission specialist Christian Koch and Artemis II pilot Victor Glover, who is Black, will gain those respective distinctions. They’ll be joined by NASA astronaut and Artemis II commander Reid Wiseman, as well as mission specialist Jeremy Hanson of the Canadian Space Agency.

Their mission will last around 10 days, sending the four explorers around the moon and paving the way for the first crewed lunar landing since the Apollo program. Northrop has also completed motor segments for Artemis III and is building more for future missions.

The landmark journey is planned for 2025. But a delay to its precursor or snags in the delivery of key hardware could push it back. Jim Free, associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate (ESDMD), remarked in June that delays to the lunar lander variant of SpaceX’s Starship will “probably” cause the timeline to slip to 2026. SpaceX is embroiled in an FAA mishap investigation that has set back Starship’s orbital test flight program.

Beyond Artemis III, NASA hopes to launch crewed lunar missions once per year with an initial focus on establishing “surface capabilities” for potential long-term human settlements on the rocky satellite. Artemis missions will also support the buildout of Gateway, a planned orbital outpost around the moon and possible staging point for future deep space exploration.

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The post Booster Delivery Marks NASA Artemis II Moon Mission Milestone appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) had experienced setback after setback, from its initial rollout from the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) to the last moments before liftoff.

Standing at 322 feet, taller than the Statue of Liberty, the SLS was designed to take humans farther than ever before. According to NASA, the rocket can send over 27 metric tons to the moon. In a single launch, it could carry the Orion spacecraft, with four astronauts and an abundance of supplies, to its lunar destination. 

To accomplish such a feat, NASA designed SLS’ Block 1 Crew configuration to produce 8.8 million pounds of thrust. Between the four RS-25 Core Stage engines and the two shuttle-derived solid rocket boosters, a mass of fuel is needed to send Orion to the moon. 

Fueling operations were nominal until around 9:17 p.m., with a little more than three hours left until launch. Then, the team found an intermittent liquid hydrogen leak at the bottom of the mobile launcher. 

While the leak initially stayed within operational limits, it grew enough to warrant remedial actions. With the rocket sitting with near-complete fuel levels, it can be exceedingly dangerous for personnel to approach it. For Red Crew, a team of engineers on standby, this was the moment they trained for.

According to launch control, Red Crew’s fix would take only about 15 minutes to complete. At this point, hope for a successful launch began to dwindle throughout the crowd.

At 11:04 p.m., nearly an hour later, Launch Control announced Red Crew’s departure from Launch Complex 39B—their repairs were successful. A sigh of relief rippled across the Cape.

“All I can say is that we were very excited,” said Trent Annis, one of the three deployed members of Red Crew. “We showed up today.”

Sadly, the relief wouldn’t last long. The U.S. Space Force’s 45th Space Wing assisted with launch operations, including the locational tracking of the rocket after liftoff. The Wing had lost radar connection with SLS. The rocket would not launch without it.

“This data is critical to satellite operators all over the world in achieving mission success as the space domain becomes more contested and congested,” said Col. Marc A. Brock, Space Delta 2 commander, in a statement. “Timely and accurate xGEO space object detection and tracking in conjunction with our traditional SDA operations closer to Earth will be essential to our support for human space flight safety from launch to lunar landing and return, to facilitate human exploration and to promote the peaceful and responsible use of space.”

The opening of the launch window had arrived, and launch control was working against the clock. 

In an interview with FLYING, NASA Astronaut Stan Love explained why the timing of the launch is paramount to the mission’s success. 

“We have to time the launch based on when we want to land, and we want to land in daylight so that we can recover the capsule,” Love said. “And it’s winter in the northern hemisphere, so there’s not as much daylight as there otherwise is.”

“And then we work backwards,” he continued. “If you want to land in daylight, you have to leave the lunar vicinity around this time. Then, you have to leave your high lunar orbit around that time. Then, you have to get into your high lunar orbit at this other time. Then, you have to fly past the moon to get into that orbit this other time, and then you have to launch now.”

At 11:37 p.m., Launch Control identified a faulty Ethernet switch as the cause of the radar disconnect, and a 70-minute changeout was ordered.

For what felt like eons, we waited for an update from Launch Control. Many of us had driven or flown in from around the country for the second time to see Artemis I liftoff. A single core stage engine and inclement weather had stopped Artemis before, and there was no telling if it would happen again.

“Once again, we have gathered the guests for the wedding,” Love said. “Perhaps the bride will make an appearance.”

At 1:28 a.m., NASA’s first woman to serve as Launch Director, Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, conducted the final readiness poll.

“On behalf of all the men and women across our great nation, who have worked to bring this hardware together, to make this day possible, and for the Artemis generation, this is for you. At this time, I give you a go to resume count and launch Artemis I.”

The wedding was on.

The countdown clock jumped to T-10 minutes. There was a mad dash to the shoreline—journalists scrambled to ensure their cameras were on and ready for the show.

All eyes were on Artemis I.

“Five… four… three… two… one…”

At 1:41 a.m., a blinding light sparked from below the rocket. The billowing smoke shook as shockwaves ripped through the atmosphere, and just like that, Artemis I was on its way to our moon.

Artemis I lit up Cape Canaveral like the morning sun, and the ground shook from sonic booms and cheering onlookers alike. 

This launch means the world to many. It marks the beginning of a new era, and becomes the foundation for future missions to stand on. Now, NASA is one step closer to landing the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface. The next generation of spaceflight has begun.

This article was originally published in the February 2023 Issue 934 of FLYING.

The post Artemis I: Against All Odds appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The Artemis program, set to take humans back to the lunar surface, successfully completed its first major mission by testing Orion—NASA’s newest human-rated spacecraft.

According to NASA, the Artemis I flight test broke several records, which included launching the world’s most powerful rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS).

Over Orion’s nearly 26-day journey, the spacecraft performed two lunar flybys within 80 miles of the moon’s surface and traveled nearly 270,000 miles away from Earth—the farthest any human-rated spacecraft has flown. In total, Orion traveled more than 1.4 million miles during its trip.

• READ MORE: Artemis I, the Rocket That Could

“With Orion safely returned to Earth we can begin to see our next mission on the horizon which will fly crew to the Moon for the first time as a part of the next era of exploration,” said Jim Free, NASA associate administrator for the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate. “This begins our path to a regular cadence of missions and a sustained human presence at the Moon for scientific discovery and to prepare for human missions to Mars.”

Onboard the spacecraft sat Commander Moonikin Campos, a sensor-laiden mannequin, biology experiments, and a Snoopy doll, to measure the various conditions future astronauts may face on later missions to the moon and Mars.

Astronauts will be onboard the next mission, Artemis II, currently scheduled for May 2024. However, Artemis astronauts will not touch down on the lunar surface until Artemis III the following year.

Orion’s splashdown also marked a special anniversary for the agency.

“The splashdown of the Orion spacecraft—which occurred 50 years to the day of the Apollo 17 Moon landing—is the crowning achievement of Artemis I. From the launch of the world’s most powerful rocket to the exceptional journey around the Moon and back to Earth, this flight test is a major step forward in the Artemis Generation of lunar exploration,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson. 

“It wouldn’t be possible without the incredible NASA team. For years, thousands of individuals have poured themselves into this mission, which is inspiring the world to work together to reach untouched cosmic shores,” Nelson said. “Today is a huge win for NASA, the United States, our international partners, and all of humanity.”

• READ MORE: Liftoff: NASA’s Artemis I Launches Into Space, History

Splashdown.

After traveling 1.4 million miles through space, orbiting the Moon, and collecting data that will prepare us to send astronauts on future #Artemis missions, the @NASA_Orion spacecraft is home. pic.twitter.com/ORxCtGa9v7

— NASA (@NASA) December 11, 2022

According to NASA, Orion approached Earth’s atmosphere at almost 25,000 miles per hour—nearly 32 times the speed of sound. The spacecraft was also the first to complete a skip maneuver, where the spacecraft dipped into Earth’s atmosphere to reduce its speed, then reentered to make its final approach.

“Orion has returned from the Moon and is safely back on planet Earth,” said Mike Sarafin, Artemis I mission manager. “With splashdown we have successfully operated Orion in the deep space environment, where it exceeded our expectations, and demonstrated that Orion can withstand the extreme conditions of returning through Earth’s atmosphere from lunar velocities.”

The post Artemis I: Orion Completes Journey Around the Moon appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

As the clock ticked from T-6 hours, journalists and members of the public swarmed the Florida coast to see NASA’s most powerful rocket yet—the Space Launch System (SLS).

Through the eye of my camera, I could see the freezing cold liquid oxygen venting from the rocket. Fueling it had proven troublesome in previous attempts. Every update from Launch Control silenced the journalists huddled in the bullpen, myself included.

• READ MORE: Liftoff: NASA’s Artemis I Launches Into Space, History

NASA astronaut Stanley Love shared his connection to the Artemis program with FLYING.

“I’ve been working on Artemis since 2004, with some brief breaks, including one to go fly in space,” Love said. “So basically, this is my 18-year-old baby that we’re getting ready to send off to college.”

There are so many things that must go right for a rocket launch, and one small problem can determine a go or no-go on nights such as this one. Around the press site, conversations between onlookers echoed the same phrase.

“Don’t jinx it.”

Unfortunately, no launch day is complete without its fair share of suspense.

The night grew more worrisome with each update—about three hours before launch, a liquid hydrogen leak was detected on a valve towards the bottom of the mobile launcher. Artemis Mission Control then deployed three members of Red Crew, an emergency repair team trained for moments like this.

What was supposed to be a simple 15-minute repair turned into an hour-long ordeal. During the fix, Artemis Mission Control received word that a radar sight lost connection with the rocket, putting the entire launch in jeopardy. Luckily, team members identified a faulty ethernet switch as the cause of the connection loss, and the device was replaced within an hour.

By that time, Red Crew left the launch complex, having completed their task to secure the liquid hydrogen leak, saving the launch.

“All I can say is that we were very excited,” said Trent Annis, one of the three deployed members of Red Crew. “We showed up today.”

On Wednesday, November 16, at 1:41 a.m. EST, Artemis I took off and began its journey to the moon with a fanfare of applause and sonic booms. The plume of fire spouting from underneath the rocket lit up the night sky like the sun.

My first launch, definitely won't be the last #GoArtemis pic.twitter.com/3SMxJjwmHw

— Jeremy Kariuki (@TheAfrikid) November 16, 2022

Any other launch may not garner the same attention as Artemis, and that’s for a good reason. For the first time in a generation, NASA is sending a human-rated spacecraft to the moon and back as a practice run for humanity’s crewed exploration of the solar system.

The Artemis missions are poised to attain a grand achievement of diversity—sending the first woman and person of color to step foot on the moon, resuming humanity’s presence on the celestial body for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972.

In a previous interview with FLYING, NASA astronaut Capt. Victor Glover shared his thoughts on potentially becoming the first person of color to set foot on the lunar surface.

“I actually try hard not to think about that. Don’t get me wrong, it’s a dream of mine to walk on and work on the surface of the moon,” Glover said. “Right now, what I’m focused on is my job, which is working on the hardware, to develop the Human Landing System, to support events like this, and then, to make sure that I’m healthy and technically ready in case my boss does want to assign me to one of those missions. But, if that day does come—man, it would be truly amazing.”

• READ MORE: ‘World’s Most Powerful Rocket’ Rolls Out Toward Launch Pad

The post Artemis I, the Rocket That Could appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Precisely at 1:47 a.m., the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket engines ignited and powered the 322-foot vehicle off Launch Pad 39B. No issues were encountered despite some pre-launch concerns regarding a fueling leak that temporarily put the launch on hold. Crews remedied the issue and the countdown resumed as planned. Unlike previous launch attempts in recent months, weather conditions remained clear.

We are going.

For the first time, the @NASA_SLS rocket and @NASA_Orion fly together. #Artemis I begins a new chapter in human lunar exploration. pic.twitter.com/vmC64Qgft9

— NASA (@NASA) November 16, 2022

Hurricane Nicole, which brought a powerful storm surge and high winds to Florida last week, did not cause significant damage to the vehicle, according to NASA teams. A piece of caulking near the Orion crew capsule did peel off during the storm, The Associated Press reported. During a press briefing Monday afternoon, NASA officials reiterated that this 10-foot section near a seam on the spacecraft was not something that necessitated a delay or a scrubbed launch.

• READ MORE: NASA’s Space Launch System Explained

During launch preparations, the NASA team discussed the replacement of a component tied to an electrical connector on the hydrogen tail service mast umbilical ground-side plate. Engineers opted to swap the piece after noticing inconsistent data reported via that connector— even after replacing a cable earlier in the week. When asked if this issue could affect the launch, managers expressed confidence that it would not, because the rocket has several redundant data sources to convey this information.

My first launch, definitely won't be the last #GoArtemis pic.twitter.com/3SMxJjwmHw

— Jeremy Kariuki (@TheAfrikid) November 16, 2022

Orion’s Lunar Itinerary

During the 25-day mission now underway, Orion will travel 1.3 million miles to (and around) the moon before returning home on December 11. Penetrating the Earth’s atmosphere at 24,500 mph, or Mach 32, the planned reentry will heat the spacecraft to temperatures never-before endured by human-rated spacecraft. 

The unmanned ship will splash down off the coast of Baja, California. While no humans are onboard, two high-tech mannequins will have the distinction of being the first passengers for this lunar ride.   

Orion’s trip to the moon is powered by its Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, or ICPS. Once there, the spacecraft has a lot on its lunar “to-do” list. During its moon orbit phase, the craft will fly 62 miles above the surface for six days before heading back to Earth.

This launch comprises just part of NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to land the first woman and the first person of color on the moon by 2025. Establishing a long-term presence on the moon is a stepping stone to eventually sending astronauts to Mars. For now, NASA is enjoying a well-deserved pat on the back. 

“What an incredible sight to see NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft launch together for the first time,” said NASA administrator Bill Nelson. “This uncrewed flight test will push Orion to the limits in the rigors of deep space, helping us prepare for human exploration on the moon and, ultimately, Mars.”

The post Liftoff: NASA’s Artemis I Launches Into Space, History appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The Artemis program has been delayed for months after NASA waived off launch attempts following mechanical issues and weather concerns.

Monday, after a weather forecast indicated conditions were 90 percent favorable for launch, final preparations were made, and Artemis I managers gave a “go” toward launch. A two-hour launch window was established, beginning at 1:04 a.m. EST November 16. 

Tuesday afternoon, propellants were loaded into the SLS rocket, and tanking operations began, loading liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen.

For the first time in five decades, a spacecraft designed for humans is headed to the moon.

• READ MORE: NASA’s Space Launch System Explained

Those in Florida have a chance of seeing the launch “for a brief minute,” Jim Free, NASA’s associate administrator for Exploration Systems Development, said on social media.

This first mission of NASA’s larger Artemis Program is nothing short of historic. The initial flights are aimed at not only returning humans to the lunar surface for the first time since Apollo 17 in 1972, but landing crews will include the first woman astronaut and person of color. 

Artemis was conceived to create a pathway toward long term exploration of the moon and Mars. If successful, Artemis could be laying the groundwork for humans to someday become an interplanetary species, establishing a colony and living on Mars. 

Although the first mission hasn’t yet launched, NASA is already focusing on future lunar landing locations. Last week, the agency revealed 13 possible touchdown sites for Artemis III, near the moon’s South Pole. 

Watch NASA’s live coverage of the launch:

Thom Patterson contributed.

The post NASA Shoots for the Moon in Predawn Launch of Artemis I appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

The Artemis missions are designed to establish a sustainable human presence on and around the moon by the end of the 2020s. NASA plans to use the lessons learned through the program to help get astronauts to Mars by the late 2030s or early 2040s.

The Artemis program has been delayed after NASA waived off launch attempts on August 29 and September 3 because of mechanical issues, and again in late September, owing to weather concerns stemming from Hurricane Ian.

NASA’s upcoming launch attempt will have a 69-minute window beginning at 12:07 a.m. EST Monday, November 14. Backup dates are set for November 16 and 19.

Assuming the launch is successful on November 14, the mission duration is planned for 25 1/2 days with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean on Friday, December 9. 

The lead-up to the November 14  attempt includes a slow rollout of the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft to Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center. The 4-mile move begins November  4 at 12:01 a.m.

Jim Free, associate administrator Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate at NASA Headquarters, expressed confidence in the technical preparations for the spacecraft, however, noted that a developing low-pressure weather system has captured the launch team’s attention. The system is forecasted to bring sustained winds of 25 knots with gusts between 35 to 40  knots to the Cape Canaveral area early next week.  

“We’re confident in the decision process that went into that,” Free said.  “We talked about a lot of the same things, many things that we talked about with the hurricane (Ian).” When asked about the team’s overall morale after the last two scrubbed launches, Free responded by saying, “If we weren’t confident, we wouldn’t roll out. If we weren’t confident, we wouldn’t start the countdown.”

Engineers Take Advantage of the Vehicle’s Downtime

After the launch scrub on September 26 because of Hurricane Ian’s approach, engineers took advantage of the delay to focus on some technical issues that emerged during previous launch attempts.

They replaced batteries on the rocket’s interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) and completed final checks on the rocket’s second stage that will propel it and the Orion capsule toward the moon. The engineering team performed tests to ensure the SLS’s solid rocket boosters and core stage jettison would perform nominally following liftoff and first-stage burn. Pressure checks were also part of the maintenance review. 

• READ MORE: NASA Inspector General: Artemis Moon Landing Will Be Delayed Another Year

NASA Forward-Looking Investment

Even as the team prepares for its next launch attempt on November 14, NASA is looking ahead to future Artemis missions. Late last month, Lockheed Martin announced the agency’s $1.99 billion order for three Orion spacecraft for the Artemis VI-VIII missions.

“This order includes spacecraft, mission planning, and support, and takes us into the 2030s,” Lisa Callahan, vice president and manager for commercial, civil space at Lockheed Martin, said in a statement. “We’re on the eve of a historic launch kicking off the Artemis era, and this contract shows NASA is making long-term plans toward living and working on the moon while also having a forward focus on getting humans to Mars.”

The post NASA Optimistic About Upcoming Artemis Launch appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Mission leaders decided to scrub Monday morning’s planned launch of Artemis I and its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket booster, after experiencing a conditioning issue with the third engine on SLS’s four-engine core stage. Engineers condition the engines by bleeding fuel into them to chill the engines to the proper temperature prior to launch. Engine No. 3 was not properly responding to that conditioning process, NASA said. 

The scrub of the highly-anticipated launch of the first spacecraft designed to carry humans to the moon in nearly 50 years was unwelcome news to an estimated 100,000 to 500,000 people who traveled to the area to watch history in the making.

pic.twitter.com/rSBSjyxTiJ

— Jim Free (@JimFree) August 29, 2022

The uncrewed mission will be the first liftoff for the SLS–NASA’s most powerful rocket—on a 42-day journey to orbit the moon and return to Earth. Friday offers the next available liftoff opportunity to put the spacecraft on a proper course– a two-hour launch window that opens at 12:48 p.m. ET .

During a Monday afternoon news conference,  NASA officials said engineers were planning to gather more data about the engine problem, and would be able to make an informed decision perhaps as soon as late Tuesday. 

“If we can resolve this operationally on the pad in the next 48 hours to 72 hours, Friday’s definitely in play,” said Mike Sarafin, Artemis mission manager. “We really need time to look at all the information, all the data.”

“We don’t launch until it’s right,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson, shortly after the liftoff was scrubbed. “There are certain guidelines and I think it’s just illustrative that this is a very complicated machine—a very complicated system—and all those things have to work. You don’t want to light the candle until it’s ready to go.”

The launch of #Artemis I is no longer happening today as teams work through an issue with an engine bleed. Teams will continue to gather data, and we will keep you posted on the timing of the next launch attempt. https://t.co/tQ0lp6Ruhv pic.twitter.com/u6Uiim2mom

— NASA (@NASA) August 29, 2022

Mission planners had been working toward this day for years, in anticipation of sending the new rocket and spacecraft on a 1.3 million mile uncrewed flight test that is expected to open the door to a new era in space exploration. 

The SLS core engine and its two solid rocket boosters are designed to separate from Artemis I shortly after liftoff. Once Orion enters Earth orbit, mission controllers will activate an engine burn for trans-lunar injection, sending the spacecraft on a trajectory toward the moon. 

Plans call for Orion to enter a unique lunar orbit that will send it thousands of miles beyond the moon—farther from Earth than any other human-crewed spacecraft—280,000 miles. This highly stable distant retrograde orbit (DRO) requires less fuel and will allow NASA to more effectively evaluate the spacecraft’s capabilities for missions in deep space. Finally, the mission calls for controllers to bring Orion back to Earth on October 10, splashing down in the Pacific Ocean, off San Diego. 

The post NASA: Friday Launch for Artemis I Could Still Happen appeared first on FLYING Magazine.