Second Half of Platform C Installed in Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 3

Platform C North is installed in the VAB High Bay 3.The second half of the C-level work platforms, C North, was installed Nov. 10 in High Bay 3 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The platform was lifted up by crane from the floor of the transfer aisle and lowered into the high bay for installation on the north wall of the high bay, about 280 feet above the floor.

The C platforms are the eighth of 10 levels of platforms that will surround NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft and provide access for testing and processing for the uncrewed Exploration Mission 1 flight test and deep space missions, including the journey to Mars.

The C platforms will provide access to the Space Launch System’s Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle Stage Adapter and the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage for mate activities. ICPS mate to the Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter (LVSA) operations occur on Platform C. ICPS umbilical mate operations also will be performed on this level. LVSA upper access doors are located on Platform C for entry to the top of the ICPS.

The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to the VAB, including installation of the new work platforms.

Photo credit: NASA/Daniel Casper

Second Half of Platform B Arrives for NASA’s Space Launch System

Second half of platform B arrives at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.The second half of the B-level work platforms, B north, for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, arrived by heavy-load transport truck at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 7. The B platforms are the ninth of 10 levels of new platforms for High Bay 3 in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).

The platform was delivered to the VAB staging area in the west parking lot. A total of 10 levels of new platforms, 20 platform halves altogether, will surround the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft and provide access for testing and processing in the high bay.

The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to VAB High Bay 3 to support processing of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission 1 and deep space missions, including NASA’s Journey to Mars.

Photo credit: NASA/Glen Benson

Launch Pad 39B Flame Trench Upgrades Continue

Work continues on the flame trench at Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.Progress continues to upgrade the flame trench at Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Construction workers with J.P. Donovan of Rockledge, Florida, are on an elevated work stand to install new heat-resistant bricks on the north side of the flame trench. The Pad B flame trench is being refurbished to support the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. The Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program at Kennedy is helping transform the space center into a multi-user spaceport and prepare for Exploration Mission 1, deep space missions, and NASA’s Journey to Mars. For more information about GSDO, visit: https://www.nasa.gov/groundsystems.

Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA Prepares for Orion Water Recovery Rehearsal in Pacific Ocean

The test version of the Orion crew module was transported into the well deck of the USS San Diego at Naval Base San Diego in California on Oct. 21 to prepare for Underway Recovery Test 5.
The test version of the Orion crew module was transported into the well deck of the USS San Diego at Naval Base San Diego in California on Oct. 21 to prepare for Underway Recovery Test 5. Photo credit: NASA/Bill White

When Orion returns from deep space missions and lands in the ocean, a team will be responsible for safely returning the capsule and crew back to land.

NASA’s Ground Systems Development and Operations Program and U.S. Navy personnel are preparing to conduct a water recovery test, called Underway Recovery Test 5 (URT-5), this week, using a test version of the Orion spacecraft in the Pacific Ocean.

During URT-5, the team will demonstrate and evaluate in open water the recovery processes, procedures, hardware and personnel that are necessary for recovery of the Orion crew module into the well deck of a Navy ship.

The USS San Diego, a test version of Orion, several support boats, and associated hardware and equipment will be used for the test.

Orion is the exploration spacecraft designed to carry astronauts to destinations not yet explored by humans, including an asteroid and the agency’s Journey to Mars. It will have emergency abort capability, sustain the crew during space travel and provide safe re-entry from deep space return velocities.

NASA’s Orion spacecraft is scheduled to launch atop the Space Launch System rocket in late 2018.

First Half of Platform B Arrives for NASA’s Space Launch System

First half of Platform B arrives at Kennedy Space Center.The first half of the B-level work platforms, B south, for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, arrived by heavy-load transport truck at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 21. The B platforms are the ninth of 10 levels of new platforms for High Bay 3 in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).

The platform was delivered to the VAB staging area in the west parking lot. A total of 10 levels of new platforms, 20 platform halves altogether, will surround the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft and provide access for testing and processing in the high bay.

The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to VAB High Bay 3 to support processing of the SLS and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission 1 and deep space missions, including NASA’s Journey to Mars.

Photo credit: NASA/Charles Babir

Orion Service Module Umbilical Testing Wraps Up at Launch Equipment Test Facility

OSMU testing is complete at the Launch Equipment Test Facility at Kennedy Space Center.Testing of the Orion Service Module Umbilical (OSMU) is complete at the Launch Equipment Test Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. A series of tests, called regressions tests, were performed on the umbilical’s design modifications to validate it for installation on the mobile launcher. The tests were conducted by Kennedy’s Engineering Directorate for the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program.

During the tests, the OSMU was connected to the facility’s Vehicle Motion Simulator 1 and the umbilical’s release mechanism that will connect to the service module was tested to confirm it is functioning properly.

The OSMU will connect from the mobile launcher tower to the Orion service module at about the 280-foot level of the mobile launcher tower. Prior to launch, the umbilical will transfer liquid coolant for the electronics and air for the environmental control system to the Orion service module that houses these critical systems to support the spacecraft. The OSMU also will provide purge air and gaseous nitrogen for environmental control to the Launch Abort System located atop the spacecraft. The OSMU will release and tilt back, away from the service module, before launch.

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) will launch with the Orion spacecraft atop for its first flight in 2018. The SLS is the rocket that will carry Orion to deep space destinations, including the agency’s Journey to Mars.

Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

First Half of Platform C Lowered into Place in Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 3

Platform C is installed in High Bay 3 in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida.A heavy-lift crane lowers the first half of the C-level work platforms, C south, for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, for installation on the south side of High Bay 3 in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The C platforms are the eighth of 10 levels of work platforms that will surround and provide access to the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission 1. In view below Platform C are several of the previously installed platforms. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to VAB High Bay 3, including installation of the new work platforms, to prepare for NASA’s Journey to Mars.

Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis

Navy Divers Rehearse Orion Underway Recovery at Johnson Space Center

Divers train for Orion underway recovery in the Neutral Buoyancy Lab at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston.A group of U.S. Navy divers, Air Force pararescuemen and Coast Guard rescue swimmers are practicing Orion underway recovery techniques this week in the Neutral Buoyancy Laboratory (NBL) at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston to prepare for the first test flight of an uncrewed Orion spacecraft with the agency’s Space Launch System rocket during Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1).

Training in the NBL began Sept. 20 and will wrap up by Sept. 22.

A test version of the Orion spacecraft was lowered into the water in the NBL. Divers wearing scuba gear used ground support equipment and zodiac boats to swim or steer to the test spacecraft. They placed a flotation collar around Orion and practiced using the new tow cleat modifications that will allow the tether lines to be connected to the capsule. The tether lines are being used to simulate towing Orion into the well deck of a Navy recovery ship.

Training at the NBL will help the team prepare for Underway Recovery Test 5 (URT-5), which will be the first major integrated test in a series of tests to prepare the recovery team, hardware and operations to support EM-1 recovery.

The recovery team, engineers with NASA’s Ground Systems Development and Operations program and Orion manufacturer Lockheed Martin, are preparing for URT-5, which will take place in San Diego and aboard the USS San Diego in the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California in October.

During EM-1, Orion will travel about 40,000 miles beyond the moon and return to Earth after a three-week mission to test the spacecraft’s systems and heat shield. Orion will travel through the radiation of the Van Allen Belts, descend through Earth’s atmosphere and splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Photo credit: NASA/James Blair

Second Half of D-level Platforms Installed for NASA’s Space Launch System

The second of the D-level work platforms is installed in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building.A heavy-lift crane lowers the second half of the D-level work platforms, D north, for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, into position Sept. 9 for installation in High Bay 3 in the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The platform will be installed on the north side of the high bay. The D platforms are the seventh of 10 levels of work platforms that will surround and provide access to the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission 1. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to VAB High Bay 3, including installation of the new work platforms, to prepare for NASA’s journey to Mars.

Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

Second Half of Platform C Arrives for NASA’s Space Launch System

Platform C North Arrives at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.A section of the second half of the C-level platforms, C North, for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, arrives at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The platform was offloaded from a heavy lift transport truck and secured in a staging area in the west parking lot of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).

The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to VAB High Bay 3 to support processing of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. A total of 10 levels of new platforms, 20 platform halves altogether, will surround the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft and provide access for testing and processing.

Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky