#NASA 📆 2018 "How we engage will depend a lot on the pace at which those systems and capabilities develop" https://www.businessinsider.nl/nasa-sls-replacement-spacex-bfr-blue-origin-new-glenn-2018-11/
When should they retire #SLS ?
"Political and #aerospace interests were more than reluctant to embrace any changes which they viewed as a threat to their own hegemony."
The mainstream media doesn’t cover #SpaceExploration and #SpaceScience with the same questioning 🔍 rigor that they reserve for #politics. People writing about space exploration are mostly cheerleaders 🥳 for the cause, rather than independent observers keeping a watchful eye on how our national monies 💰 are spent. https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucedorminey/2022/06/23/new-book-paints-bleak-picture-of-nasas-human-spaceflight-program/
When Mr Bridenstine suggested in 2019 that America could return to the Moon 🌙 using #SpaceX’s #FalconHeavy, he provoked a row with Richard #Shelby, a senator from #Alabama who was then chairman of the Senate appropriations committee. Welcoming the #SLS in 2011, Mr Shelby said that #NASA’s exploration of space, “has always been and always will be through Marshall Space Flight Centre [in #Alabama].” https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2022/08/24/nasas-space-launch-system-is-yesterdays-rocket
#NASA found that protective “char layer” material from the heat shield wore away unexpectedly during reentry in more than 100 locations. The material cracked and broke off the #spacecraft in pieces, creating a trail of debris, instead of melting away as it was supposed to. The spacecraft heats 🔥 up to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit during reentry—about half as hot as the surface of the sun ☀️. Some bolts on Orion also unexpectedly melted and eroded. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/nasas-orion-capsule-heat-shield-wore-away-in-more-than-100-places-during-2022-test-flight-posing-significant-risks-180984296/
A new report highlights safety issues that NASA must address before using the spacecraft to send astronauts to the moon, and the agency is already working on fixing the problems
May 1, 2024 #Orion Heat Shield Char Loss After #Artemis I Mission https://oig.nasa.gov/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/ig-24-011.pdf
#Starliner's #HeatShield is made of #Boeing Lightweight Ablator, a honeycomb-like structure that is hand-filled with the ablator. In areas that receive less heat, the capsule is covered with a mix of thermal blankets and heat shield tiles, both of which have #SpaceShuttle heritage.
The descent through the atmosphere will reach temperatures of 1,650 degrees 🔥 Celsius. Once through the thicker part of the #atmosphere, the heat shields are #jettisoned 🗑️ https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2024/06/starliner-cft-launch/
‘Yes, I have #safety experience. But it’s in the dairy 🥛🧀 industry’. #Boeing chief admits the company has retaliated against #whistleblowers 🤔🙄 https://edition.cnn.com/business/live-news/boeing-ceo-testify-senate/index.html
"The lack of a trained and qualified workforce 👨🏭 increases the risk that the contractor will continue to manufacture parts and components that do not adhere to #NASA requirements and industry standards." Seven years late⏳, three times 📈 the original cost 💰 estimate https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/08/a-new-report-finds-boeings-rockets-are-built-with-an-unqualified-work-force/
#NASA indefinitely delays ⏳ return of Starliner. During a pair of news conferences since #Starliner docked to the station officials have downplayed 🙈🙉🙊 the overall seriousness 😱 of the issues. But they have yet to fully explain why they are not yet comfortable with releasing Starliner to fly back to Earth under normal circumstances. https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/06/nasa-indefinitely-delays-return-of-starliner-to-review-propulsion-data/
"The test flight revealed anomalies with the #Orion heat shield, separation bolts, and power distribution that pose significant risks to the safety of the crew. Separation bolt melt beyond the thermal barrier during #reentry can expose the vehicle to hot gas ingestion behind the heat shield, exceeding Orion’s structural limits and resulting in the breakup 💥 of the vehicle and loss of crew.” 💀 https://payloadspace.com/nasa-audit-identifies-significant-issues-with-orion-heat-shield/
#NASA awarded design and development to #Boeing 😱 https://www.space.com/2946-boeing-thermal-protection-system-orion-spacecraft.html
The #crew 👩🚀 will in some ways be human guinea pigs 🐀 (10 days in 9m³).
Experiments will monitor how their bodies are affected by space 🌌. "We want to be able to study in depth the effect of the #microgravity and the #radiation ☢️".
On arrival, the astronauts will begin a #dangerous part of the mission as they re-enter 🔥 the Earth's #atmosphere https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cy7pegvz17yo
The heat shield 🔥🛡️ was not permeable enough during #Artemis I. This led to gas buildup, higher pressures, and the observed cracking. The heat shield for Artemis II is actually more impermeable than the Artemis I vehicle.
#NASA’s data 💽 convinced the IRT that modifying the entry profile for Artemis II would offset the impermeability of the heat shield.
"#NASA is relying on #risk assessments and #simulations to determine the safety of #Orion’s existing heat shield." https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/12/former-flight-director-who-reviewed-orion-heat-shield-data-says-there-was-no-dissent/
"On the way down, it’s all the #HeatShield 🔥 ... There’s no plan B. You know that is going to be your higher blood pressure moment" https://www.independent.co.uk/space/polaris-dawn-crew-spacewalk-return-b2615068.html
The #SpaceX mission control outage knocked out mission headquarters, disabling the ability of operators to send commands or perform controls that would normally be standard during a spacecraft's mission. It happened sometime before the Sept. 12 #spacewalk and at least one hour passed before power was restored. Had mission control remained offline, the #astronauts had enough training to control the spacecraft themselves. https://www.reuters.com/technology/space/power-failed-spacex-mission-control-before-september-spacewalk-by-nasa-nominee-2024-12-17
#NASA has yet to provide any additional information on the status of its review of the #Orion spacecraft's heat shield. Engineers found more than 100 locations where the stresses of #reentry damaged the heat 🔥 shield. https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/10/artemis-ii-almost-certainly-will-miss-its-september-2025-launch-date
Spaceflight 🚀
Vincent Van Dinsky
Steve Hersey
