NASA's Orion spacecraft on the move toward maiden flight

NASA's new Orion spacecraft will be transferred from the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building to the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility during the second week of September. The exact date will be announced as soon as possible, NASA said in a press release Friday.

In the Payload Hazardous Servicing Facility, the Orion spacecraft will be fueled with ammonia and hyper-propellants for its mission. It will later be moved again for the installation of its launch abort system.

Orion is undergoing preparations for its maiden flight in December, an unmanned flight that will take it 3,600 miles above Earth on a 4.5-hour mission to test the systems critical for future human missions to deep space. After two orbits, Orion will reenter Earth's atmosphere at almost 20,000 miles per hour before its parachute system deploys to slow the spacecraft for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

The Orion spacecraft will carry astronauts farther into the solar system than ever before.

Swanson to retire from Raytheon

The Board of Directors of Raytheon Company has elected Thomas Kennedy, 59, chairman effective Oct. 1. Kennedy will replace William Swanson, Raytheon's current chairman of the board. Swanson is retiring from the company Sept. 30.

Swanson has served as chairman of the board since January 2004. He joined Raytheon Company in 1972 and has served in a wide range of leadership positions, including as the company's chief executive officer from July 2003 to March 2014.

Kennedy succeeded Swanson as chief executive officer of Raytheon in March. Kennedy previously served as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Raytheon from April 2013 to March 2014, and as vice president of Raytheon Company and president of Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, one of the company's four operating businesses. He has worked for Raytheon in a number of positions with increasing responsibility for more than 31 years.

Orion's first trip into space six months away

With just six months until its first trip to space, NASA’s Orion spacecraft continues taking shape at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Engineers began stacking the crew module on top of the completed service module Monday, the first step in moving the three primary Orion elements –crew module, service module and launch abort system – into configuration for launch.

Orion's flight test will provide NASA with important data that will help the agency test out systems and further refine the design so they can safely send humans far into the solar system.

With the crew module now in place, the engineers will secure it and make the necessary power connections between to the service module over the course of the week. Once the bolts and fluid connector between the modules are in place, the stacked spacecraft will undergo electrical, avionic and radio frequency tests.

The modules are being put together in the Final Assembly and System Testing Cell in the Operations and Checkout Facility at Kennedy. Here, the integrated modules will be put through their final system tests prior to rolling out of the facility for integration with the United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket that will send it on its mission.

Orion is being prepared for its first launch later this year, an unmanned flight that will take it 3,600 miles above Earth, in a 4.5 hour mission to test the systems critical for future human missions to deep space. After two orbits, Orion will reenter Earth’s atmosphere at almost 20,000 miles per hour before its parachute system deploys to slow the spacecraft for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

Orion's flight test also will provide important data for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and ocean recovery of Orion. Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, have built an advanced adapter to connect Orion to the Delta IV Heavy rocket that will launch the spacecraft during the December test. The adapter also will be used during future SLS missions. NASA’s Ground Systems Development and Operations Program, based at Kennedy, will recover the Orion crew module with the U.S. Navy after its splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

NASA hitching ride to GEO orbit to deploy 'Separating Space Vehicle'

NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida is soliciting information about potential sources for on orbit delivery service of a Separating Space Vehicle (SSV) to geosynchronous orbit (GEO), according to contract documents released Thursday.

“Specifically, NASA seeks information about potential sources to deliver an SSV to GEO while attached to another satellite, which shall be referred to as the Ride Share Satellite (RSS),” the agency said in contract documents.

The SSV would be delivered to a stable geosynchronous orbit and then released. The SSV would then continue on its own power to perform an independent mission in the GEO belt. The contract documents provide no details on the SSV's mission objective.

Kennedy Space Center is working with other government agencies to manage the integration between the SSV with the RSS and the overall service management. The SSV will have a weight in the range of 1,000 to 1,200 kilograms. The orbit for the mission is GEO at a 0 degree inclination with a launch readiness date of no later than first half of fiscal year 2017.

The government will provide a fully developed SSV for integration onto the RSS and will serve as the technical lead for the interface to the RSS. The SSV will have a hydrazine monopropellant propulsion system with up to 100 kg in commodities, NASA said.

The SSV must be launched on a U.S. built launch vehicle fabricated in a U.S. facility and launched from a U.S. launch site. The RSS provider will be responsible for obtaining a Federal Aviation Administration launch license, as well as securing any necessary range assets and approvals for the launch.

Insider account to the space shuttle Challenger disaster

This week marks the 28^th anniversary of the space shuttle Challenger disaster, and the release of “Challenger: An American Tragedy - The Inside Story from Launch Control” by Hugh Harris, who was chief of public information for NASA's Kennedy Space Center at the time. Harris delivers a gripping insider account of the events around Jan. 28, 1986, when the space shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after launch - “a moment that left an indelible mark on the nation's psyche,” book publisher Open Road Media said in a press release on Tuesday.

From his unique vantage point as "the Voice of NASA," Harris takes us from the preparations for Challenger's launch, through to lift-off (Harris delivered the iconic countdown on that day), to the terrible moment when the O-ring failed, and on to the aftermath and investigation. Harris goes beyond discussing just the technology of the accident, revealing the touching stories of the people that were involved.

Harris' book not only demonstrates the importance of the shuttle program and NASA, but also the necessity of man's exploration of space. As Harris writes of the disaster, "It was a chilling reminder that it is safer to sit on the ground than fly into space. But that's not an option for the human race."

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NASA may partner with Space Florida to operate Shuttle Landing Facility

NASA has selected Space Florida, the aerospace economic development agency for the state of Florida, for negotiations toward a partnership agreement to maintain and operate the historic Shuttle Landing Facility (SLF).

NASA Administrator Charles Bolden and the director of NASA's Kennedy SpaceCenter, Robert Cabana, announced the selection during a news conference Friday at Kennedy's Visitor Complex in Florida.

"This agreement will continue to expand Kennedy's viability as a multi-user spaceport and strengthen the economic opportunities for Florida and the nation," Bolden said. "It also continues to demonstrate NASA's commitment and progress in building a strong commercial space industry so that American companies are providing safe, reliable, and cost-effective transportation to and from the International Space Station and other low Earth orbit destinations."

NASA issued a Request For Information document in August 2012 to identify new and innovative ways to use the SLF for current and future commercial and government mission activities. Space Florida's proposal is aligned closely with Kennedy's vision for creating a multi-user spaceport.

The SLF opened for flights in 1976. The concrete runway is 15,000 feet long and 300 feet wide.

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