When asked what tests will not be done @NASA says "We will be missing loading operations for the upper stage itself". Ah, so only half of the rocket – the part with the crew capsule on top – will not be fully tested before launch. No problem apparently at #NASA pic.twitter.com/becglWu9Jv — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) April 11, 2022 "The whole point of wet press is to decrease risk" says the […]

Artemis I Wet Dress Rehearsal Update “NASA is planning to proceed with a modified wet dress rehearsal, primarily focused on tanking the core stage, and minimal propellant operations on the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) with the ground systems at Kennedy. Due to the changes in loading procedures required for the modified test, wet dress rehearsal testing is slated to resume with call to stations on Tuesday, April 12 and […]

NASA to Discuss Final Test Status Today Before Artemis Moon Mission “NASA will hold a media teleconference at 4 p.m. EDT today on Tuesday, April 5, to provide another update on the final major test with the agency’s mega Moon rocket and Orion spacecraft at the launch pad ahead of the uncrewed Artemis I lunar mission. Audio of the teleconference will stream live on the agency’s website.” Artemis I Wet […]

As Stephen Clark points out, there are no cryogenic ballistic missile systems. — William Harwood (@cbs_spacenews) March 29, 2022

NASA’s Moon Rocket Keeps on Rolling to Launch Complex 39B “NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, with the Orion capsule atop, slowly rolls out of the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 17, 2022 on its journey to Launch Complex 39B.” Costly and years late, NASA’s SLS moon rocket rolls to the launchpad for the first time, Washington Post “Last week, NASA’s inspector […]

Last week #NASA SLS manager John Honeycutt disagreed with the @NASAOIG $4 billion/launch estimate for @NASA_SLS If he says it is not $4b then he must know what the real cost is, right? otherwise how can he say it is not $4b? #AskNASA pic.twitter.com/mYyChQEVHc — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) March 14, 2022

NASA SLS manager John Honeycutt pushes back against audit, AL.com “I will certainly say that the SLS rocket is not going to come at a cost of $4 billion a shot,” Honeycutt told an SLS media briefing at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville.” Keith’s note: OK, so John Honeycutt, the NASA SLS manager, is certainly in a position to know what the real cost of a single launch […]

Hearing that the SLS rollout for the wet dress rehearsal is now March 8, or thereabouts. NASA was trying for Feb. 15, but that's apparently been delayed. — Christian Davenport (@wapodavenport) February 1, 2022 NASA Invites Media to Uncrewed Artemis Moon Mission Update, NASA “NASA will host a media teleconference at noon EST today, Wednesday, Feb. 2, to discuss progress toward the launch of the agency’s uncrewed Artemis I mission. […]

NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel Releases 2021 Annual Report, ASAP “… Funding such endeavors will obviously take considerable resources. However, history suggests (as shown in Figure 1) it is unlikely NASA’s budget will ever again exceed 1% of the federal budget, as it did during the lead-up to the Apollo Program. Consequently, it will not be possible for NASA to single-handedly carry out all of the missions now envisioned. Considering […]

NASA OIG: NASA’s Management Of The Artemis Program “With Artemis I mission elements now being integrated and tested at Kennedy Space Center, we estimate NASA will be ready to launch by summer 2022 rather than November 2021 as planned. Although Artemis II is scheduled to launch in late 2023, we project that it will be delayed until at least mid-2024 due to the mission’s reuse of Orion components from Artemis […]

Keith’s note: There was a media briefing today. NASA Administrator Senator Bill Nelson gave an Artemis update and guess what: everything is delayed and it will cost billions more than it was going to cost yesterday. Surprise. Mostly Nelson blamed lack of NASA progress on Artemis on unrealistic schedules set by the Trump Administration (2024 etc.); the Blue Origin lawsuits; Congressional issues; and of course COVID. And, for good measure […]

Exploration Production and Operations Long-Term Sustainability, NASA “The primary goals enabling this vision include 1) moving ESD programmatic implementation to a construct in which industry owns vehicle production and the flight hardware, and leads the ground operations services, 2) production, operations, and maintenance costs at a substantial savings of 50% or more off of the current industry baseline per flight cost with a flight rate of one crewed flight and […]

Every time @NASA_SLS #SLS has schedule problems @BoeingSpace spends money on social media ads that send you to a website where they overtly tell you that they will sell your data to others and they use "NASA" in the ads that attract you to visit. #Creepy #BaitAndSwitch #NASA pic.twitter.com/0PZ8l4rUwb — NASA Watch (@NASAWatch) September 23, 2021 This is what sort of information they collect about you that they will share […]

Keith’s note: Typical NASA. They make a big deal about bringing back the worm logo and then put a monstrous version of it on the SLS. And then they cover it up with a wire tray full of cables. You’d think that they could have put the logo somewhere where it would not be covered up. But this is NASA, right? There’d need to be a change request presented to […]

NASA Invites Media to Discuss Future of NASA “NASA Administrator Bill Nelson and other senior agency leaders will host an employee town hall for all civil servant and contractor employees at noon EDT, Tuesday, Sept. 21, to provide updates about the agency’s human spaceflight programs, projects, and activities to the workforce. The town hall will air live on NASA Television, the NASA app, the agency’s website, and multiple agency social […]

NASA’s big rocket misses another deadline, now won’t fly until 2022, Ars Technica “Publicly, NASA is still holding on to the possibility of a 2021 launch date for the debut flight of its Space Launch System rocket. This week, an agency spokesperson told Ars that “NASA is working toward a launch for the Artemis I mission by the end of this year.” However, a source said the best-case scenario for […]

NASA Awards Launch Services Contract for the Europa Clipper Mission “NASA has selected Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) of Hawthorne, California, to provide launch services for Earth’s first mission to conduct detailed investigations of Jupiter’s moon Europa. The Europa Clipper mission will launch in October 2024 on a Falcon Heavy rocket from Launch Complex 39A at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The total contract award amount for launch services […]

Supply chain, Artemis program limit SLS use for science missions, Space News “Another issue for those considering SLS is the cost of the vehicle. [Robert] Stough took issue with some cost estimates for the vehicle. “The cost numbers you hear in the media are typically inflated,” he said, by taking into account fixed costs. He didn’t give specific examples, but some estimates assume an SLS cost of $2 billion each, […]

NASA doesn’t need to test SLS anymore, but the Senate mandates it anyway, Ars Technica “But there was more to the NASA amendment. Wicker co-sponsored it and got his own language added to the bill. The Stennis-specific provision says NASA should “initiate development of a main propulsion test article for the integrated core stage propulsion elements of the Space Launch System, consistent with cost and schedule constraints, particularly for long-lead […]