Jun 23 2016

From The Space Library

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Revision as of 16:01, 24 June 2016

MEDIA ADVISORY M16-074 NASA to Discuss, Broadcast Booster Test for Space Launch System Rocket

The booster for the world's most powerful rocket, NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), which will power the agency’s astronauts on the journey to Mars, will fire up for a major ground test at 10:05 a.m. EDT (8:05 a.m. MDT) Tuesday, June 28, at Orbital ATK Propulsion Systems’ test facilities in Promontory, Utah.

This is the last time the booster will be fired in a test environment before the first test flight of SLS with NASA's Orion spacecraft, known as Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), in late 2018.

NASA Television will air a NASA Social event that provides the latest updates and background on SLS and Exploration Mission-1 at 3:30 p.m. Monday, June 27, and will air live coverage of the booster test June 28 beginning at 9:30 a.m.

Following the test, NASA will hold a media teleconference at 11 a.m. to discuss initial assessment of the booster firing. The teleconference participants will be:

Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations at NASA Headquarters in Washington Charlie Precourt, vice president and general manager of Orbital ATK's Propulsion Systems Division in Promontory, Utah Alex Priskos, manager of the NASA SLS Boosters Office at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama

To participate in the media teleconference, reporters must contact NASA public affairs officer Cheryl Warner at 202-358-1100, or cheryl.m.warner@nasa.gov and provide their media affiliation no later than 2 p.m. June 27.

This is the second two-minute, full-duration qualification ground test for the booster. It will provide NASA with critical data to support booster qualification for flight and test the motor at the colder end of its accepted propellant temperature range -- a targeted 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

The first, full-scale booster qualification test was successfully completed in March 2015 and demonstrated acceptable performance of the booster design at 90 degrees Fahrenheit -- the highest end of the booster’s accepted propellant temperature range. Testing at the thermal extremes experienced by the booster on the launch pad is important to understanding the effects of temperature on the ballistic performance of the propellant.

CONTRACT RELEASE C16-016 NASA Extends Hubble Space Telescope Science Operations Contract

NASA is contractually extending science operations for its Hubble Space Telescope an additional five years. The agency awarded a sole source contract extension Thursday to the Association of Universities for Research in Astronomy for continued Hubble science operations support at the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore.

This action will extend the period of performance from July 1 through June 30, 2021. The contract value will increase by approximately $196.3 million for a total contract value of $2.03 billion.

This contract extension covers the work necessary to continue the science program of the Hubble mission by the Space Telescope Science Institute. The support includes the products and services required to execute science system engineering, science ground system development, science operations, science research, grants management and public outreach support for Hubble and data archive support for missions in the Mikulski Archive for Space Telescopes.

After the final space shuttle servicing mission to the telescope in 2009, Hubble is better than ever. Hubble is expected to continue to provide valuable data into the 2020’s, securing its place in history as an outstanding general purpose observatory in areas ranging from our solar system to the distant universe.

In 2018, NASA’s James Webb Space Telescope will be launched into space as the premier observatory of the next decade, serving astronomers worldwide to build on Hubble’s legacy of discoveries and help unlock some of the biggest mysteries of the universe.