Oct 30 2007
From The Space Library
NASA announced the assignments to NASA’s field centers of specific tasks related to lunar exploration, as part of the Constellation Program. NASA assigned lead responsibility for designing the lunar lander and other lunar-surface systems, such as rovers and astronaut habitats, to JSC in Houston. MFSC would lead the development of the lunar lander’s descent stage and the development of the Earth-departure stage of the Ares-V rocket. NASA gave ARC lead responsibility for the integrated health-management systems of Ares-V, the lunar lander, and for other lunar-surface systems, as well as a supporting role in developing Ares-V’s payload shroud. DFRC would assist ARC in developing mission-operation simulations capabilities and supporting ground- and flight-test operations for lunar projects. NASA assigned GRC lead responsibility for developing the lunar lander’s ascent stage and Ares-V’s power system, thrustvector control system, and payload shroud, as well as for testing the Earth-departure stage at Plum Brook Station in Ohio. GSFC would take the lead in developing an unpressurized cargo carrier for Orion and avionics for lunar landers. GSFC would also develop equipment and tools for lunar EVAs. JPL would have a variety of supporting roles in the lunar-lander project and lead responsibility for a particular robotic lunar-surface mobility system—the All-Terrain Hex- Legged Extra-Terrestrial Explorer (ATHLETE), a six-legged robot. KSC would have lead responsibility for final assembly of the human lunar lander, help integrate lunar-habitat modules, and prepare Ares-I and Ares-V for launch. NASA assigned LaRC a variety of supporting roles in the lunar-lander project, in addition to lead roles in developing the aerodynamics of Ares-V and structures and mechanisms for lunar-surface systems. As NASA’s primary rocket-engine testing facility, SSC would continue that role for the Ares-I and Ares-V and would support the testing of the lunar-lander descent engine.
NASA, “NASA Announces New Center Assignments for Moon Exploration,” news release 07-234, 30 October 2007, http://www.nasa.gov/home/hqnews/2007/oct/HQ_07234_ESMD_Work_Assignments.html (accessed 8 September 2010); Brian Berger, “NASA Assigns Field Center Roles for Ares-V, Lunar Lander,” Space.com, 30 October 2007, http://www.space.com/news/071030-sn-ares-fieldassign.html (accessed 28 September 2010).
Mission Specialists Scott E. Parazynski and Douglas H. Wheelock conducted the third EVA of STS-120, which lasted 7 hours and 8 minutes. With the assistance of an orbital crane, the two astronauts installed the P6-truss segment, which had a 17.5-ton (15.9-tonne or 15,900-kilogram) solar-power girder. They also installed a 40-foot (12.2-meter) radiator, to dissipate heat generated by station systems, and a spare main-bus switching unit on a stowage platform, for future use. The astronauts deployed the first solar array without incident, but discovered a 2.5- foot (0.76-meter) tear in a solar blanket during deployment of the second array. With solar-array deployment at 80 percent, Mission Control decided to halt the process to allow engineers the opportunity to analyze the situation and to recommend next steps. Despite its 80 percent deployment, the array was already producing 97 percent of its power-generation capability.
NASA, “NASAfacts; STS-120”; Todd Halvorson, “Solar Array Producing Power Despite Rip,” Florida Today (Brevard, FL), 31 October 2007.
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