Jul 12 2012
From The Space Library
RELEASE: 12-233 NASA COMMERCIAL PARTNER SPACEX COMPLETES DRAGON DESIGN REVIEW
HAWTHORNE, Calif. -- NASA partner Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) has completed an important design review of the crewed version of its Dragon spacecraft. The concept baseline review presented NASA with the primary and secondary design elements of its Dragon capsule designed to carry astronauts into low Earth orbit, including the International Space Station. SpaceX is one of several companies working to develop crew transportation capabilities under the Commercial Crew Development Round 2 (CCDev2) agreement with NASA's Commercial Crew Program (CCP). Through CCDev2, NASA is helping the private sector develop and test new spacecraft and rockets with the goal of making commercial human spaceflight services available to commercial and government customers. In the June 14 review conducted at the company's headquarters in Hawthorne, Calif., SpaceX provided details about each phase of a potential crewed mission. This included how the company plans to modify its launch pads to support such missions, Dragon's docking capabilities, the weight and power requirements for the spacecraft, and prospective ground landing sites and techniques. The company also outlined crew living arrangements, such as environmental control and life support equipment, displays and controls. "SpaceX has made significant progress on its crew transportation capabilities," NASA CCP Manager Ed Mango said. "We commend the SpaceX team on its diligence in meeting its CCDev2 goals to mature the company's technology as this nation continues to build a real capability for America's commercial spaceflight needs." Safety was a key focus of the review. The SpaceX team presented NASA with analyses on how its SuperDraco launch abort system would perform if an emergency were to occur during launch or ascent. The review also outlined plans for getting astronauts away from danger quickly and safely on the way to low Earth orbit, in space and during the return home. "The successful conclusion of the concept baseline review places SpaceX exactly where we want to be -- ready to move on to the next phase and on target to fly people into space aboard Dragon by the middle of the decade," said SpaceX CEO and Chief Designer Elon Musk. All of NASA's industry partners, including SpaceX, continue to meet their established milestones in developing commercial crew transportation capabilities under CCDev2. While NASA works with U.S. industry to develop commercial spaceflight capabilities to low Earth orbit, the agency also is developing the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS), a crew capsule and heavy-lift rocket, to provide an entirely new capability for human exploration of deep space. Designed to be flexible for launching crew and cargo missions, Orion and SLS will expand human presence beyond Earth and enable new missions of exploration across the solar system.
MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-129 NASA JPL HOSTS LAUNCH: BEYOND WASTE FORUM
PASADENA, Calif. -- NASA and partners from the LAUNCH: Beyond Waste forum will discuss innovative ideas for waste management during a 3-day forum July 20-22. Waste management is important for planning long-duration human spaceflight missions to an asteroid, Mars or beyond. LAUNCH: Beyond Waste is part of an initiative to identify, showcase and support innovative approaches to sustainability challenges through a series of forums. It is the fourth forum in the series. LAUNCH allows NASA to propel innovative solutions that help those outside the agency make the connection between our lives on Earth and how we live and work in space. Through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)'s involvement, LAUNCH places a special emphasis on accelerating innovations poised for large-scale impact in improving the lives of people in the developing world. During the forum, nine international participants will showcase new innovations that could address waste management problems on Earth and may be used to solve problems for long-duration spaceflight. NASA, USAID, Nike Inc. and the U.S. State Department are LAUNCH founding partners. The Office of Naval Research; Vestergaard Frandsen; IDEO, a design and innovation consulting firm; and Architecture for Humanity are partners for LAUNCH: Beyond Waste. The partners all contributed to planning the forum, selecting innovators and recruiting other event participants. A list of the innovators and innovations will be available online before the forum
MEDIA ADVISORY: M12-130 NASA INVITES SOCIAL MEDIA FOLLOWERS TO KENNEDY SPACE CENTER
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. -- NASA invites its social media followers to a two-day NASA Social Aug. 2-3 to celebrate Kennedy Space Center's 50 years of human spaceflight. NASA Socials are in-person meetings with people who engage with the agency through Twitter, Facebook, Google+ and other social networks. Participants will receive a unique perspective into Kennedy's 50 years of launching humans and machines into low Earth orbit and to other planets. They will be treated to speakers from Kennedy's past, present and future, and tour the historical launch pads of NASA's early days through the present-day facilities that supported the Space Shuttle Program and Kennedy's transition to the future. The event will culminate with Kennedy's participation in NASA's first-ever multi-center simulcast to preview the landing of the Mars Science Laboratory's Curiosity rover. The simulcast will be held at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex. Registration for the NASA Social opens at 2 p.m. EDT Thursday, July 12, and closes at 2 p.m. Monday, July 16. Fifty participants will be selected from online registrations. Because portions of this event may take place in restricted areas, registration is limited to U.S. citizens.
