Engine failure delays mission

Orbital Sciences Corp. is delaying the launch of its second robotic resupply mission to the International Space Station to investigate the failure of a rocket engine during a test at NASA's Stennis Space Center, Miss. An Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ26, one of two used on Orbital's Antares launch vehicle, failed midway through a test. Orbital Sciences will postpone the June 10 launch of the company's unmanned Cygnus spacecraft. The mission will not launch to the space station before June 17. (Source: space.com, 05/28/14) Previous

Contract: Lockheed, $7.4M

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., Sunnyvale, Calif., has been awarded a $7,400,000 cost-plus-award-fee modification (P00788) to F04701-95-C-0017 to generate simulation scenarios in support of Air Force Operational Test and Evaluation Center's initial operational test and evaluation at Space-Based Infrared Systems Engineering and Manufacturing Development, Block 20. Work will be done in Sunnyvale and Azuza, Calif., and is expected to be completed by Dec. 30, 2016. Infrared Space Systems Contracts Division, Space and Missile Systems Center, El Segundo, Calif., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 05/27/14) Lockheed Martin at Stennis Space Center, Miss., does the core propulsion system work on the SBIRS satellites.

No one hurt in test failure

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- An AJ-26 rocket engine used to power Orbital Sciences' Antares launch vehicle failed during hot fire testing Thursday in South Mississippi. The Aerojet Rocketdyne engine, a modified version of the Russian-built NK-33, is fueled with a liquid oxygen kerosene. The publication NASAspaceflight quoted sources and saying the engine was being tested at the E-complex when it exploded halfway through the test, but nobody was injured. Orbital Sciences has already had multiple successful launches of the Antares, which lifts the cargo vehicle Cygnus on supply missions to the International Space Station. (Sources: NASAspaceflight, Sun Herald, Spaceflight Now, 05/23/14) Previous

Lockheed strike at SSC ends

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- A union strike against Lockheed Martin at Stennis Space Center ended Tuesday when the union agreed to a new three-year contract. Members of Local 2249 of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers union began the strike Friday over pensions. The union represents about 115 workers who support NASA rocket testing at SSC in South Mississippi. (Source: Sun Herald, 05/20/14) Previous

Contract: Lockheed, $20M

Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co., Sunnyvale, Calif., has been awarded a $20,000,000 contract modification for acceleration effort in support of the production of Space-Based Infrared Systems (SBIRS) Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) 5 and 6 satellites. The contract modification is for planning and production parts including hinges, valves, structures and special test equipment to support the SBIRS GEO 5/6 satellite production. Work will be done at Sunnyvale and is expected to be completed by June 19, 2016. Space and Missile System Center, Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the contracting activity. (Source: DoD, 05/20/14) Core propulsion system work for the SBIRS is done by Lockheed Martin at Stennis Space Center, Miss.

Admiral gets new assignment

The Navy today announced today that Rear Adm. (lower half) Brian B. Brown, selected for promotion to rear admiral, will be assigned as deputy commander, Joint Functional Component Command Space, U.S. Strategic Command, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Brown is currently serving as commander, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Source: DoD, 05/16/14)

Lockheed union at SSC strikes

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. – Lockheed Martin workers who operate NASA test stands went on strike today in the wake of negotiations over the company's plan to end pensions. Members of Local 2249 of the International Machinists and Aerospace workers started picketing outside the main gate after midnight. They will not picket over the weekend, but plan to return Monday. The strike affects 116 union members. Lockheed Martin and the union are at the end of a three-year contract. (Sources: WLOX-TV, Sun Herald, 05/16/14) The company also operates the Lockheed Martin Mississippi Space and Technology Center at SSC, which works on satellite systems. It is not involved in the strike.

Two B-2 upgrades nearly done

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- NASA is nearing completion on two major structural restoration construction packages for the B-2 Test Stand that will be used to test the core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS). SLS will carry astronauts deeper into space than ever before. Beginning in 2016 the core stage, powered by four RS-25 engines, will be tested on the B-2 stand. The SLS stage is 50 percent longer than the Saturn stages previously tested on B-2, so the main derrick crane atop the stand had to be upgraded. That work will be done this month. Work package No. 2, replacement of fixed and movable platforms, will be done in July. Packages 3 and 4 both are scheduled to be finished in 2015. (Source: NASA, 05/15/14)

Engine purchase ban lifted

An injunction that temporarily prevented the Air Force and United Launch Alliance from buying Russian-made RD-180 engines for launch vehicles has been lifted. The injunction was issued April 30 after SpaceX filed suit, saying purchase of the engines violated sanctions imposed on Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin and 10 others. But letters submitted to the court by the departments of State, Treasury and Commerce said the maker of the engines, NPO Energomash, is not subject any of the sanctions. (Source: Space Travel, Space News, 05/09/14) Previous

SBIRS propulsion module done

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Lockheed Martin completed the propulsion module for the fourth Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO-4) space vehicle and is now proceeding with satellite assembly, integration and test. SBIRS provide continuous early warning of ballistic missile launches and other tactical intelligence. Final assembly and test of the GEO-4 satellite’s propulsion module occurred earlier this year at Lockheed Martin's Mississippi Space & Technology Center at Stennis Space Center. The propulsion module maneuvers the satellite during transfer orbit to its final location and conducts on-orbit repositioning maneuvers throughout its mission life. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 05/06/14)

Contract awarded for test stands

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – Birmingham's Brasfield & Gorrie won a $45 million contract to build two stands at Marshall Space Flight Center to test the fuel tanks and other key hardware of NASA's Space Launch System. One stand will be 215 feet tall and will test the SLS liquid hydrogen tank. The second stand will be 85 feet tall and will test the liquid oxygen tank of the new rocket. The stands will take about a year to build with construction will begin late this month. The core stage of the SLS is 200 feet tall, larger than the 75-foot tall Saturn V first stage of the past. The core is composed of two fuel tanks, a main engine compartment, an intertank ring to join the two tanks and a top ring to attach the core to the Orion upper stage. The tanks are being built at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. (Source: al.com, 05/06/14) Stennis Space Center, Miss., will test the RS-25 engines that will power the core stage of SLS.

Milestone on way to RS-25 testing

Cold-shock test at Stennis
SSC photo

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- NASA engineers achieved a major milestone May 1 as they prepare to test RS-25 rocket engines that will help power the new Space Launch System (SLS) on missions to deep space destinations. A-1 Test Stand operators completed a cold-shock test of the new structural piping system needed for the RS-25 engine, setting the stage for engine installation in the coming weeks and hotfire testing this summer. Four RS-25 engines will power the core stage of the SLS, which is being built to carry humans to destinations including an asteroid and eventually Mars. Renovation of the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis has been under way since last fall with installation of new equipment and components needed to accommodate RS-25 engines, including the cryogenic piping system tested May 1. (Source: NASA/SSC, 05/06/14)

Weather sat module delivered

DENVER -- The two modules of the first GOES-R series weather satellite spacecraft have been delivered to a cleanroom at Lockheed Martin's Space Systems facility near Denver. The Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R series (GOES-R) is NOAA's next-generation geostationary weather satellites. With the delivery of the system module and the propulsion module, the weather satellite will now undergo integration and testing. It is slated to launch in early 2016. The system module of the A2100-based satellite, housing three major electrical subsystems, was built at Lockheed Martin’s Newtown, Pa. facility. The propulsion module recently underwent integration of its engines, fuel tanks and various propulsion components at the company's Mississippi Space and Technology Center at NASA's Stennis Space Center. (Source: Lockheed Martin, 05/01/14)

SpaceX gets injunction

A U.S. court issued an injunction blocking United Launch Alliance, a Lockheed Martin/Boeing joint venture, from buying Russian-made rocket engines after SpaceX filed a lawsuit protesting the contract. SpaceX, which sued Monday, said the contract should have been competitively bid. The preliminary injunction was issued late Wednesday by Judge Susan Braden of the U.S. Court of Federal Claims. The ruling blocks payments to any entity subject to the control of Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, including the Russian state-owned company that makes the rocket engines. Rogozin heads Russia's defense industry and space program, and is on a sanctions list over the crisis in Ukraine. The injunction could be lifted if the U.S. Treasury, Commerce Department or State Department reviews the deal and finds it does not violate sanctions. (Source: AFP via Space Travel, Washington Post, AFP via Space Travel, 05/01/14) Note: SpaceX will be testing its deep-space rocket engine at Stennis Space Center, Miss.; United Launch Alliance's Delta IV rocket uses RS-68 engines tested at SSC; Lockheed Martin builds satellite core propulsion systems at SSC; Aerojet Rocketdyne tests AJ-26 engines, modified versions of the Russian-built NK-33 and NK-43 engines, at SSC. The AJ-26 powers Orbital Sciences Antares rocket, used to launch the Cygnus spacecraft on cargo missions to the International Space Station.

NASA picks proposals

NASA has selected 383 research and technology proposals for negotiations that may lead to contracts worth a combined $47.6 million. The proposals, from 257 U.S. small businesses and 29 research institutions, are part of NASA's Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) Program. Eight selected proposals involve technology being administered by the Office of the Chief Technologist at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, Miss. (Source: NASA, 05/01/14)