The most interesting part of this, to me, is the social media Q&A NASA conducted in conjunction with the arrival of the Orion. I think it is far more interesting and informative than the usual official presentations:

And speaking of those official presentations, there’s one of those too if you really want to watch it:

Now that we’re moving on to the Space Launch System (SLS) and commercial cargo and crew operations KSC is getting a major makeover. The VAB is practically being rebuilt from the inside out with the removal of massive structures from the high bays, originally installed to work on the Saturn V. And removing miles of copper cables that were state of the art at the time, and are now replaceable with a single fiber optic line strand. The VAB is being redesigned to handle multiple vehicles, to provide flexibility. In addition to handling the SLS it may be processing ATK’s Liberty launch vehicle, or possibly manned versions of the Atlas V or Delta IV depending on what is decided for processing those. (It probably won’t be processing SpaceX’s Falcon 9 as they have their own facilities already.)

Orbiter Processing Facility 3 (OPF 3), used to process Space Shuttles, is being refurbished for use by Boeing in producing their CST-100 capsule – presuming it does go into production of course. It remains to be seen if NASA will select it for the Commercial Crew Program, and, if not, if Boeing will produce it for the commercial market anyway.

This first video takes a look back at the 50 years of KSC’s history, I love the brief look at the shuttle concepts at the three minute mark:

And this video takes a look at the changes coming to KSC to support the next 50 years and some of the history happening right now:

First up is the SpaceX Dragon, which is arguably the front runner in the CCP given it’s successful unmanned cargo mission to the ISS. The Dragon, of course, is designed to launch atop SpaceX’s own Falcon 9.

Next up is SNC’s Dream Chaser lifting body design. SNC isn’t producing a booster, the Dream Chaser is intended to launch atop a ULA Atlas V, though it could possibly be lofted by other man-rated boosters as well.

Next is the Boeing CST-100. While Boeing does have their own booster, the Delta IV (currently produced via the ULA joint venture with Lockheed Martin), there are currently no plans to man-rate it. At this time the CST-100 is planned to launch atop the Atlas V, though it may also use the Falcon 9.

Next is ULA with the Atlas V. Now, the Atlas V is an established launch platform for satellites and unmanned probes, but the CCP work will involve man-rating the launcher so that it can carry vehicles such as the Dream Chaser and CST-100 safely.

And lastly we have the ATK Liberty. Liberty looks an awful lot like the Ares I from NASA’s now-defunct Constellation program, and with good reason. ATK was developing the first stage of the Ares I, which was basically going to be a five segment evolution of the four segment Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster. When the Constellation program was cancelled, ATK was well along in the design and testing of their first stage, so they decided to go forward with the work on their own. As NASA was going to develop the second stage of the Ares I they needed to replace it. Rather than design something from scratch they turned to an existing design, the European Ariane 5. The second stage of Liberty is the core first stage of the Ariane 5, with modifications of course.

ATK has also decided to develop their own crew capsule, rather than using Boeing’s CST-100 or the NASA/Lockheed Martin Orion. ATK’s capsule will be based on a composite demonstrator they produced for NASA as part of the Orion project during Constellation. While it was decided not to use a composite structure for Orion, ATK has decided to use their experience building the demonstrator to produce their own capsule. So they’re looking to produce a complete end-to-end system, like SpaceX with the Falcon 9 and Dragon.

There is another participant that doesn’t seem to have a video, yet anyway, and that’s Blue Origin. They’re working on yet another capsule design, this one with a unique biconic shape, which they’re simply calling Space Vehicle. It will initially launch atop the Atlas V, but Blue Origin plans to produce their own Reusable Booster System in the future.

A lot has to happen during Entry, Descent, and Landing (EDL), and all of it has to run completely autonomously. Everything needs to work go flawlessly, including the radical, new and untested, ‘skycrane’ landing technique. It is quite an audacious mission, and given all that has to go right during EDL and the fact that we won’t know if it worked, or not, until it is all over, it is understandable why EDL has been dubbed the Seven Minutes of Terror.

Check out the video, it is really well done. And nice use of the Inception music.

Thing’s are shaping up to be a competition, with the SpaceX Dragon and Boeing CST-100 capsules, and the Sierra Nevada Corporation Dream Chaser lifting body space plane. And, of course, NASA’s own Orion capsule for trips beyond low-earth orbit – though Dragon is also intended to eventually venture beyond LEO.

Pegasus, which has been around since 1990, basically uses the L-1011 as its zeroth stage. The airliner carries it to around 40,000 feet before it is dropped and the first stage ignites. It initially climbs under a combination of rocket power and aerodynamic lift from the wings which are part of the first stage, until the second and third stages complete the flight as pure rockets. All three stages use solid propellant. The launch of a Pegasus looks more like an old X-plane launch, like an X-15 – and indeed the initial Pegasus flights used the same modified B-52 carriers, until the L-1011 took over.

This launch highlight video is slightly disappointing. It was a night launch and I’m sure the ignition of the Pegasus must’ve been spectacular, but there is no footage from any chase aircraft. So we never actually get to see the rockets fire. But the interesting part, for me, starts around the 1:40 mark, when the L-1011 begins to taxi and we get a good look at the Pegasus mounted on its belly.

This video gives us a look at the vehicle processing flow in preparation for the launch. We get a look at the Pegasus XL being built up and the payload being mounted, but I think the most interesting part comes at the 5:00 mark when we get to observe the process of mounting the Pegasus to the L-1011 Stargazer carrier.

Of course, there are several videos of the events. The press briefing before the unberthing:

The unberthing itself. Watch closely at the 5:40 mark and you can see the Draco thrusters fire in the first departure burn. It is just a small bright spot in the thruster bell.

The descent and splashdown video is fairly poor, but I still think it is interesting:

And last, but not least, a press briefing to wrap everything up:

While these unmanned cargo flights are certainly a major achievement, the next big step for Dragon is manned flight. SpaceX is working on the systems necessary to enable the Dragon to conduct manned flights, with an eye toward NASA’s Commercial Crew effort. With this successful flight Dragon is certainly the odds on favorite to be selected to carry crew to the ISS. But SpaceX isn’t the only company working on manned orbital vehicles.

Boeing is working on their CST-100, a manned capsule similar in concept to Dragon. The CST-100 is being designed for operations to the ISS, as well as the commercial stations planned by Bigelow Aerospace. They’ve been conducting drop tests of a boilerplate capsule (which means it is just representative of the shape and weight distribution, and is not the actual capsule design) to verify the parachute and airbag landing system:

Also in the hunt is Sierra Nevada Corporation with their Dream Chaser lifting body. The Dream Chaser looks more like a vehicle of the future than the capsule designs, something more appropriate for Buck Rogers or John Crichton. The basic shape is similar to NASA’s HL-20 concept from the 90s, and reaches back to the lifting body research programs of the 60s and 70s such as the HL-10, M2, and X-24. I have to say I’d really love to see the Dream Chaser become operational, if only because it looks like the future. SNC has been conducting captive carry tests of a test article in preparation for drop testing:

The vehicle builders aren’t the only ones working on future systems, NASA is preparing as well. The giant Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), constructed for the Saturn V program and used for the Shuttle, is being thoroughly modernized to be ready for the next generation of rockets. Not only is it being redesigned to handle NASA’s own planned Space Launch System, but commercial rockets and spacecraft as well:

To wrap it all up, a recent episode of This Week At NASA included segments on SpaceX Dragon, Orbital Sciences Corporations Cygnus capsule (a competitor to Dragon for commercial cargo delivery to ISS, but not intended for crew), the Boeing CST-100, SNC Dream Chaser, NASA Space Launch System, and more:

Also related to the SLS, the last of the 15 remaining RS-25D flight engines, formerly known as the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), has been delivered to storage at Stennis. The plan is to use up the existing RS-25D engines on the expendable core stage of the new SLS before switching over to new-build, cheaper RS-25E engines designed to be expendable. The RS-25D has a number of features required in their role as reusable engines on the space shuttle which just aren’t necessary for an expendable engine. But the existing engines still have life left, so they’ll go out in a blaze of glory on one last mission on the SLS.

In more immediate news, the SpaceX COTS 2+ Mission, aka Falcon 9 Flight 3, which has been rescheduled a few times is now set to launch this morning, Saturday, May 19, at 04:55ET. This will be the first launch of a commercial spacecraft, the Dragon capsule, to the International Space Station. A truly historic event – and they have a live webcast on YouTube! It is set to start at 04:15ET – you can join now, there is a timer counting down to the start of the webcast:

You can also watch on NASA TV:

Live video for mobile from Ustream

And for something different, the recent Lyrid meteor shower as filmed from the ISS:

Now NASA has begun a second round of testing on the J-2X on the revised A-2 Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

They also released a time lapse video of the J-2X being installed in the test stand:

The J-2 has also served as the basis for later engine designs, such as the linear aerospike engine intended for the cancelled X-33 program. The current J-2X program was initially part of the now-cancelled Project Constellation and was intended to be the upper stage engine for both the Ares I and Ares V. It is one of the components that was carried over into the replacement Space Launch System program when Constellation was cancelled.

You might wonder what ‘other destinations’ there are in LEO. Well, if you listen to the video you’ll hear Bigelow Aerospace mentioned as having built the test rig. Bigelow is working with Boeing on the CST-100, because Bigelow is working on a commercial space station and they need a way to get there. Bigelow’s technology is based on the inflatable TransHab technology NASA developed – and cancelled.

Unlike the Orion and old Apollo capsules, the CST-100 is not meant to splash down in water, but rather to touch down on dry land, like the Russian Soyuz. All capsules descend under parachutes. At the last moment the Soyuz fires retrorockets mounted in the rigging to brake the descent to touch down relatively gently. The CST-100 is going a different route, instead deploying airbags from underneath the heat shield, to soften the impact. That is what we see being tested in the video.

The SpaceX Dragon is initially making water landings as an expedient, but the long term goal is to use thrusters to make a controlled vertical touch down on dry land. The idea is that the same thrusters can be used as the emergency escape system to push the capsule away from the booster during a launch mishap. (That’s what the tower sticking off the nose of an Apollo or Orion capsule is for. SpaceX plans to use ‘pusher’ rockets instead of a ‘puller’ tower.) The Dream Chaser, of course, will land on a runway.

The SLS will initially use the RS-25D, also known as the SSME – or Space Shuttle Main Engine. NASA has a stockpile of these from the shuttle program. Later this will change to a cheaper RS-25E, or expendable, version. Whereas the RS-25D was reused on multiple shuttle flights, engines used on the SLS will be discarded. So there is no need to build the engines to higher standards for reusability. NASA is only using the RS-25D initially since they already have a stockpile of them and with the retirement of the shuttle they have nothing else useful to do with them. The RS-68B the Ares V was to use would’ve been a version of the RS-68/68A already in use on the Delta IV launcher, designed to be expendable.

Most of the increased lift from the evolved version of the SLS will come from new rocket boosters. NASA is expected to compete the design of the new boosters, which could be liquid or solid fueled. But that is still a ‘when and if’ question, since they need to get the initial design off the ground first.

I’m disappointed because I grew up with one program after another promising great leaps. The X-30 National Aerospace Plane – cancelled. The DC-X Delta Clipper – cancelled. (Though Jeff Bezo’s Blue Origin New Shepard program looks to be the spiritual successor.) The X-33 VentureStar – cancelled. The X-34 – cancelled. The X-38 Crew Return Vehicle – cancelled. And, of course, the Constellation Program was cancelled.

At least the Air Force picked up the X-37 after NASA dumped it.

With each cancellation the programs have seemed to get less ambitious. No more space planes, reusable launch vehicles, etc. We’re back to the gumdrop on a stick capsules. Much of the technology in the SLS can trace its development right back to the Apollo program, and the rest is a pretty direct link to the shuttle. There’s not much that can be considered new. That’s safe and (relatively) cheap, but not all that inspiring, at least to me. The first generation SLS reminds me very strongly of the aborted Ares IV concept, which would’ve been kind of a combination of the lower stages of the Ares V and the upper stages of the Ares I.

Frankly I’m a lot more inspired these days by what’s going on in the commercial sector. And I don’t me the traditional giants like Boeing, Lockheed, Ariane, the Russians, etc. But the space start ups that are doing new things. Blue Origin and their New Shepard, as well as their other projects. Sierra Nevada and their Dream Chaser space plane (based on concepts from the cancelled NASA HL-20). But most especially Elon Musk’s SpaceX and their Falcon launchers and Dragon capsule.

SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy is being designed to lift 53 metric tons to LEO. With concepts for the Falcon X Heavy and Falcon XX lifting 125 and 140 metric tons, respectively. While those are still concepts the Falcon 9 has already flown, and the Falcon Heavy is a direct evolution of the Falcon 9 (it was formerly known as the Falcon 9 Heavy) and it is in active development. While it won’t lift even as much as the first generation SLS, I find it more inspirational because it is a small private company developing everything from scratch. There is no legacy technology in the Falcon program, they’ve been inventing a new generation of rocket technology. And so far they’ve been very successful.

While the SLS will surely be a very impressive vehicle if it ever flies, don’t get me wrong, right now that is a very big if given NASA’s track record with programs. I’m not sure we wouldn’t be better off giving the money to companies like SpaceX to accelerate development of vehicles like the Falcon XX. Given their track record on the Falcon 1, Falcon 9, and Dragon to date we might get more for less.

Via CNET Crave.