MOD 255: The purpose of this modification is to revise the launch date for the Joint Polar Satellite System- 2 (JPSS-2) Launch Service (CLIN 15) from a launch date of July 31, 2021, to a launch date of March 31, 2022, due to a Government caused delay. The length of the delay is 243 days. Pursuant to Section C, Clause 19.6, and Table C-6a, there are currently 150 available Government Grace Days for the period of ATP through L-24, all of which are being used for this delay. The remaining 93 days are subject to the postponement fee amount of $1,750 per day as established in Table C-6a. There remains 447 Postponement Fee Days for the JPSS-2 Launch Service. Section B, Clause 1.6, IDIQ Launch Service Task Order (LSTO), Table B-8.15, IDIQ Launch Service Task Order for the JPSS-2 Mission: The total value of CLIN 15 is increased by $162,750.00 from $139,000,000.00 to $139,162,750.00. Sub CLIN 15D, Launch Delays, is created in the amount of $162,750.00.
Volz: during COVID we've kept all sat ops going 24/7, but had to delay ground sys upgrades and won't be able to complete before launch of GOES-T. But keeping that launch on skdl. However, launch of JPSS-2 will slip from March 2022. Working w/NASA on new date later that yr.
L9 and JPSS-2 together at Northrup-Grumman in Gilbert, Arizona:https://twitter.com/Dr_ThomasZ/status/1359981059996286977QuoteIt’s not every day you see 2 fully integrated observatories in the same picture at the same time! Here you see JPSSProgram-2 satellite with NASA_Landsat 9 photobombing in the background.
It’s not every day you see 2 fully integrated observatories in the same picture at the same time! Here you see JPSSProgram-2 satellite with NASA_Landsat 9 photobombing in the background.
Jul 23, 2021Inflatable Heat Shield One Step Closer to 2022 DemonstrationA NASA technology that could one day help land humans on Mars is about to head into final integration and testing before an orbital flight test next year.Two key components of the Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) are complete and recently arrived at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia. At Langley, engineers will test the complete system to ensure LOFTID is flight ready.The inflatable decelerator is scheduled to launch with a polar-orbiting satellite in September 2022. After the satellite makes its way to orbit, LOFTID will descend back to Earth from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate the inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, can slow down and survive re-entry.Hardware ProgressThe flexible thermal protection system provides layers of material to protect the entire LOFTID re-entry vehicle from the extreme heat of atmospheric entry. It was built by Jackson Bond Enterprises, a small business in Dover, New Hampshire. In May, it was shipped to Airborne Systems in Santa Ana, California. That’s where the inflatable structure, the stacked ring assembly that maintains the shape of the aeroshell, was built and tested. The two components were then integrated to make up the complete aeroshell and load tested to ensure the structures will perform as expected during flight.Before shipping to Langley, the integrated components were painstakingly packed – an intensive process in which the aeroshell is gathered in a particular way, turned upside down, gathered again, cinched by hand, flipped again, and then put into a hydraulic ram. The ram is a machine that presses it until it is almost as dense as wood and can be restrained to this much smaller shape. The entire re-entry vehicle will be compressed into a configuration for shipping and launch that’s about 4 feet in diameter by 7 feet long, compared to 20 feet in diameter by 5 feet long when deployed.Next, the aeroshell will be integrated with the rest of the re-entry vehicle. The vehicle is comprised of several segments that link the inflatable structure to the inflation system, avionics, or flight electronics, ejectable data recorder, and parachute system.The forward segment, which connects the inflatable structure to the inflation system, is complete. The inflation system, which will slowly expand the inflatable structure to shape before re-entry, is nearing completion. The team will install avionics into the inflation system and then stack it with the mid-segment, which contains the interface to the rocket, along with critical power, control, and data acquisition electronics. Then, the aft segment, which houses the ejectable data recorder, cameras, and the parachute system, will be assembled. Parts of the aft segment are already in work at Airborne where they're performing tests on the parachute system, at Langley and various contractors where its structures are being fabricated, and at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where the camera systems were completed and tested.Later this year, all the components of the re-entry vehicle will be integrated and put through a battery of environmental tests in preparation for delivery to United Launch Alliance (ULA).Mission DedicationNASA and ULA are dedicating the LOFTID mission in honor of Mr. Bernard Kutter, manager of advanced programs at ULA, who passed away last year.Bernard Kutter was not only an advocate for more commonplace access to space, but also the technologies that could make it a reality. The ULA engineer took a keen interest in NASA’s inflatable heat shield design which could enable the safe return of rocket engines for re-use, as well as land large payloads on Mars required for crewed missions. He was instrumental in advancing the technology and developing the plan to test the system on an Atlas V rocket.“I – like the rest of the aerospace community – was saddened to hear of Bernard’s unexpected passing last summer,” said Jim Reuter, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate. “Together, NASA and ULA cannot think of a better way to honor his contributions and legacy than to dedicate the first flight demonstration of this technology to him.”“Bernard was the cornerstone of ULA’s Advanced Programs team, shaping the future of space technology and sharing that vision with many inside and outside of ULA,” said Tory Bruno, ULA’s president and CEO. “His influence can be seen everywhere from the Vulcan Centaur design to NASA’s lunar architecture. He is greatly missed.”NASA and its partners continue to prepare the technology for the significant flight test next year.“This represents almost 18 years of effort,” said Joe Del Corso, LOFTID project manager at Langley. “LOFTID is the culmination of ground tests and a suborbital flight test leading up to an orbital entry test and the demonstration of Hypersonic Inflatable Aerodynamic Decelerator (HIAD) technology. This is the launching point for the next phase of a technology that will be critical to enabling human access to Mars.”Landing humans on Mars will require larger, heavier payloads than have ever been landed on the Red Planet. That will require a much larger heat shield than currently exists. A scaled-up HIAD could provide the drag area and heat protection needed for a human Mars mission. In addition, HIAD technology could allow landing at higher altitude locations, enable better use of the full volume of rockets, provide heavy payload return from low-Earth orbit, and lower the cost of access to space through launch vehicle asset recovery.“Bernard advocated for us everywhere. I think the LOFTID project would not have happened without Bernard, and that's one of the reasons the dedication is for him,” said Dr. Neil Cheatwood, LOFTID principal investigator.The LOFTID project is a part of the Technology Demonstration Missions program within NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate. The project is managed by Langley with contributions from NASA’s Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.Last Updated: Aug 5, 2021Editor: Kristyn DamadeoTags: Ames Research Center, Space Tech, Technology Demonstration
The flexible thermal protection system contains two outer surface layers made of ceramic fiber fabric, several layers of insulator, and then a gas barrier that prevents hot gases from getting to directly to the inflatable structure. The inflatable structure is a high temperature capable, flexible structure that is inflated to provide the cone shape that the FTPS drapes over.Credits: NASA/Greg Swanson
The LOFTID flight aeroshell recently arrived at NASA's Langley Research Center where it will be integrated with other flight components and put through environmental testing prior to launch next year.Credits: NASA/David C. Bowman
An exploded view of the LOFTID re-entry vehicle shows all of the segments.This exploded view of the LOFTID re-entry vehicle shows each of the components that makes up the various segments.Credits: NASA
The Bernard Kutter Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID) is dedicated in honor of Mr. Kutter and his advocacy for space technology and more access to space.Credits: ULA
No, we’re not pumping up inner tubes for a pool party, but the successful inflation of this stack of test rings marks the final test of the inflation system for NASA’s LOFTID demonstration which will make a splash when it lands in the Pacific Ocean after launch. A NASA technology that could one day help land humans on Mars, the Bernard Kutter Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID), is scheduled to launch with a polar-orbiting satellite no earlier than fall 2022. After the satellite makes its way to orbit, LOFTID will descend back to Earth from low-Earth orbit to demonstrate that the inflatable aeroshell, or heat shield, can slow down and survive re-entry.The inflation system is one component of the LOFTID re-entry vehicle, and it is designed to slowly expand the aeroshell to its final shape before it reenters Earth’s atmosphere. The testing was performed using an inflatable volume tori simulator, or a series of rings that use the same amount of air as the flight aeroshell. Each inflation test was run as the system would operate in flight. This procedure ensures the inflation system responds as intended during routine operations and during potential anomalies.This inflation marks the final test in a series of inflation system check out tests. Now the system is ready for integration into the forward segment of the re-entry vehicle, which includes several segments that link the aeroshell to the inflation system, flight electronics, ejectable data recorder, and parachute system. Later this year, all the components of the re-entry vehicle will be integrated and put through a battery of environmental tests in preparation for delivery to industry partner United Launch Alliance, which is providing the launch and recovery.The LOFTID project is a part of the Technology Demonstration Missions program within NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate. The project is managed by NASA’s Langley Research Center with contributions from NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley, NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, and NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California.
LSP is a KSC program.
https://twitter.com/StephenClark1/status/1526607162025328642QuoteJanet Petro, director of KSC, showed this slide of 2022 key milestones at a Space Transportation Association event.It shows Artemis 1’s launch no earlier than August.Astra’s three launches of NASA’s TROPICS CubeSats are TBD as Astra is “working through some issues,” she said.
Janet Petro, director of KSC, showed this slide of 2022 key milestones at a Space Transportation Association event.It shows Artemis 1’s launch no earlier than August.Astra’s three launches of NASA’s TROPICS CubeSats are TBD as Astra is “working through some issues,” she said.
The LOFTID will employ an NAL Research 9602-N modem to communicate withthe Iridium constellation for LOFTID’s command and telemetry operations. TheLOFTID mission is an experiment to test reentry hardware for spacecraft and seeks totransmit housekeeping and re-entry break up data for as long as possible during the 30minute reentry process. The mission will operate for approximately 30 minutes at analtitude of 125 km on a re-entry trajectory from south of Alaska to the coast of Hawaii.
Quote from: bajaleo on 07/13/2022 02:30 amCould this contain delta heavy en route to Vandenberg?Per AIS timestamps it left the VSFB port running loaded at 12 JUL 2022 02:34:00 UTC and arrived at Port of San Diego at 13 JUL 2022 02:24:56 UTC. Before that it was servicing at Cristobal Anchorage, Panama on the 25th of June loaded and Bound for VSFB.It doesn't just carry rockets all of the time so it typically stops along the coast to pick up cargo to pay for its return. Sometimes It will transport equipment or vehicles from/near VSFB down to other installations such as San Diego.https://www.marinetraffic.com/en/ais/details/ships/shipid:401007/mmsi:338731000/imo:9198501/vessel:ROCKETSHIP
Could this contain delta heavy en route to Vandenberg?
Animation of mission highlights for the upcoming launch of NASA’s cutting-edge entry, descent and landing technology: Low-Earth Orbit Flight Test of an Inflatable Decelerator (LOFTID). Credits: NASA
