KENNEDY SPACE CENTER

Boeing’s CST-100 Starliner completed the Pad Abort Test, November 4, at the U.S. Army’s White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The next spacecraft to study the Sun arrived at Kennedy on November 1. Solar Orbiter was delivered to the Launch and Landing Facility, formerly the Shuttle Landing Facility, aboard an Antonov cargo plane. Solar Orbiter is a European Space Agency mission with NASA participation. This week, the spaceport was the first NASA center to be named a Purple Heart Entity by the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Kennedy is being recognized as a Purple Heart Entity for the support of veterans though employment opportunities and services provided to veterans by the center’s veterans employee resource group.

The Space Launch System core stage pathfinder - a full-scale mock-up of the rocket's actual core stage - was loaded back onto NASA's Pegasus barge for its return trip to the agency's Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana. While at Kennedy, the pathfinder allowed teams to practice offloading, maneuvering and stacking techniques. Also, SpaceX fired up the Crew Dragon's SuperDraco engines in preparation of the company's In-Flight Abort Test.

Rockets are dangerous. And before we strap our star sailors in, we need to know there is a proven escape plan. Learn about the next two major tests under NASA's Commercial Crew Program as we prepare to transport humans safely to and from the International Space Station.

Exploration Ground Systems accomplished many milestones in 2019 on the way to Artemis I. From moving the mobile launcher out to Launch Pad 39B for testing and validation, to conducting launch countdown simulations in Firing Room 1, we are going! Artemis I will be the first test of the Space Launch System and Orion capsule on a journey around the Moon.

The NASA Business Opportunities Expo 2019 attracted about 200 business and government exhibitors. The event, which highlighted women-owned small businesses — and other socioeconomic categories — was held in Port Canaveral. Also, the rock band X Ambassadors toured unique areas around Kennedy Space Center, including Launch Complex 39B and Swamp Works.

The Space Launch System's Core Stage Pathfinder is lifted from the Vehicle Assembly Building's transfer aisle and into High Bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Oct. 16, 2019. The Pathfinder, or practice hardware, is being used by Exploration Ground Systems and its contractor, Jacobs, to practice offloading, moving, and stacking maneuvers, using important ground support equipment to train employees and certify all the equipment works properly.

Practice makes perfect! Exploration Ground Systems and its contractor, Jacobs, rehearsed lifting procedures of the Space Launch System core stage using a full-scale mock-up, called pathfinder, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building. Kennedy employees recently assembled the flight hardware for NASA's Orbital Syngas Commodity Augmentation Reactor, or OSCAR, inside a laboratory at the center. OSCAR will be used to study technology that converts trash and human waste into useful gasses such as methane, hydrogen and carbon dioxide.

The Space Launch System's Core Stage Pathfinder is lifted from the Vehicle Assembly Building's transfer aisle and into High Bay 3 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center on Oct. 16, 2019. The Pathfinder, or practice hardware, is being used by Exploration Ground Systems and its contractor, Jacobs, to practice offloading, moving, and stacking maneuvers, using important ground support equipment to train employees and certify all the equipment works properly.

Most of the time, we launch rockets with the pointy end up. Sometimes, we strap rockets to the belly of commercial airliners and drop them over the ocean. Learn about NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) and the air-launched Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket that carried the satellite into space.

Exploration Ground Systems continued to make sure the mobile launcher is ready for Artemis I with a multi-arm swing test on Friday, October 4, 2019 at Launch Pad 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The Umbilical Arm Simultaneous Retract Test included retraction of the connections that will provide fuel, coolant and communications to the Space Launch System rocket up until launch. The umbilicals tested included the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage Umbilical (ICPSU), the Core Stage Forward Skirt Umbilical (CSFSU) and the Core Stage Intertank Umbilical (CSIU).

This week, NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer, or ICON, launched aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket on a mission to study the weather where Earth meets space. Also, the agency's Exploration Ground Systems contucted a swing arm test of multiple arms on the mobile launcher, another step toward launch of NASA's Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft on Artemis I.

NASA Launch Manager Omar Baez is interviewed following the launch of the agency's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON). ICON was air-launched from a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, which was attached to the underside of the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. ICON is embarking on a mission to study the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above.

The Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket carrying NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) launches from the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft. ICON is embarking on a mission to study the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above.

NASA Launch Manager Omar Baez polls the agency launch team for a final "go/no-go" to launch the Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket carrying the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON). ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above.

NASA begins team coverage of the launch of the agency's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) aboard a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket. The air-launched rocket will be carried aloft by the company's L-1011 Stargazer aircraft, which took off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida. ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above.

The Northrop Grumman L-1011 Stargazer aircraft takes off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, carrying the Pegasus XL rocket that contains NASA's Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON). ICON will study the frontier of space - the dynamic zone high in Earth's atmosphere where terrestrial weather from below meets space weather above.

This condensed video includes highlights from NASA Communications Specialist Joshua Santora and NASA STEM Engagement Specialist Rachel Power as they take you on an immersive, Virtual Reality tour and overview of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program! Visit nasa.gov/stem/ccp for more STEM educational resources featuring NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

In Part 6 of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program VR 360 Tour, NASA Communications Specialist Joshua Santora takes you to Launch Complex 39A and Space Launch Complex 41 at Kennedy Space Center. Visit nasa.gov/stem/ccp for more STEM educational resources featuring NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

In Part 5 of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program VR 360 Tour, NASA STEM Engagement Specialist Rachel Power continues our tour and overview of astronaut training facilities inside Johnson Space Center. This immersive, Virtual Reality tour gives you a closer look at NASA Spacecraft Simulation and Spacesuit Training. Visit nasa.gov/stem/ccp for more STEM educational resources featuring NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

In Part 4 of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program VR 360 Tour, NASA STEM Engagement Specialist Rachel Power gives you an overview of the astronaut training required for living and working on the International Space Station. This video is an immersive, Virtual Reality tour of the facilities inside Johnson Space Center including the Neutral Buoyancy Lab. Visit nasa.gov/stem/ccp for more STEM educational resources featuring NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

In Part 3 of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program VR 360 Tour, NASA STEM Engagement Specialist Rachel Power gives you a closer look at the Boeing CST-100 Starliner. This immersive, Virtual Reality tour takes you inside the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center where the Starliner is being built. Visit nasa.gov/stem/ccp for more STEM educational resources featuring NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

In Part 2 of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program VR 360 Tour, NASA Communications Specialist Joshua Santora takes you on a tour of SpaceX Headquarters in Hawthorne, California. This immersive, Virtual Reality experience exhibits the design and manufacturing of the SpaceX Crew Dragon. Visit nasa.gov/stem/ccp for more STEM educational resources featuring NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

Get ready for an immersive, Virtual Reality tour of NASA’s Commercial Crew Program! NASA Communications Specialist Joshua Santora provides an overview of the Commercial Crew Program while relaying historical insights and reviewing CCP’s vehicles and commercial partnerships with Boeing and SpaceX. Visit nasa.gov/stem/ccp for more STEM educational resources featuring NASA’s Commercial Crew Program.

A full-scale mock-up of the Space Launch System rocket’s core stage arrived at Kennedy Space Center. It will be used to practice stacking maneuvers and other procedures before the actual hardware arrives to be processed for the Artemis I mission. Also, the Ionospheric Connection Explorer (ICON) is at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. ICON, which is sealed inside a Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket, will be air-launched by the company’s L-1011 aircraft, Stargazer, as it flies off Florida’s east coast on Oct. 9.

For over 20 years, NASA's Launch Services Program (LSP) has been the workhorse of uncrewed spaceflight, enabling exploration of Pluto, the Sun, the Earth and other worlds. In this episode, we hear from Amanda Mitskevich and Chuck Dovale - two leaders within LSP.

Ralph Fritsche, Space Crop Production Project Manager with Kennedy Space Center’s Exploration Research & Technology Programss, focuses on development of concepts, strategies and partnerships that promote the inclusion of freshly grown crops as part of the food system for long duration missions to the Moon and Mars.

Kennedy Space Center senior leaders viewed a mock-up of the cargo logistics module for Sierra Nevada Corporation’s Dream Chaser inside the SSPF. And the Orbital Syngas Commodity Augmentation Reactor (OSCAR) is approaching another major milestone.

NASA's Exploration Ground Systems performed another successful test of the sound suppression system at Launch Pad 39B in preparation for Artemis I. During the test, the system released 450,000 gallons of water across the mobile launcher and flame deflector in a little over 30 seconds. Also, NASA and SpaceX were awarded an Emmy for Outstanding Interactive Program for the launch broadcast of SpaceX's Demo-1 mission. Under the agency's Commercial Crew Program, SpaceX launched its inaugural uncrewed Demo-1 flight test to the International Space Station in March.

Crew Dragon parachutes successfully deploy during latest development test that simulated a pad abort, where the vehicle is tumbling at low altitude before parachute deploy, validating SpaceX’s parachute models and margins.

Hurricane Dorian skirted the coast of Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 3 and 4. A few days before, the Mobile Launcher, atop the crawler-transporter, was moved from Launch Pad 39B back to the Vehicle Assembly Building as a precaution. Kennedy Director Bob Cabana presented awards to NASA and contractor employees during the center's annual NASA KSC Honor Awards Ceremony on Sept. 10.

Every member of the NASA team is critical to our success, even if they're still finishing school. In this episode, we hear from two of our summer interns, Amber George and Peter Henson, during their first week here and their first impressions.

This week, a mechanical engineer representing the Artemis generation is one of only nine current drivers of NASA's crawler-transporter, and U.S. radio host Tom Joyner visits Kennedy for a panel discussion about the agency's Moon to Mars plans.

A major milestone was achieved with the release of the Gateway Logistics Services request for proposals. And Northrop Grumman will assemble and test its new OmegA rocket inside Kennedy Space Center's Vehicle Assembly Building.

NASA has a vested interest in an unusually high number of test flights this year. In this episode, we unpack the need and value of test flights with Jon Cowart, as well as dig into the recent, successful, second test of Orion’s Launch Abort System with Carlos Garcia.

Kennedy Space Center scientist Gioia Massa was among 18 NASA engineers and researchers who received the Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers. And the center's Research and Technology Programs hosted a two-day workshop focusing on robotics and automation in space crop production.

This week in space news, NASA, Boeing and United Launch Alliance rehearsed an escape and triage simulation in the unlikely event of an emergency. The exercise involved two NASA astronauts and one astronaut candidate practicing safely escaping Launch Complex 41 and reaching a nearby staging area for medical attention. Also this week, Kennedy’s iconic Vehicle Assembly Building received a “Test of Time” architectural award.

Vice President Mike Pence visited Kennedy Space Center on the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. Also, SpaceX successfully launched CRS-18 from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

NASA launch commentator Derrol Nail talks with Bill Spetch, deputy manager of the International Space Station, transportation integration office at NASA, after the successful SpaceX CRS-18 launch. A Falcon 9 rocket, carrying a Dragon capsule filled with about 5,000 pounds of supplies and experiments, lifted off from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station on Thursday, July 25, at 6:01 p.m. It will arrive at the space station on Saturday morning.

Dragon's solar arrays are deployed as the spacecraft begins its journey to the International Space Station. SpaceX's 18th Commercial Resupply Services mission lifted off from Space Launch Complex 40 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station at 6:01 p.m. EDT on July 25, 2019. On the CRS-18 mission, the Dragon spacecraft will deliver about 5,000 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and hardware to the orbiting laboratory.

The SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying the Dragon spacecraft lifts off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station’s Space Launch Complex 40 at 6:01 p.m. EDT on July 25, 2019. This is SpaceX’s 18th Commercial Resupply Services mission for NASA to the International Space Station. On the CRS-18 mission, the uncrewed Dragon spacecraft will deliver about 5,000 pounds of science and research, crew supplies and hardware to the orbiting laboratory.

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, SpaceX's Headquarters in Hawthorne, California, and Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston, the live broadcast begins for the countdown and liftoff of SpaceX’s 18th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station. Launch is scheduled for 6:01 p.m. EDT on July 25, 2019, from Launch Complex 40 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

Weather proved to be too much to overcome as SpaceX's CRS-18 launch from Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station was scrubbed. The next attempt is set for tomorrow, July 25, at 6:01 p.m. SpaceX's 18th resupply mission will deliver supplies and experiments to the International Space Station.

At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, SpaceX's Headquarters in Hawthorne, California, and Mission Control at Johnson Space Center in Houston, the live broadcast begins for the countdown and liftoff of SpaceX’s 18th Commercial Resupply Services mission to the International Space Station. Launch is scheduled for 6:24 p.m. EDT on July 24, 2019, from Launch Complex 40 at Florida’s Cape Canaveral Air Force Station.

NASA celebrated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission by hosting multiple events at Kennedy Space Center.

NASA has been nominated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences for Outstanding Interactive Program for its coverage of SpaceX’s Demonstration Mission 1 as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program. The nomination is a result of years of preparation for the historic launch and multiple live broadcasts from NASA and SpaceX facilities across the country during each phase of the Crew Dragon’s mission to the International Space Station and its stunning return to Earth. Throughout NASA’s coverage, the agency engaged social media users around the world and at local social media influencer gatherings at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Most International Space Station payloads are delivered to Kennedy Space Center's Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF), which has played an integral role in spaceflight for a quarter century.

Exploration Ground Systems conducted a water flow test with the mobile launcher at Launch Complex 39B, reaching a peak flow rate of 1.1 million gallons per minute. Kennedy employees marked the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing, Apollo 11, while helping those in need during the 2019 Feds Feed Families campaign. This year's theme is "The Moon Lights the Way."

A successful water flow test with the mobile launcher at Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39B on July 2, 2019, put NASA one step closer to returning astronauts to the Moon by 2024, with the goal of sending humans to Mars. It was the first of nine tests to verify the sound suppression system is ready for launch of NASA’s Space Launch System for the first Artemis mission. Approximately 450,000 gallons of water was released from an elevated water tank and distributed through large diameter piping and valves to water nozzles located in the Pad B flame deflector, the mobile launcher flame hole and on the launcher’s blast deck in just 45 seconds. That’s enough water to fill 45 residential swimming pools! The system reached a peak flow rate of 1.1 million gallons per minute.

NASA looks back at the Apollo era and ahead at future Artemis missions to the Moon. Check out Episode 12: From Apollo to Artemis, read the full transcript and catch up on missed episodes at https://www.nasa.gov/kennedy/rocketranch.

This week in space news, the Orion launch abort system is put to the test in a demonstration of its safety capabilities and the mobile launcher makes its final solo journey to Launch Pad 39B – two important milestones in NASA’s preparations for Artemis missions to the Moon.