Proper Motion: A Wandering Constellation

EADS ASTRIUM - PRESS RELEASE: Astrium, the preeminent aerospace company of Europe, has signed a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop its Exploration Support Vehicle as a part of the multinational Constellation programme. The contract was signed today in Berlin (Germany), in the presence of Brigitte Zypries,  Federal Government Coordinator of German Aerospace Policy and Parliamentary State Secretary at the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. The contract, valued at approximately 450 million euros, provides an indispensable component to the American-led space project. The Exploration Support Vehicle (ESV) will serve as a systems test facility and resupply vessel for future interplanetary space missions. The new spacecraft will build on the success of the Automated Transfer Vehicle, which has to date conducted three flawless missions to the International Space Station. Artistic rendering of the EADS Astrium Exploration Support Vehicle. “The signing of thi

Today's post includes guest writing from Nik Proxima - find them on twitter here ! Nov 16, 2012 So they've done it, they've doomed us all to never make a spaceship again. HQ picked SNC's proposal, so we've got our ticket to tell the Russians to get lost. Shame about the kick in the teeth to the Orion team. It's a lifting body though, I don't think they're gonna like that when they're fishing our corps out of the Atlantic. Talk soon, Neil Nov 16, 2012 Taking a look at the details....sure is a weird one. Looks a lot like the CRV we built here before they tossed it out with Core Complete. Interested to know if Johnson's planning to hand any of that work to the Sierra folks....they'd probably appreciate some pointers :) Still don't quite get logic for pulling that out of the dustbin. Backup makes some sense, lots of talk about "dissimilar redundancy..." I think I'd want "SIMILAR" redundancy. Match what CEV does i

NASA: NASA teams have concluded the final round of RS-25 integrated ignition testing, marking a major milestone in the development of the agency’s Ares launch vehicles. These upgraded engines will help power future Constellation missions to destinations in deep space. NASA completed the RS-25 integrated ignition testing April 20, finishing a critical test series to support future Exploration Missions to deep space as NASA explores the secrets of the universe for the benefit of all. The test series was conducted on the A-1 test stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Operators tested the advanced engines, designated RS-25E, for up to 410 seconds, longer than the approximately six minutes they will be used during flights of Ares I and Ares II. The test series demonstrated the engines’ ability to start without the assistance of ground support equipment, enabling their use as a relightable upper stage engine to support the Constellation program. Operators als

NASA: NASA has unveiled a fresh new look for its Constellation Program. The updated program patch reflects NASA’s renewed vision for human space exploration. Each element symbolizes a different piece of our bold new journey into space. The updated patch for NASA's Constellation Program. The blue crescent represents our home planet Earth. All of our Constellation voyages launch from the Earth, carried forward by the energies, efforts, and dreams of a new generation of explorers. At the end of each mission, it is to Earth that our astronauts return, bringing home new science and technologies, along with a deeper understanding of our place in the universe. The red wing shape resting on top of the Earth symbolizes the research and development conducted by humanity to enable the next chapter in human spaceflight. The work done by the people of Earth gives us the wings to fly beyond our home. The stars overhead represent a “Constellation” of destinations that await us in deep space. Our

NASA: NASA is undertaking a bold new chapter in human spaceflight, which will take humans farther from our home planet than ever before. With our Constellation Program, astronauts will explore deep space for the first time, uniting a network of destinations throughout the solar system as we learn to live beyond Earth. Our approach to space exploration is twofold. Exploration Missions will see astronauts charting a new frontier in space, using Exploration Elements to unlock the secrets of the Moon, asteroids, Mars, and beyond. Closer to home, astronauts will visit the International Space Station to conduct research and test new technologies for exploration, while bringing home benefits for all humankind. Exploration Missions represent stepping stones on our path into the universe. The road to Mars and beyond is built on a set of key capabilities we'll need to master in order to enable pioneering discoveries in space. Each Exploration Mission will incrementally develop exciting new s

SPACE.COM: NASA unveiled the design of its next heavy-lift launch vehicle in a press conference today (Jan 12) held on Capitol Hill. The new rocket, called Ares II, is the latest manifestation of a wide-ranging reduction in scope for the agency. Nevertheless, the vehicle hopes to support a new generation of American ambitions in space. “We are laying the groundwork for the next chapter of human spaceflight,” NASA administrator Charlie Bolden said at the event. “The programs we are setting in motion today form the building blocks for a fresh path into the solar system, forging new capabilities that will carry us further into the cosmos than ever before.” Designs for Ares II displayed at the presentation depict a vehicle more closely based on NASA’s existing Space Shuttle hardware. Two extended solid rocket boosters support a modified external tank raised strikingly high in the air, in a configuration some have likened to Star Trek’s Starship Enterprise. A pair of shuttle engines mounted