America’s Next Spaceship

“This is all the space for you and your three closest friends,” says Brad Holcomb, a project manager at Lockheed Martin’s Exploration Development Laboratory in Houston, as I settle into the commander’s seat on the low-fidelity mockup of the Orion capsule. Having...

Inside the Rocket Engine Powering the Future of Space Exploration

There’s a big misconception these days that NASA isn’t doing anything but sending astronauts up to the International Space Station on Russian Soyuz spacecraft. That’s far from the truth. There are a handful of amazing planetary missions underway, and on the manned...

NASA Begins Engine Test Project for Space Launch System Rocket

Engineers have taken a crucial step in preparing to test parts of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will send humans to new destinations in the solar system. They installed on Thursday an RS-25 engine on the A-1 Test Stand at the agency’s...

Orion Monthly Accomplishments

With less than six months until its first trip to space, NASA’s Orion spacecraft continues taking shape at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Following the completion of the heat shield installation, the NASA/Lockheed Martin team stacked the Orion crew...

Space Launch System Highlights

A 5-percent scale model, including solid rocket motors, of the SLS is ignited to test how low- and high-frequency sound waves will affect the rocket on the launch pad. The data collected from the tests will be used to help direct and verify the design of the rocket’s...

“All Systems Go” for SLS Rocket Production

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., July 2, 2014 – Boeing [NYSE: BA] has finalized a contract with NASA to develop the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS), the most powerful rocket ever built and destined to propel America’s return to human exploration of deep space. The $2.8...