NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Rocket Motor Successfully Tested in Utah

Fire and smoke billow from a space shuttle reusable solid rocket motor static test at a Utah test facility Dec. 4. Image Credit: ATK

A two-minute space shuttle rocket motor test was successfully conducted Dec. 4 at a Utah test facility. The test provides important information for continued shuttle launches and for development of the Ares I rocket, a key component of NASA's Constellation Program that will launch the Orion crew exploration vehicle on missions to the moon.

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Materials Science Research Rack En Route to Space Station

A new multi-user materials science laboratory began its journey December 3 to the International Space Station, leaving the Marshall Center for NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Fla., for final flight preparations. The research rack is a highly automated facility that will allow for study of a variety of materials -- including metals, ceramics, semiconductor crystals and glasses -- onboard the orbiting laboratory.

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Chandra Embraces Hot ‘Arms’ of Pinwheel Galaxy

Galaxy Messier 101. Image Credit: NASA/CXC/JHU/K.Kuntz et al.

With a diameter of about 170,000 light years, galaxy Messier 101 is nearly twice the size of the Milky Way. Its orientation allows telescopes to see its spiral structure face-on, inspiring its nickname -- the Pinwheel Galaxy. NASA's Chandra X-ray Observatory has obtained one of the longest exposures ever seen of a spiral galaxy in X-rays. The glowing lights indicate massive stars, black holes and supernova explosions, all wrapped in the hot gas "arms" of the galaxy. The Marshall Center manages the Chandra program.

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NASA Invites Young Engineers to Alabama Student Launch Initiative

NASA has invited 14 groups from 11 middle and high schools and youth organizations from around the country to North Alabama for NASA's 2008-2009 Student Launch Initiative rocketry challenge. Student teams will converge on the Marshall Center April 15-20, 2009, for a professional review of their rockets by NASA engineers. The annual event, which Marshall manages, is designed to inspire young people to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics -- fields important to NASA's exploration mission.

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NASA Calls for Comment on Draft Ares V Request for Proposals

NASA has released a draft request for proposals, or RFP, regarding Phase I of its Ares V launch vehicle. The rocket will perform heavy lift and cargo functions as part of the next generation of spacecraft that will return humans to the moon. Phase I will define operational concepts, develop requirements, and refine design concepts for the Ares V. The Marshall Center manages the Ares V project.

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NASA and USAID Bring Earth-Observation Benefits to Africa

SERVIR-Africa multispectral imagery of the Nzoia River basin in Kenya. Image Credit: NASA/EO-1

NASA, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and their international partners cut the ribbon Nov. 21 in Nairobi, Kenya, for SERVIR-Africa. The SERVIR-Africa system integrates the satellite resources of the United States and other countries into a Web-based Earth information system. This effort puts previously inaccessible information into the hands of local scientists, government leaders and communities to help address concerns related to natural disasters, disease outbreaks, biodiversity and climate change.

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NASA, ATK Successfully Test First Orion Launch Abort Motor

LAS abort motor test firing. Image Credit: NASA

Flames shot more than 100 feet high in a successful 5.5-second ground test firing Nov. 20, of a launch abort motor for NASA's next generation spacecraft, the Orion crew exploration vehicle. NASA and the Orion industry team conducted the firing at the Alliant Techsystems, or ATK, facility in Promontory, Utah. The Marshall Center provides management and technical support to the Orion Project Office.

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Racers Get Ready! NASA's Great Moonbuggy Registration Begins

Registration is open for NASA's 16th annual Great Moonbuggy Race, to be held April 3-4, 2009, at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville. Each year, NASA challenges high schools and colleges across the country and worldwide to design and build lightweight, human-powered moonbuggies. The Marshall Center, which founded the race in 1994, is taking registrations through Feb. 1.

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Mysterious Source of High-Energy Cosmic Radiation Discovered

Launch preparations for the ATIC experiment. Image Credit: NASA

Scientists have announced the discovery of a previously unidentified nearby source of high-energy cosmic rays. The finding was made with a NASA-funded balloon-borne instrument high over Antarctica. Researchers from the Advanced Thin Ionization Calorimeter (ATIC) collaboration, led by scientists at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, published the results in the Nov. 20 issue of the journal Nature. Marshall Center scientists are a part of an international collaboration to support the ATIC experiment.

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NASA's New High-Performance Engine for Ares Rocket Passes Review

Artist concept of the J-2X engine. Image Credit: NASA

NASA's newest high-performance rocket engine, the J-2X, successfully completed its critical design review Nov. 13, at the Marshall Center. The J-2X engine, developed for NASA by Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne, is the first element of NASA's Constellation Program to pass this design milestone. The engine will power the upper stage of NASA's next-generation Ares I rocket and the Earth departure stage of the Ares V heavy cargo launch vehicle.

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Aerodynamic Testing Now Under Way for Ares V Rocket

Schlieren photo of a wind tunnel test, demonstrating air flow over a model Ares V rocket. Image Credit: NASA/MSFC

Engineers at the Marshall Center are taking the first steps in developing the Ares V heavy cargo launch vehicle -- the heavy lifter of America's next-generation space fleet for the Constellation Program. Though the first test flight for Ares V is slated for 2018, aerodynamic testing already is under way at the Marshall Center's wind tunnel test facility in Building 4732. These tests will provide critical aerodynamic data in order to characterize the ascent trajectory of the vehicle and determine basic requirements for guidance, navigation and control for the Ares V vehicle.

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