Dynetics is scheduled Tuesday to break ground on a new facility in Decatur, Alabama, that will be used to build and test aerospace structures as part of the company’s expansion efforts. The complex will consist of three buildings to support hardware integration and testing work on aerospace structures and is expected to be completed in […] More

Aerojet Rocketdyne tested the fourth and final RS-25 engine controller needed for NASA’s Space Launch System. The company said Wednesday the testing for the fourth RS-25 controller was done at Stennis Space Center, which follows the third controller test done in July to check engine thrust and mixture ratio precision. The four RS-25 engines are designed to provide above […] More

Six companies aim to build ground prototypes of deep space habitat concepts through NASA‘s Next Space Technologies for Exploration Partnerships-2 program. NASA said Friday prototypes from Bigelow Aerospace, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Orbital ATK, Sierra Nevada Corp. and NanoRacks will help the agency assess configurations of proposed habitats and support tests that will validate standards and common interfaces currently under consideration. All […] More

Orbital ATK has worked with NASA and Lockheed Martin to test-fire a motor technology for the Orion spacecraft’s launch abort system. The Qualification Motor-1 test was conducted at Orbital ATK’s facility in Promontory, Utah, and evaluated if the motor could activate within milliseconds and operate as designed under high temperatures, Orbital ATK said Thursday. Lockheed awarded Orbital ATK a $98 million subcontract […] More

Boeing has introduced concepts for its deep space habitat and transport platforms designed to help NASA advance manned exploration missions to the moon and Mars. The company said Monday the proposed habitat called Deep Space Gateway would fly aboard the Space Launch System to facilitate scientific research in cislunar space and help open commercial and government partnerships for […] More

NASA has completed the preliminary design review of the exploration upper stage for the Space Launch System rocket designed to bring the Orion spacecraft to deep space by 2021 as part of its first crewed flight mission. “With the completion of this review, our teams will start developing components and materials for the EUS, and […] More

Lockheed Martin‘s Sikorsky subsidiary will open a new forward stocking location for the S-92 helicopter at the Aberdeen International Airport in Scotland as part of efforts to position inventory closer to commercial helicopter operators. Lockheed said Tuesday Sikorsky will begin operations on the new FSL by the close of the third quarter and also expand an existing S-92 FSL […] More

NASA has kicked off its use of specialized transporters built by Wheelift to transport the core stage and test articles of the Space Launch System to various agency centers for tests. The space agency said Tuesday the mobile platforms are designed to carry the 212-foot SLS core stage, the largest part of the SLS rocket built to […] More

Aerojet Rocketdyne has tested a second RS-25 engine technology the company developed for NASA‘s Space Launch System. The company said Friday it conducted the evaluation at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, where the 0528 engine was switched on for 650 seconds. Aerojet Rocketdyne restarted the RS-25 engine testing process in 2015 to check the upgraded controllers’ compliance with the requirements of SLS […] More

The Federal Aviation Administration has cleared the Stanchion Litter System developed by a business unit of Lockheed Martin subsidiary Sikorsky as compliant with the agency’s minimum performance standard for aircraft appliances and components. Lockheed Martin said Monday the FAA Technical Standard Order approval works to support domestic and international installation of the LifePort-built system. SLS weighs less than 155 pounds, features […] More

NASA plans to build ground infrastructure to process the Orion spacecraft and the Space Launch System heavy-lift rocket that the agency plans to launch in 2018 for an unmanned deep-space exploration. The initiative comes after NASA engineers and aerospace specialists completed a comprehensive assessment on proposed spaceport development at Florida’s Kennedy Space Center, the agency said Monday. An engineering team […] More

NASA has concluded a 500-second, live-fire test of an Aerojet Rocketdyne-built RS-25 engine for the Space Launch System heavy-lift vehicle at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The initial fire-test on Aerojet-made E2059 engine sought to evaluate the engine’s new controller, high-pressure fuel turbopump and the calibration of engine flowmeters, the company said Thursday. SLS’ first launch into […] More