Week of August 28 – September 1, 2017
Major Milestones Passed During Big Week for NASA’s Space Launch System
It was a big week in the preparation and testing for the first flight of NASA’s new heavy lift rocket, the Space Launch System. A simulator for the rocket’s massive core stage began its journey to NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, the Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter was prepared for the application of the Thermal Protection System and the fifth and final RS-25 engine test of the summer was performed.
NASA Partner, Orbital ATK Demonstrates Technology to Build Large Structures in Space
The Commercial Infrastructure for Robotic Assembly and Services project has reached an important milestone in advancing technologies to build large structures in space. Ground demonstration at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, of a CIRAS component, showcased the robotic capability to position and hold struts for robotic welding.
Full Circle: NASA to Demonstrate Refabricator to Recycle, Reuse, Repeat
In 2018, NASA will launch a machine to the International Space Station that take the next step toward a sustainable in-space manufacturing capability. The machine, coined the “Refabricator,” can not only 3-D print plastic parts, but it can also recycle them back into reusable raw materials to make more and/or different parts.
Saturn Plunge Nears for Cassini Spacecraft
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft is just days from its mission-ending dive into the atmosphere of Saturn. Its fateful plunge on Sept. 15 is a foregone conclusion — an April 22 gravitational kick from Saturn’s moon Titan placed the two-and-a-half-ton vehicle on its path for impending destruction. Yet several mission milestones have to occur over the coming two-plus weeks to prepare the vehicle for one last burst of trailblazing science.
NASA Awards $400,000 to Top Teams at Second Phase of 3D-Printing Competition
NASA is making progress and awarding prizes in its competition to build a 3-D printed habitat for deep-space exploration. The agency has awarded two teams for successfully completing Phase 2: Level 3 of NASA’s 3D-Printed Habitat Challenge, a NASA’s Centennial Challenges prize competition.
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