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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
A major component of NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope just took a spin on the centrifuge at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. Called the Outer Barrel Assembly, this piece of the observatory is designed to keep the telescope at a stable temperature and shield it from stray light.
This structure, called the Outer Barrel Assembly, will surround and protect NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope from stray light that could interfere with its observations. In this photo, engineers prepare the assembly for testing.NASA/Chris Gunn The two-part spin test took place in a large, round test chamber. Stretching across the room, a 600,000-pound (272,000-kilogram) steel arm extends from a giant rotating bearing in the center of the floor.
The test itself is like a sophisticated version of a popular carnival attraction, designed to apply centrifugal force to the rider — in this case, the outer covering for Roman’s telescope. It spun up to 18.4 rotations per minute. That may not sound like much, but it generated force equivalent to just over seven times Earth’s gravity, or 7 g, and sent the assembly whipping around at 80 miles per hour.
“We couldn’t test the entire Outer Barrel Assembly in the centrifuge in one piece because it’s too large to fit in the room,” said Jay Parker, product design lead for the assembly at Goddard. The structure stands about 17 feet (5 meters) tall and is about 13.5 feet (4 meters) wide. “It’s designed a bit like a house on stilts, so we tested the ‘house’ and ‘stilts’ separately.”
The “stilts” went first. Technically referred to as the elephant stand because of its similarity to structures used in circuses, this part of the assembly is designed to surround Roman’s Wide Field Instrument and Coronagraph Instrument like scaffolding. It connects the upper portion of the Outer Barrel Assembly to the spacecraft bus, which will maneuver the observatory to its place in space and support it while there. The elephant stand was tested with weights attached to it to simulate the rest of the assembly’s mass.
This photo shows a view from inside the Outer Barrel Assembly for NASA’s Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope. The inner rings, called baffles, will help protect the observatory’s primary mirror from stray light.NASA/Chris Gunn Next, the team tested the “house” — the shell and a connecting ring that surround the telescope. These parts of the assembly will ultimately be fitted with heaters to help ensure the telescope’s mirrors won’t experience wide temperature swings, which make materials expand and contract.
To further protect against temperature fluctuations, the Outer Barrel Assembly is mainly made of two types of carbon fibers mixed with reinforced plastic and connected with titanium end fittings. These materials are both stiff (so they won’t warp or flex during temperature swings) and lightweight (reducing launch demands).
If you could peel back the side of the upper portion –– the house’s “siding” –– you’d see another weight-reducing measure. Between inner and outer panels, the material is structured like honeycomb. This pattern is very strong and lowers weight by hollowing out portions of the interior.
Designed at Goddard and built by Applied Composites in Los Alamitos, California, Roman’s Outer Barrel Assembly was delivered in pieces and then put together in a series of crane lifts in Goddard’s largest clean room. It was partially disassembled for centrifuge testing, but will now be put back together and integrated with Roman’s solar panels and Deployable Aperture Cover at the end of the year.
In 2025, these freshly integrated components will go through thermal vacuum testing together to ensure they will withstand the temperature and pressure environment of space. Then they’ll move to a shake test to make sure they will hold up against the vibrations they’ll experience during launch. Toward the end of next year, they will be integrated with rest of the observatory.
To virtually tour an interactive version of the telescope, visit:
https://roman.gsfc.nasa.gov/interactive
The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is managed at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, with participation by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Caltech/IPAC in Southern California, the Space Telescope Science Institute in Baltimore, and a science team comprising scientists from various research institutions. The primary industrial partners are BAE Systems, Inc in Boulder, Colorado; L3Harris Technologies in Rochester, New York; and Teledyne Scientific & Imaging in Thousand Oaks, California.
By Ashley Balzer
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Media Contact:
Claire Andreoli
NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center
301-286-1940
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Last Updated Oct 08, 2024 EditorJamie AdkinsContactClaire Andreoli Related Terms
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By NASA
1 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Gateway’s Habitation and Logistics Outpost stands vertically inside a Thales Alenia Space facility in Turin, Italy, after completing static load testing. Thales Alenia Space Major Gateway hardware recently crossed an important testing milestone on its path to launch to the Moon, where it will support new science and house astronauts in lunar orbit.
Gateway’s HALO (Habitation and Logistics Outpost) successfully completed static load testing, a rigorous stress test of how well the structure responds to the forces encountered in deep space. Thales Alenia Space, subcontractor to Northrop Grumman, conducted the testing in Turin, Italy. Static load testing is one of the major environmental stress tests HALO will undergo, and once all phases of testing are complete, the module will be ready to move from Italy to Gilbert, Arizona, where Northrop Grumman will complete final outfitting.
HALO is one of four pressurized Gateway modules where astronauts will live, conduct science, and prepare for missions to the lunar South Pole region. It will launch with Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element on a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket to lunar orbit.
Gateway is humanity’s first lunar space station supporting a new era of exploration and scientific discovery as part of NASA’s Artemis campaign that will establish a sustained presence on and around the Moon, paving the way for the first crewed mission to Mars.
Gateway’s Habitation and Logistics Outpost stands vertically inside a Thales Alenia Space facility in Turin, Italy, after completing static load testing. Thales Alenia Space Learn More About Gateway Share
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Last Updated Oct 03, 2024 ContactBriana R. Zamorabriana.r.zamora@nasa.govLocationJohnson Space Center Related Terms
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By NASA
4 min read
Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)
Water piping is installed near the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-1/B-2) at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in December 2014. The project to replace and upgrade the center’s high pressure industrial water system was a key milestone in preparations to test the SLS (Space Launch System) core stage ahead of the successful Artemis I launch.NASA/Danny Nowlin Employees install a 96-inch valve near the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-1/B-2) at NASA’s Stennis Space Center as part of a high-pressure industrial water upgrade project in March 2015.NASA/Danny Nowlin In this March 2022 photo, crews use a shoring system to hold back soil as they install new 75-inch piping leading from the NASA Stennis High Pressure Industrial Water Facility to the valve vault pit serving the Fred Haise Test Stand.NASA/Danny Nowlin Crews use a specially designed tool to place a new pipeline liner inside the existing carrier pipe near the Fred Haise Test Stand in 2024 in the last phase of updating the original test complex industrial water system at NASA’s Stennis Space Center.NASA/Danny Nowlin Crews prepare new pipeline liner sections for installation near the Fred Haise Test Stand in 2024 in the last phase of updating the original test complex industrial water system at NASA’s Stennis Space Center.NASA/Danny Nowlin For almost 60 years, NASA’s Stennis Space Center has tested rocket systems and engines to help power the nation’s human space exploration dreams. Completion of a critical water system infrastructure project helps ensure the site can continue that frontline work moving forward.
“The infrastructure at NASA Stennis is absolutely critical for rocket engine testing for the agency and commercial companies,” said NASA project manager Casey Wheeler. “Without our high pressure industrial water system, testing does not happen. Installing new underground piping renews the lifespan and gives the center a system that can be operated for the foreseeable future, so NASA Stennis can add to its nearly six decades of contributions to space exploration efforts.”
The high pressure industrial water system delivers hundreds of thousands of gallons of water per minute through underground pipes to cool rocket engine exhaust and provide fire suppression capabilities during testing. Without the water flow, the engine exhaust, reaching as hot as 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit, could melt the test stand’s steel flame deflector.
Each test stand also features a FIREX system that holds water in reserve for use in the event of a mishap or fire. During SLS (Space Launch System) core stage testing, water also was used to create a “curtain” around the test hardware, dampening the high levels of noise generated during hot fire and lessening the video-acoustic impact that can cause damage to infrastructure and the test hardware.
Prior to the system upgrade, the water flow was delivered by the site’s original piping infrastructure built in the 1960s. However, that infrastructure had well exceeded its expected 30-year lifespan.
Scope of the Project
The subsequent water system upgrade was planned across multiple phases over a 10-year span. Crews worked around ever-changing test schedules to complete three major projects representing more than $50 million in infrastructure investment.
“Many people working the construction jobs for these projects are from the Gulf Coast area, so it has created jobs and work for the people doing the construction,” Wheeler said. “Some of the specialty work has had people coming in from all over the country, as well as vendors and suppliers that are supplying the materials, so that has an economic impact here too.”
Crews started by replacing large sections of piping, including a 96-inch line, from the 66-million-gallon onsite reservoir to the Thad Cochran (B-1/B-2) Test Stand. This phase also included the installation of a new 25,000-gallon electric pump at the High Pressure Industrial Water Facility to increase water flow capacity. The upgrades were critical for NASA Stennis to conduct Green Run testing of the SLS core stage in 2020-21 ahead of the successful Artemis I launch.
Work in the A Test Complex followed with crews replacing sections of 75-inch piping from the water plant and installing several new 66-inch gate valves.
In the final phase, crews used an innovative approach to install new steel liners within existing pipes leading to the Fred Haise Test Stand (formerly A-1 Test Stand). The work followed NASA’s completion of a successful RS-25 engine test campaign last April for future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. The stand now is being prepared to begin testing of new RS-25 flight engines.
Overall, the piping project represents a significant upgrade in design and materials. The new piping is made from carbon steel, with protective linings to prevent corrosion and gate valves designed to be more durable.
Importance of Water
It is hard to overstate the importance of the work to ensure ongoing water flow. For a typical 500-second RS-25 engine test on the Fred Haise Test Stand, around 5 million gallons of water is delivered from the NASA Stennis reservoir through a quarter-of-a-mile of pipe before entering the stand to supply the deflector and cool engine exhaust.
“Without water to cool the deflector and the critical parts of the test stand that will get hot from the hot fire itself, the test stand would need frequent corrective maintenance,” Wheeler said. “This system ensures the test stands remain in a condition where continuous testing can happen.”
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Last Updated Sep 26, 2024 EditorNASA Stennis CommunicationsContactC. Lacy Thompsoncalvin.l.thompson@nasa.gov / (228) 688-3333LocationStennis Space Center Related Terms
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By NASA
On Sept. 9, 1994, space shuttle Discovery took to the skies on its 19th trip into space. During their 11-day mission, the STS-64 crew of Commander Richard “Dick” N. Richards, Pilot L. Blaine Hammond, and Mission Specialists Jerry M. Linenger, Susan J. Helms, Carl J. Meade, and Mark C. Lee demonstrated many of the space shuttle’s capabilities. They used a laser instrument to observe the Earth’s atmosphere, deployed and retrieved a science satellite, and used the shuttle’s robotic arm for a variety of tasks, including studying the orbiter itself. During a spacewalk, Lee and Meade tested a new device to rescue astronauts who found themselves detached from the vehicle. Astronauts today use the device routinely for spacewalks from the International Space Station.
Left: The STS-64 crew patch. Middle: Official photo of the STS-64 crew of L. Blaine Hammond, front row left, Richard “Dick” N. Richards, and Susan J. Helms; Mark C. Lee, back row left, Jerry M. Linenger, and Carl J. Meade. Right: The patch for the Lidar In-space Technology Experiment.
In November 1993, NASA announced the five-person all-veteran STS-64 crew. Richards, selected as an astronaut in 1980, had made three previous spaceflights, STS-28, STS-41, and STS-50. Lee, a member of the astronaut class of 1984, had two flights to his credit, STS-30 and STS-47, as did Meade, selected in 1985 and a veteran of STS-38 and STS-50. Each making their second trip into space, Hammond, selected in 1984 had flown on STS-39, and Helms, from the class of 1990 had flown on STS-54. In February 1994, NASA added first time space flyer Linenger to the crew, partly to make him eligible for a flight to Mir. He holds the distinction as the first member of his astronaut class of 1992 to fly in space.
Left: Workers tow Discovery from the Orbiter Processing Facility to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida. Middle: Space shuttle Discovery arrives at Launch Pad 39B, left, with space shuttle Endeavour still on Launch Pad 39A. Right: The STS-64 crew exits crew quarters at KSC on their way to the launch.
Discovery returned to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida following its previous flight, the STS-60 mission, in February 1994. Workers in KSC’s Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF) removed the previous payload and began to service the orbiter. On May 26, workers moved Discovery into the Vehicle Assembly Building for temporary storage to make room in the OPF for Atlantis, just returned from Palmdale, California, where it underwent modifications to enable extended duration flights and dockings with space stations. Discovery returned to the OPF for payload installation in July, and rolled back to the VAB on Aug. 11 for mating with its external tank and solid rocket boosters. Discovery rolled out to Launch Pad 39B on Aug. 19, with its sister ship Endeavour still on Launch Pad 39A following the previous day’s launch abort. The six-person crew traveled to KSC to participate in the Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test, essentially a dress rehearsal for the launch countdown, on Aug. 24.
Liftoff of Discovery on the STS-64 mission.
On Sept. 9, 1994, after a more than two-hour delay caused by inclement weather, Discovery thundered into the sky to begin the STS-64 mission. Eight and a half minutes later, the orbiter and its crew reached space, and with a firing of the shuttle’s Orbiter Maneuvering System (OMS) engines they entered a 160-mile orbit inclined 57 degrees to the equator, ideal for Earth and atmospheric observations. The crew opened the payload bay doors, deploying the shuttle’s radiators, and removed their bulky launch and entry suits, stowing them for the remainder of the flight. They began to convert their vehicle into a science platform.
Left: LIDAR (light detection and ranging) In-space Technology Experiment (LITE) telescope in Discovery’s payload bay. Middle: Schematic of LITE data acquisition. Right: Image created from LITE data of clouds over southeast Asia.
One of the primary payloads on STS-64, the LIDAR (light detection and ranging) In-space Technology Experiment (LITE), mounted in Discovery’s forward payload bay, made the first use of a laser to study Earth’s atmosphere, cloud cover, and airborne dust from space. Lee, with help from Richards and Meade, activated LITE, built at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, on the flight’s first day. The experiment operated for 53 hours during the mission, gathering 43 hours of high-rate data shared with 65 groups in 20 countries.
Left: View of the shuttle’s Remote Manipulator System, or robotic arm, holding the 33-foot long Shuttle Plume Impingement Flight Experiment (SPIFEX). Middle: Closeup view of SPIFEX. Right: A video camera view of Discovery from SPIFEX.
The Shuttle Plume Impingement Flight Experiment (SPIFEX), built at NASA’s Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, consisted of a package of instruments positioned on the end of a 33-foot boom, to characterize the behavior of the shuttle’s Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters. On the flight’s second day, Helms used the shuttle’s Remote Manipulator System (RMS), or robotic arm, to pick up SPIFEX. Over the course of the mission, she, Lee, and Hammond took turns operating the arm to obtain 100 test points during various thruster firings. A video camera on SPIFEX returned images of Discovery from several unusual angles.
Left: Astronaut Susan J. Helms lifts the Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for Astronomy-201 (SPARTAN-201) out of Discovery’s payload bay prior to its release. Middle: Discovery approaches SPARTAN during the rendezvous. Right: Astronaut Susan J. Helms operating the Shuttle’s Remote Manipulator System prepares to grapple SPARTAN.
On the mission’s fifth day, Helms used the RMS to lift the Shuttle Pointed Autonomous Research Tool for Astronomy-201 (SPARTAN-201) satellite out of the payload bay and released it. Two and a half minutes later, SPARTAN activated itself, and Richards maneuvered Discovery away from the satellite so it could begin its science mission. On flight day seven, Discovery began its rendezvous with SPARTAN, and Hammond flew the shuttle close enough for Helms to grapple it with the arm and place it back in the payload bay. During its two-day free flight, SPARTAN’s two telescopes studied the acceleration and velocity of the solar wind and measured aspects of the Sun’s corona or outer atmosphere.
Left: Patch for the Simplified Aid for EVA (Extravehicular Activity) Rescue (SAFER). Middle: Astronauts Mark C. Lee, left, and Carl J. Meade during the 15-minute prebreathe prior to their spacewalk. Right: Lee, left, tests the SAFER while Meade works on other tasks in the payload bay.
On flight day seven, in preparation for the following day’s spacewalk, the astronauts lowered the pressure in the shuttle from 14.7 pounds per square inch (psi) to 10.2 psi to reduce the likelihood of the spacewalkers, Lee and Meade, from developing decompression sickness, also known as the bends. As an added measure, the two spent 15 minutes breathing pure oxygen before donning their spacesuits and exiting the shuttle’s airlock.
Left: Astronaut Mark C. Lee tests the Simplified Aid for EVA (Extravehicular Activity) Rescue (SAFER) during an untethered spacewalk. Middle: Astronaut Carl J. Meade tests the SAFER during an untethered spacewalk. Right: Meade, left, tests the ability of the SAFER to stop his spinning as Lee looks on.
The main tasks of the spacewalk involved testing the Simplified Aid for EVA (Extravehicular Activity) Rescue (SAFER), a device designed at JSC that attaches to the spacesuit’s Portable Life Support System backpack. The SAFER contains nitrogen jets that an astronaut can use, should he or she become untethered, to fly back to the vehicle, either the space shuttle or the space station. The two put the SAFER through a series of tests, including a familiarization, a system engineering evaluation, a crew rescue evaluation, and a precision flight evaluation. During the tests, Lee and Meade remained untethered from the shuttle, the first untethered spacewalk since STS-51A in November 1984. Lee and Meade successfully completed all the tests and gave the SAFER high marks. Astronauts conducting spacewalks from the space station use the SAFER as a standard safety device. Following the 6-hour 51-minute spacewalk, the astronauts raised the shuttle’s atmosphere back to 14.7 psi.
A selection of STS-64 crew Earth observation photographs. Left: Mt. St. Helens in Washington State. Middle left: Cleveland, Ohio. Middle right: Rabaul Volcano, Papua New Guinea. Right: Banks Peninsula, New Zealand.
Like on all space missions, the STS-64 astronauts spent their spare time looking out the window. They took numerous photographs of the Earth, their high inclination orbit allowing them views of parts of the planet not seen during typical shuttle missions.
Left: The Solid Surface Combustion Experiment middeck payload. Middle: Jerry M. Linenger gets in a workout while also evaluating the treadmill. Right: Inflight photograph of the STS-64 crew.
In addition to their primary tasks, the STS-64 crew also conducted a series of middeck experiments and tested hardware for future use on the space shuttle and space station.
Left: Commander Richard “Dick” Richards suited up for reentry. Middle: Pilot L. Blaine Hammond, left, and Mission Specialists Carl J. Meade and Susan J. Helms prepare for reentry. Right: Hammond fully suited for entry and landing.
Mission managers had extended the original flight duration by one day for additional data collection for the various payloads. On the planned reentry day, Sept. 19, bad weather at KSC forced the crew to spend an additional day in space. The next day, continuing inclement weather caused them to wave off the first two landing attempts at KSC and diverted to Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) in California.
Left: Richard Richards brings Discovery home at California’s Edwards Air Force Base. Middle: Workers at Edwards safe Discovery after its return from STS-64. Right: Discovery takes off from Edwards atop a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft for the ferry flight to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
On Sept. 20, they closed Discovery’s payload bay doors, donned their launch and entry suits, and strapped themselves into their seats for entry and landing. They fired Discover’s OMS engines to drop them out of orbit. Richards piloted Discovery to a smooth landing at Edwards, ending the 10-day 22-hour 50-minute flight. The crew had orbited the Earth 176 times. Workers at Edwards safed the vehicle and placed it atop a Shuttle Carrier Aircraft for the ferry flight back to KSC. The duo left Edwards on Sept. 26, and after an overnight stop at Kelly AFB in San Antonio, arrived at KSC the next day. Workers there began preparing Discovery for its next flight, the STS-63 Mir rendezvous mission, in February 1995.
Enjoy the crew narrate a video about the STS-64 mission. Read Richards’ recollections of the mission in his oral history with the JSC History Office.
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