Tag: 39B
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EGS rolls ML-1 out to Pad 39B for Summer of testing
Following verification and validation (V&V) testing in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida, NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) Program has rolled Mobile Launcher-1 (ML-1) from High Bay 3 of the VAB out to Launch Pad 39B for a Summer of testing in preparation for the Artemis 1 launch.…
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NGIS highlights advantages of their Air Force contract win with OmegA
Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems has won a major contract from the U.S. Air Force to develop their largely solid propulsion OmegA rocket. The contract award, valued at an approximate total of $792 million to be paid in increments over various phases, ensures the Air Force that NGIS will develop both an intermediate and heavy configuration…
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Orbital ATK preparing for next phase of NGL rocket development
Orbital ATK is preparing for the next phase of development for their Next Generation Launcher (NGL) – a solid and liquid fueled rocket designed for National Security, NASA science missions, and commercial flights. Under the current plan, Orbital ATK intends to introduce NGL from LC-39B at the Kennedy Space Center, FL, with certification flights in…
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Pad 39B in the final stages in preparation to welcome SLS Mobile Launcher
The final work on Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39B is being conducted in line with the construction and outfitting of systems on the Mobile Launcher (ML) for the Space Launch System (SLS). This multi-element verification and validation (V&V) testing is set to take place next year, a full dress rehearsal ahead of the rollout of…
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Installation of new flame deflector for SLS begins on 39B
Engineers have begun to install the new Flame Deflector into the Flame Trench of Pad 39B. Following the demolition of the legacy deflector that catered for the Space Shuttle, a large Ignition Over-Pressure/Sound Suppression (IOP/SS) manifold pipe has now been installed ahead of surrounding it with the new universal deflector for the Space Launch System…
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KSC’s historic Pad 39B laying the foundations for hosting big rockets
While most of the recent attention has been on its next door neighbor, Pad 39B is making good progress towards its new role in hosting the Space Launch System (SLS) – and potentially other rockets – with a major milestone completed this month. The last of over 93,000 new bricks was laid in the Flame…
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Pad hardware changes preview new era for Space Coast
Ongoing work at the Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral is continuing to lay the groundwork to once again launch American astronauts from home soil. While the huge Pad 39B equipment enters a critical period of testing at KSC for the Space Launch System, the Crew Access Arm and White Room is scheduled to be…
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Renewing the famous Flame Trench, one brick at a time
Kennedy Space Center’s famous launch pads are continuing their regeneration work in preparation for hosting their first orbital launches since the end of the Space Shuttle Program. Pad 39B will host the most powerful of the new fleet of rockets, requiring a complete modernization of its Flame Trench – a process that includes replacing its…
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Delving deeper into KSC’s transformation into a Multi-User Spaceport
The 2011 conclusion of NASA’s 30-year Space Shuttle Program posed a major challenge for the Kennedy Space Center, the historic spaceport dotted with facilities purpose-built for shuttles. Eleven months before the shuttle program ended, NASA developed post-shuttle plans for its facilities and operations. Five years later, KSC is into the final leg of its transformation.…
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Canaveral and KSC pads: New designs for space access
For the past several years, the historic launch pads at the Kennedy Space Center, Florida, have undergone sweeping changes as the conclusion of the Space Shuttle program brought a new vision to the spaceport. Those changes have now spread across the lagoon to the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, where pad modifications are underway for…