Rockets Are Awesome!

We have a backup window tomorrow. It depends on if it can be sorted without rolling back to the VIF

Possible issue with a GN2 purge line that cannot be resolved inside the count. We will need to stand down for today. We’ll sort it and be back.

Kuiper Atlas 02 is on the pad. Count is underway. Working no issues. A little under 3 hours out. Weather continues to look good. Mighty Atlas is champing at the bit.

That’s how we roll… ;)
The Mighty Atlas V in its Bruiser configuration is getting ready to take another batch of Amazon’s Kuipers to space

Sources report that Consolidated Operations, Management, Engineering and Test (COMET) contract management at
NASA Kennedy sent an email out saying that they're going to RIF the COMET personnel who support #ISS. More to follow.
#NASA

When rockets launch one of the things you must do is make sure that nothing is in their way. This includes the myriad of umbilicals that supply the vehicle before it lifts off.

These two cameras show the two Tail Service Mast Umbilicals for SLS pulling away in real time during the Artemis I Launch!

A view looking down the LC-39B Flame Trench, showing the upgraded deflector in the middle.

Technicians stand at the base of the new flame trench as they finish installing the panels.

NASA today showed off the new flame deflector installed at Launch Complex 39B. The updated design aims to reduce erosion caused by the rockets exhaust during liftoff, and reduce the time it takes to prepare the launch pad for its next mission.

A United Launch Alliance Vulcan Centaur rocket sits atop SLC-41 ahead of the Cert-2 launch in 2024. The rocket is in the VC2S configuration, with two solid rocket motors and the short payload fairing option. To the left of the rocket is its umbilical mast and behind that is the crew access tower used for Starliner launches.

United Launch Alliance is currently gearing up for a slew of launches this summer, one of which will include the heaviest commercial payload ever launched coming in at over 25,700 kg, shattering the current 17,400kg record currently held by SpaceX.

The ICPS Transport Cradle was seen leaving the VAB today which can only mean one thing.

We've got a full SLS rocket standing in the VAB once again👀

While ML2 gets taller, Kuiper heads to its launch pad!

A two-panel horizontal image. On the left is Neptune observed by the Hubble Space Telescope. It is a blue circle, tilted about 25 degrees to the left. There are white smudges at 7 o’clock and just above 5 o’clock. At right is an opposing view of the planet, using data from Hubble and Webb. It is a multi-hued blue orb. There are white smudges in the same spots as the image on the left, but also at the center of the planet and at the top. There are cyan smudges vertically along the right side, and the top of these areas are more translucent than the bottom.

The glowing auroras of #Neptune have been imaged for the first time, thanks to the #NIRSpec instrument on the NASA/ESA/CSA Space Telescope.

Read more 👉 esawebb.org/news/weic2507/

🔭 🧪 ☄️

For your visual enjoyment. The last set was in the Finished Goods Warehouse in Decatur. These are at the Cape.

Since you guys liked the factory pictures so much, here’s a few shots from the new Finished Goods Warehouse

By popular demand, here’s some cool pics from inside the rocket factory

Fun video of Vulcan using a barge to get around the Wilson lock, currently under repair, to rendezvous with Rocket Ship downstream

Only two motor segments and the nosecones remain until Artemis II’s twin Solid Rocket Motors are fully stacked and ready for the core stage.

📸 NASA

Went down to Vandenberg for the delivery of our second methane tank for SLC3. Big…. A million pounds empty, 3M full. Snapped some pic’s for you guys.

How is the GEM-63XL investigation going? Do you have a good understanding of what caused the problem? Apparently GEM-63 might be mostly unaffected. Is this true?

🚀 One year ago today, ESA project astronaut Marcus Wandt from Sweden became the first of a new generation of ESA astronauts to fly to the International Space Station with #AxiomSpace. He pioneered fast-track, short-duration missions for more science, tech and education. Do you know who's next? 😉

Busy Rocket Factory. Any guesses on which missions these guys will fly?

16mm film footage captured from the Apollo 17 LM Challenger as it descended to the surface of the Moon in the Taurus-Littrow valley on December 11, 1972. I've rotated it so the view is roughly upright and smoothed the video. (Original video source: NASA, JSC and the Internet Archive)

Thought you guys might find this interesting. Building some qual
Hardware for the new reusable (booster) thrust structure. #VulcanRocket

For those of you that enjoy rocket pictures. Here’s the next #VulcanRocket in final assembly at the Rocket Factory in Decatur

NASA has confirmed that the stacking process for Artemis II has officially begun today. The aft segments of the solid rocket boosters are being moved to the VAB for lifting onto Mobile Launcher 1.

📸 NASA/KSC

November 16, 2022 - 1:47:44 AM

Booster Ignition, and Liftoff of Artemis I

SpaceX's HLS Crew Cabin
A realistic concept based off of hardware and knowledge we know. Additionally, I have created a VR walkthrough of this concept

mini thread below🧵

NASA's Space Launch System rocket is on its launch pad, with the large Mobile Launcher Tower next to it. The rocket has two lighting towers either side of it, with a water tower on the far right of the frame. Below the rocket is the concrete and brick flame trench, with a small swampy area in the foreground.

It sounds like good news is coming soon from #NASA , as the #Artemis II mission is about to begin launch preparation. Stacking of the twin Solid Rocket Boosters is expected to begin before the end of the month.

📸Artemis I taken by Me