Members of the Artemis launch team participate in an Artemis II Terminal Count Simulation in Firing Room 1 inside the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Friday, Dec. 6, 2024. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida successfully tested the launch control system, the software used to launch the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft for Artemis Moon missions. The evaluations, which took place in the firing rooms of Kennedy’s Launch Control Center, included testing that software, audio, and imagery displays function well together, as well as practicing a launch pad-abort scenario.
Engineers with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) Program divided the test into two parts: teams first ensured the software the Artemis launch team uses can handle multiple inputs at the same time. Following software testing, teams performed a launch countdown simulation starting at T-minus 2 hours and 30 minutes until liftoff, which included testingthe “abort switch,” a switch only the launch director and assistant launch director can flip in the event an abort at the launch pad is needed.
This marks the next set of integrated ground systems tests NASA completed to prepare for the Artemis II mission. The Artemis II test flight will be NASA’s first mission with crew under the Artemis campaign, sending NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, and Christina Koch, as well as CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen, on a 10-day journey around the Moon.
On July 16, 1969, the Apollo 11 mission lifted off on a Saturn V rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Centerin Florida. Crowds gathered with their eyes craned toward the sky, asNASA set out to make history with their next giant leap – landing astronauts on the Moon.
One historical member watching the launch, JoAnn Morgan, instrumentation controller for Apollo 11, and the only female in the firing room inside NASA’s Launch Control Center.
Members of the Kennedy Space Center government-industry team rise from their consoles within the Launch Control Center to watch the Apollo 11 liftoff through a window. JoAnn Morgan is seated to the left of center in the third row. Photo credit: NASA
“I look at that picture of the firing room where I’m the only woman. And I hope all the pictures now that show people working on the missions to the Moon and onto Mars, in rooms like mission Control or launch Control or wherever — that there will always be several women. I hope that photos like the ones I’m in don’t exist anymore,” said Morgan.
NASA is hard at work 55 years later returning astronauts to the Moon with the Artemiscampaign which will land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon – and establish the first long-term presence on the Moon. With these new missions supporting lunar exploration, Morgan’s hope for several women in the STEM field is coming true.
Today, in that very same room where Morgan once sat as the only female engineer, dozens of women sit on console preparing to launch the mighty SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft back to the Moon for Artemis II. The room itself is not only full of a diverse group of engineers, but leading the team to liftoff is NASA’s first female Launch Director, Charlie Blackwell Thompson.
The women of Artemis launch team pose for a photo wearing green for “go” inside the Launch Control Center at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
This Women’s History Month, female leaders within the space industry met at NASA Kennedy to reflect on what mentorship means to them.
“JoAnn, you did show us, whether you knew it at the time or not, that we belong in this room,” Blackwell-Thompson said. “Because of the work you did all those years ago, you made it possible for me.”
The leaders meeting shared their thoughts on ways women can lead in the space industry.
Sharing is caring Sharing is the basis of mentorship. Share your experiences either as a guiding tool or a lesson learned.
An attitude of gratitude We grow stronger when we grow together. Shine the light their way and give them a moment in the sun. A sense of gratitude and encouragement amongst others can make a huge difference in the effectiveness of the team.
Stepping up to the plate How can you be a person of action?
Growing pains are good Just like physical growing pains, experiencing uncomfortableness in your career can be a sign of growth. Outperformance will feel uncomfortable. Trying something new will feel uncomfortable.Get comfortable being uncomfortable.
Define how others view you Deliver on your word. Do the right thing when nobody is looking. Be the person you would want on your team.
Leadership is not defined by your title Rise to the challenge within your everyday activities. Inspire those around you and offer a helping hand when it is needed. You can embody all of the characteristics of someone who leads long before you have the words manager, supervisor, or director in your official title.
Identify your board of advisors Just like any company trying to grow, your career deserves a board of advisors to grow. Create a space where you can talk your career navigation. Your board of advisors can change over periods of time and take shape in formal or informal relationships.
Bet on yourself At every stage in your career, you hold power. Ask for a new challenge, the power to say no, and the power to ask for help.
Surround yourself with the best of the best Teams can only be the best of the best when they include diverse thought. Be mindful of who you can collaborate with that will bring ideas unique from yours.
Make your mistakes matter What did you learn? What can you teach others? How will this mistake lead you in the future?
The work NASA does today, wouldn’t be possible without the mentors who have blazed the trail before. NASA Kennedy Center DirectorJanet Petro shares the importance of this teamwork, reminding us, “We are not doing any of this work for just ourselves, it is for the bigger goals of the agency and humanity.”
Carrying NASA science and technology to the Moon, Intuitive Machines’ uncrewed lunar lander touched down at 5:23 p.m. CST on Thursday. The instruments aboard Odysseus will prepare NASA for future human exploration of the Moon under Artemis. Additional updates will be available Friday, Feb. 23.
Odysseus passes over the near side of the Moon after entering lunar orbit insertion on February 21. Credit: Intuitive Machines
Intuitive Machines’ Odysseus lander has completed lunar orbit insertion successfully and is currently orbiting the Moon. Odysseus continues to be in excellent health and is approximately 60 miles (92km) from the Moon.
The spacecraft will orbit the Moon for approximately one day before beginning its descent toward the lunar surface. The landing opportunity is targeted for Thursday, Feb. 22, at 5:30 p.m. EST.
LN-1 has made three successful passes with NASA’s Deep Space Network, establishing real-time communications with ground stations on Earth. Upon lunar touchdown, the LN-1 team will conduct a full systems checkout and begin continuous operations within 24 hours of landing. NASA’s Deep Space Network will receive its transmissions, capturing telemetry, Doppler tracking, and other data and relaying it back to Earth.
A SCALPSS checkout was completed during transit, confirming the cameras are operating as expected and the instrument is in good health. Using four tiny cameras, SCALPSS will collect imagery of how the surface changes from interactions with the spacecraft’s engine plume as the lander descends toward the Moon.
RFMG continues to gauge the cryogenic propellants on Odysseus throughout the mission, including propellant loading, transit, lunar orbit insertion burn, and low lunar orbit. Data collection and analysis will continue through landing on the Moon and could provide insights on how to measure fuel in microgravity.
NDL and ROLSES have been operated, and flight controllers will continue to monitor the instruments and collect data to inform preparations for landing.
Odysseus’ Terrain Relative Navigation camera captures the Bel’kovich K crater on the Moon’s northern equatorial highlands. The crater has an approximate 50 km diameter with mountains in the center, made when the crater was formed. Credit: Intuitive Machines
Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 mission is the company’s first mission through the agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative, which aims to gain new insights into the lunar environment and expand the lunar economy to support future crewed missions under NASA’s Artemis campaign.
Follow along with Intuitive Machines for the latest operational updates on their mission.
Engineers and technicians from Aerojet Rocketdyne and Boeing at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have installed the first of four RS-25 engines to the core stage for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket that will help power the first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. The yellow core stage is seen in a horizontal position in the final assembly area at Michoud. One RS-25 engine, engine number E2059, has been installed in the top left corner at the base of the 212-foot-tall core stage. Photo credit: NASA
Technicians at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have installed the first of four RS-25 engines on the core stage of the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket that will help power NASA’s first crewed Artemis mission to the Moon. During Artemis II, NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and CSA (Canadian Space Agency) astronaut Jeremy Hansen will launch on SLS and journey around the Moon inside the Orion spacecraft during an approximately 10-day mission in preparation for future lunar missions.
The Sept. 11 engine installation follows the joining of all five major structures that make up the SLS core stage earlier this spring. NASA, lead RS-25 engines contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3 Harris Technologies company, and Boeing, the core stage lead contractor, will continue integrating the remaining three engines into the stage and installing the propulsion and electrical systems within the structure.
All four RS-25 engines are located at the base of the core stage within the engine section, which protects the engines from the extreme temperatures during launch and has an aerodynamic boat tail fairing to channel airflow. During launch and flight, the four engines will fire nonstop for over eight minutes, consuming propellant from the core stage’s two massive propellant tanks at a rate of 1,500 gallons (5,678 liters) per second.
Each SLS engine has a different serial number. The serial number for the engine installed Sept. 11 in position two on the core stage is E2059. It along with the engine in position one, E2047, previously flew on space shuttle flights. E2047 is the most veteran engine of the entire set flying on Artemis II with 15 shuttle flights, including STS-98, which delivered the Destiny Laboratory Module to the International Space Station in 2001. The engines installed in positions three and four (E2062 and E2063) are new engines that include previously flown hardware.
NASA is working to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS is part of NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration, along with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.
With the success of NASA’s Artemis I launch, the previously unexplored shadowy regions near the lunar South Pole where Artemis astronauts will land in 2025, are more within our reach than ever before.
One instrument that will support these future lunar exploration efforts is a hypersensitive optical camera called ShadowCam. ShadowCam is one of six instruments on board the Korea Aerospace Research Institute (KARI)’s Korea Pathfinder Lunar Orbiter, known as Danuri, which launched in August 2022 and entered lunar orbit last December.
Previous cameras in lunar orbit were designed to acquire images of sunlit surfaces. Developed by Malin Space Science Systems and Arizona State University, ShadowCam’s primary function is to collect images within permanently shadowed regions near the lunar poles. These areas never receive direct sunlight and are thought to contain water ice – a significant resource for exploration that can be used as fuel or oxygen and for other habitation applications.
Building on cameras developed for NASA’s Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, ShadowCam is 200 times more light-sensitive and is therefore able to capture detailed images within permanently shadowed regions – even in the absence of direct light – by using the light that is reflected off nearby geologic features such as mountains or the walls of craters.
Images of the permanently shadowed wall and floor of Shackleton Crater captured by Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera (LROC) (left) and ShadowCam (right). Each panel shows an area that is 5,906 feet (1,800 meters) wide and 7,218 feet (2,200 meters) tall. Image Credit: NASA/KARI/ASU
In addition to mapping the light reflected by permanently shadowed regions to search for evidence of ice deposits, ShadowCam will also observe seasonal changes and measure the terrain inside the craters, all in service of science and future lunar exploration efforts. The high-resolution images could help scientists learn more about how the Moon has evolved, how water is trapped and preserved in permanently shadowed regions, and could help inform site selection and exploration planning for Artemis missions.
Since Danuri entered lunar orbit, ShadowCam has been in an operational checkout period, during which it has been collecting dozens of images of the lunar polar regions, including an image of Shackleton Crater, to calibrate and test its functionality. Following this checkout period, which will conclude later this month, ShadowCam will start its campaign to capture images of shadowed terrain as Danuri routinely passes over them during the planned mission of 11 months.
The CAPSTONE spacecraft successfully completed a trajectory correction maneuver on Thursday, Oct. 27, teeing up the spacecraft’s arrival to lunar orbit on Nov. 13.
CAPSTONE is no longer in safe mode following an issue in early September that caused the spacecraft to spin. The team identified the most likely cause as a valve-related issue in one of the spacecraft’s eight thrusters. The mission team will design future maneuvers to work around the affected valve, including the two remaining trajectory correction maneuvers scheduled before CAPSTONE’s arrival to orbit at the Moon.
CAPSTONE – short for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment – is owned by Advanced Space on behalf of NASA. The spacecraft was designed and built by Terran Orbital. Operations are performed jointly by teams at Advanced Space and Terran Orbital.
CAPSTONE team members successfully executed an operation to stop the spacecraft’s spin on Friday, Oct. 7, clearing a major hurdle in returning the spacecraft to normal operations.
Following a planned trajectory correction maneuver on Sept. 8, CAPSTONE suffered an issue that caused the spacecraft to spin beyond the capacity of the onboard reaction wheels to control and counter. Data from the spacecraft suggests the most likely cause was a valve-related issue in one of the spacecraft’s eight thrusters. The partially open valve meant the thruster produced thrust whenever the propulsion system was pressurized. The mission team extensively reviewed telemetry and simulation data and conducted multiple tests on the spacecraft in order to formulate a plan to stop the spacecraft’s spin despite this issue.
Recovery commands were executed Friday morning. Initial telemetry from CAPSTONE and observation data points to a successful maneuver, indicating the spacecraft has stopped its spin and regained full 3-axis attitude control, meaning CAPSTONE’s position is controlled without unplanned rotation. CAPSTONE now has oriented its solar arrays to the Sun and adjusted the pointing of its antennas to provide a better data connection to Earth.
The risks of this anomaly and recovery process were significant, and the team worked extensively and collaboratively to mitigate these risks. Over the coming days, the team will monitor the spacecraft status and make any needed adjustments to procedures in order to account for and mitigate the effects of the partially open thruster valve. The mission team also will work to design possible fixes for this valve-related issue in order to reduce risk for future maneuvers. CAPSTONE remains on track to insert into its targeted near rectilinear halo orbit at the Moon on Nov. 13.
CAPSTONE – short for Cislunar Autonomous Positioning System Technology Operations and Navigation Experiment – is owned by Advanced Space on behalf of NASA. The spacecraft was designed and built by Terran Orbital. Operations are performed jointly by teams at Advanced Space and Terran Orbital.
The CAPSTONE mission team is continuing to work towards recovery of the spacecraft orientation control. This work includes collecting information from the spacecraft, running simulations, and refining recovery plans. CAPSTONE is power positive – meaning it is generating more power from its solar panels than the spacecraft systems are using – and remains in a stable condition on track to the Moon.
Over the past week, the CAPSTONE spacecraft was able to improve thermal conditions for the propellant and other critical systems while maintaining positive power generation. The operations team has been performing ground and spacecraft testing in preparation for an attempt to stop CAPSTONE’s spin. This operation would return the spacecraft to normal status and will be attempted when preparations and testing are complete.
