Animation of how NASA's Space Launch System rocket
and Orion spacecraft would be prepared for a deep space mission launch from the
agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Image Credit: NASA
NASA achieved a major milestone this month in its effort to transform the
agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida into a multi-user spaceport by
successfully completing the initial design and technology development phase for
the Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program.
The major program milestone on March 20, called the Preliminary Design
Review, provided an assessment of the initial designs for infrastructure at
Kennedy and allowed development of the ground systems to proceed toward detailed
design. The thorough review has validated the baseline architecture is sound and
aligns with the agency's exploration objectives.
"We've pushed the boundaries of space exploration for more than 50 years and
are making progress getting ready to move the frontier even further into the
solar system," said Dan Dumbacher, deputy associate administrator for
exploration system development at NASA Headquarters in Washington. ''The work
being done to transform our abilities to prepare and process spacecraft and
launch vehicles at Kennedy is a critical piece of our efforts to send astronauts
in Orion on top of the Space Launch System to an asteroid and ultimately
Mars."
Unlike previous work at Kennedy focusing on a single kind of launch system,
such as the Saturn V rocket or space shuttle, engineers and managers in GSDO are
preparing the spaceport's infrastructure to support several different spacecraft
and rockets in development for human exploration. This includes NASA's
development of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft. They
will provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low-Earth
orbit with the flexibility to launch spacecraft for crew and cargo missions to
destinations in the solar system, including an asteroid and Mars.
"The preliminary design review is incredibly important, as it must
demonstrate the ground systems designs are on track to process and launch the
SLS and the Orion from Kennedy,” said Mike Bolger, GSDO program manager.
In December 2012, the GSDO Program completed a combined system requirements
review and system definition review to determine the center's infrastructure
needs for future programs and establish work plans for the preliminary design
phase. That successful completion confirmed the groundwork needed to launch the
SLS and Orion spacecraft.
For more information on GSDO, visit:
For more information about Orion, SLS and NASA's future human spaceflight
exploration plans, visit:
NASA
Guillermo Gonzalo Sánchez Achutegui
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