321 Launch: Space news you may have missed over the past week (May 30)
Report looks into NASA's over-budget SLS propulsion
A new report released by NASA's independent inspector general took the agency to task last week, challenging the need to overspend – to the tune of billions of dollars – for Artemis program engines and boosters.
In the 56-page analysis released Thursday, auditors said NASA continues to see cost increases and delays related to the two main components of the Space Launch System rocket's propulsion: four RS-25 main engines and two solid rocket boosters. The moon-focused program hopes to land humans on the lunar surface sometime before 2030, and each launch – one already in the books and at least five more planned – will burn through four main engines and two boosters.
Read about the full OIG report here.
ULA stands down from Vulcan test firing
Last week was supposed to see a new rocket – United Launch Alliance's Vulcan – roar to life for a first-time engine test fire at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
But during the countdown at Launch Complex 41 Thursday afternoon, ULA teams"observed a delayed response from the booster engine ignition system," the company said in a statement. The issue meant that countdown procedures ahead of the ignition of two Blue Origin-built BE-4 engines at the business end of the company's new rocket had to be halted.
Upcoming launches:
June 1: SpaceXStarlink 6-4
Company / Agency: SpaceX for Arabsat
Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9
Location: Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station
Launch Time: Window open from 7:04 a.m. to 9:56 a.m. EDT
Trajectory: TBD
Weather: 45% "go"
Landing: Drone ship
Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space
About: SpaceX will launch the latest batch of Starlink internet satellites from Cape Canaveral's Launch Complex 40. The company has launched more than 4,500 of the flat-packed satellites so far.
June 3: SpaceX CRS-28
Company / Agency: SpaceX for NASA
Rocket: SpaceX Falcon 9
Location: Launch Complex 39A at Kennedy Space Center
Launch Time: 12:34 p.m.
Trajectory: Northeast
Weather: TBD
Landing: TBD
Live coverage: Starts 90 minutes before liftoff at floridatoday.com/space
About: A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket will launch SpaceX’s 28th commercial resupply mission for NASA to the International Space Station. A Dragon cargo capsule will be packed with new science investigations, food, supplies, equipment, and the next pair of International Space Station Roll Out Solar Arrays.
As usual, we'll have live coverage of these missions at floridatoday.com/space. For the latest, see our full schedule at floridatoday.com/launchschedule.
Contact Emre Kelly at aekelly@floridatoday.com. Follow him on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at @EmreKelly.
This article originally appeared on Florida Today: 321 Launch: Space news you may have missed over the past week (May 30)
