posted 02-02-2010 01:37 PM               

NASA Selects United Launch Alliance for Commercial Crew Development Program

NASA announced today its selection of United Launch Alliance to participate in its new Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) Program. NASA created the CCDev Program to develop system concepts, key technologies, and capabilities that ultimately will be used in commercial crew space transportation systems. ULA was awarded $6.7 million to develop an Emergency Detection System (EDS), which is a significant element necessary for a safe and highly reliable human rated launch vehicle.

"ULA is pleased to participate with NASA on the CCDev Program." said Michael Gass, ULA President and Chief Executive Officer. "We look forward to supporting NASA as they embark on a new initiative that emphasizes commercial access to space. We are confident that our flight-proven Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicles can help NASA achieve its goals."

The EDS monitors critical launch vehicle and spacecraft systems and issues status, warning and abort commands to the crew during their mission to low Earth orbit. ULA studies show that the development of the EDS will help meet the requirements for human rating the Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicles.

The CCDev Program will allow ULA to build upon its heritage launch systems and its on-going company investments toward commercial human space flight. ULA will work closely with NASA to identify critical failure modes of the flight-proven Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicles. ULA will then develop the hardware components and software processes that will detect these modes allowing for rigorous and exhaustive testing on a prototype EDS before an initial crewed flight.

With ULA's unparalleled heritage and experience in expendable launch vehicle development and operation, ULA is uniquely qualified to support NASA in developing and demonstrating the EDS for a Commercial Crew Program. ULA's goal is to develop a system for NASA that builds upon the proven reliability of both the Atlas V and Delta IV for safe human space flight.

ULA program management, engineering, test and mission support functions are headquartered in Denver, Colo. Manufacturing, assembly and integration operations are located at Decatur, Ala., Harlingen, Texas, and San Diego, Calif. Launch operations are located at CCAFS, Fla., and Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif.

posted 05-07-2010 07:23 PM               

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne to Help United Launch Alliance Design and Develop Emergency Detection System for Human Spaceflight Missions

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne received a $1.8 million contract from United Launch Alliance to help design and develop an Emergency Detection System (EDS) for human spaceflights to be proposed for Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicles. The EDS is part of NASA's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program, which aims to stimulate efforts within the private sector to develop, demonstrate and accelerate human spaceflight capabilities. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company.

"Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is honored to support United Launch Alliance and NASA in the new initiative that focuses on commercial access to space," said Tim Leonard, CCDev program manager, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. "We are confident our technologies will help NASA achieve its goal for this important endeavor because Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne has a track record of 100 percent mission success in human spaceflights."

The EDS will be designed to monitor critical launch vehicle and spaceflight systems, and to issue status, warning and abort information to the crew during their mission to low-Earth orbit. It is also being designed to trigger the Launch Abort System during an emergency to carry astronauts to safety. The contract runs to December 2010.

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Inc., a part of Pratt & Whitney, is a preferred provider of high-value propulsion, power, energy and innovative system solutions used in a wide variety of government and commercial applications, including the main engines for the space shuttle, Atlas and Delta launch vehicles, missile defense systems and advanced hypersonic engines. For more information about Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, go to prattwhitneyrocketdyne.com.

Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and commercial building industries.

posted 08-28-2010 06:26 PM               

NASTAR Center and Special Aerospace Services Commence Research Study on Emergency Detection and Human Response of Atlas V Profile

The NASTAR Center, the premier commercial space training and research center in the world, has completed the initial phase of a research effort focused on commercial human spaceflight and systems development related to emergency detection and response using an Atlas V flight profile, under a contract with Special Aerospace Service (SAS) on August 16, 2010.

SAS used the capabilities of NASTAR Center's unique Space Training Simulator (STS-400) to accurately simulate the ascent G accelerations of an Atlas V rocket in Atlas 402 configuration. Nominal scenarios were performed with three subjects in order to understand crew reaction times. Subjects are medically monitored and tested at NASTAR Center. One subject, Jeff Ashby, is a former NASA Space Shuttle commander.

Under current funded efforts with NASA's Commercial Crew Development (CCDev) program, SAS is supporting United Launch Alliance's Emergency Detection System (EDS) development program. EDS is the key technology to enable use of the flight-proven Atlas V and Delta IV fleet as part of a potential 'crewed' launch system for commercial spaceflight. The Emergency Detection System monitors key systems parameters and provides warnings and crew instructions on failures. Several potential crewed space craft providers are interested in using the Atlas V with their spacecraft.

The NASTAR Center has trained over 220 spaceflight participants and researchers for upcoming commercial space flights. NASTAR's space training programs are safety approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Brienna Henwood, Director of Space Training Programs and Research at the NASTAR Center remarked, "We are proud to team with SAS on this high profile research opportunity. The data and information collected will provide insight for commercial space players as to how the Atlas V can be used to provide safe, reliable flights."

"The data collected exceeded our expectations. The flight profiles and simulated launch and flight duration experiences were in family with existing human rated launch systems. STS will utilize this crucial data to provide better crew interaction times with ULA's EDS and offer system solutions for future spacecraft", said Tim Bulk, Director of Technical Operations for Special Aerospace Services.

About NASTAR Center

The National AeroSpace Training And Research (NASTAR) Center is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Environmental Tectonics Corporation (ETC). NASTAR Center is a state-of the art aerospace training, research, and educational facility dedicated to improving the health and safety of humans in extreme environments. NASTAR Center serves military aviation (fixed and rotary wing), civil aviation (fixed and rotary wing), space travel (government and private) and provides research support for component and human factors testing.