Category Archives: Rockets

NASA fires F-1 engine gas generator

January 25, 2013 TopSpacer

As part of the SLS archeology project, a group of NASA engineers have refurbished a gas-generator , essentially a separate rocket engine used to drive pumps for the main engine, used for the famous Saturn F-1 engines and fired it several times.

That sound in Huntsville today? It was NASA test-firing a piece of rocket history (video) – Huntsville Times
Saturn V “moon rocket” engine firing again after 40 years, sort of: NASA pulls giant engine parts from museums, remakes ’em, and lights ’em up – Ars Technica
World’s Most Powerful Engine Blazes Path for Space Launch System Advanced Propulsion – NASA
NASA Engineers Resurrect And Test Mighty F-1 Engine Gas Generator: Testing Will Aid NASA’s Space Launch System Advanced Development – NASA – Jan.15.13

Engineers in the F-1 gas generator project take on the 1960s NASA look.

Rockets

The Space Shuttle’s record + A 48 passenger space vehicle

January 19, 2013 TopSpacer

A defense of the Space Shuttle: The Remarkable Record of the Space Shuttle – CitizensInSpace.

The Shuttle certainly demonstrated lots of important capabilities and applications. Unfortunately, it was too expensive to do any of them operationally. We will have to wait for fully reusable space transports for that.

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Here’s an unusual concept for a big suborbital space vehicle: SHIPinSPACE – 48 Passenger Suborbital Reusable Blasting Survival Vehicle – Investor presentation (pptx)/a>.

Rockets

Wayne Hale and Columbia: “The moment of truth”

January 17, 2013 TopSpacer

In the latest entry in his series on the Columbia disaster, former Space Shuttle flight directory and program manager Wayne Hale writes about the actual day of the accident: After Ten Years: The Moment of Truth – Wayne Hale’s Blog.

See also the links to two of his previous posts.