EXPLORATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

COMBINED MONTHLY REPORT JUNE 2017 ORION

4 Orion Kicks Off Summer with Series of Safety Tests 5 Parachute Testing 6 Uprighting System 7 Orion Spacesuits Put to the Test 7 ESA Prepares to Propel Orion 8 Test Version of Orion Crew Module to Validate Spacecraft Design 9 Vice President Pence Welcomes New Class 10 NASA Interim Administrator Visits Bremen, Germany 10 Lead Orion Engineer Inspires Girlstart Engineers of Tomorrow 10 Orion’s Service Module Featured at Paris Air Show 11 Supplier Spotlight: San Diego Composites, Inc. 12 Generation Beyond Mars Bus Travels to Kennedy Space Center 12 Teacher Externs Experience

SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM

14 Meet NASA’s Newest Astronaut Recruits 14 NASA Awards Dynetics Universal Stage Adapter Contract 15 SLS Core Stage Production for First Flight Continues 16 Dry Structures Manager Heather Haney Brings Core Strength to SLS 17 Let the Games Begin! Three DIY Cubesats Score Rides on SLS 18 SLS Progress Thrill Hometown Crowd 18 Spaceflight Partners: Atec, Inc.

GROUND SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT & OPERATIONS

20 Core Stage Forward Skirt Umbilical Installed 21 Turn Basin Prepped for Space Launch System Core Stage Arrival 22 Ground Systems Spotlight: John Biddix 23 Supporting Turn Basin Construction SUMMER ORION HEATS UP WITH SAFETY FIRST JUNE 2017 ORION KICKS OFF SUMMER WITH SERIES OF SAFETY TESTS Engineers working on NASA’s Orion kicked off summer with a series of important tests for critical safety systems needed for deep space exploration. From the Utah desert, to the skies over Arizona to one of the world’s largest indoor pools in Texas, the team is making sure Orion is safe from launch to splashdown.

Orbital ATK, Lockheed Martin and NASA Orion team members involved LAUNCH ABORT in making the test fire a success. MOTOR TEST BELOW: Orbital ATK Technicians prepare abort motor for the test. At the Promontory, UT, facility of Orion subcontractor The test verified the motor can fire within milliseconds Orbital ATK, engineers successfully tested the abort when needed and will work as expected under high motor for Orion’s launch abort system on June 15, firing temperatures. the 17-foot-tall motor for its full five-second burn. The motor was fastened to a vertical test stand with its nozzles pointed toward the sky for the qualification test. It produced enough thrust to lift 66 large SUVs off the ground.

The launch abort system is positioned on top of the Orion crew module and will play a critical role protecting future crews traveling to deep space destinations. The abort motor is responsible for propelling the crew module away from the Space Launch System rocket in case of an emergency, and one of three total motors that will send the crew module to a safe distance away from a failing rocket and orient it properly for a safe descent into the Atlantic Ocean if such a situation ever occurs.

4 ESD Combined Report June 2017 PARACHUTE TESTING The team developing and building Orion’s parachute In a June 14 test at the U.S. Army Proving Ground in system that ensures the crew module can safely Yuma, AZ, engineers dropped a mock Orion capsule descend to Earth evaluated how the parachutes perform out of a C-17 airplane at 25,000 feet in altitude to test during a scenario in which an abort while on the launch how the system will fare when only Orion’s three main pad is necessary. When Orion returns to Earth from orange and white parachutes deploy. The test evaluated deep space missions beyond the Moon, the system will performance when the parachutes experience a low customarily deploy 11 parachutes in a precise sequence altitude and low dynamic pressure. to help slow the crew module down from high speeds for a relatively slow splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. Orion’s parachutes are in the midst of being qualified But the parachutes must also be capable of sending for flights with and put through a variety of the crew module to safety if it were to be jettisoned normal and failure scenarios over the course of eight off a failing rocket without time for the full deployment total tests to ensure the parachutes can safely help the sequence to occur. crew module and the astronauts inside safely descend.

June 2017 ESD Combined Report 5 UPRIGHTING SYSTEM In June the Orion team also evaluated an updated computer models. The testing in the calm waters of design to the crew module uprighting system, the the pool helps the team prepare for a late-summer system of five airbags on top of the capsule that inflate complement of uprighting system tests in the Gulf of upon splashdown. In high waves or wind over the Mexico off the coast of Galveston, TX. ocean, the uprighting bags are responsible for turning Orion right side up if the capsule lands upside down NASA is building a flexible, reusable, and sustainable or turns over when it returns to Earth. Engineers have capability and infrastructure beyond the Moon that will retooled the design of the bags after several didn’t last multiple decades and support missions of increasing properly inflate during Exploration Flight Test-1. complexity. Beginning with launch of the first integrated mission of SLS and Orion, this new deep space The testing took place at the Neutral Buoyancy Lab at exploration system will create a capability from which Johnson Space Center in Houston, where the team future generations will benefit. is performing eight tests evaluating the bags during both normal inflation and failure scenarios to validate

6 ESD Combined Report June 2017 ORION SPACESUITS PUT TO THE TEST

Engineers and technicians at Johnson are testing the spacesuit astronauts will wear in the Agency’s Orion spacecraft on trips to deep space. On June 22, members of the Johnson team participated in a vacuum pressure integrated suit test to verify enhancements to the suit will meet test and design standards for the Orion spacecraft. During this test, the suit is connected to life support systems and then air is removed from Johnson’s 11-foot thermal vacuum chamber to evaluate the performance of the suits in conditions similar to a spacecraft. The suit will contain all the necessary functions to support life and is being designed to enable spacewalks and sustain the crew in the unlikely event the spacecraft loses pressure.

Set to be shipped to the U.S. after the first of the year, European Space Agency’s contribution to NASA’s Orion spacecraft is taking shape at Airbus in Bremen, Germany. This is no test article—the service module pictured here will fly into space on Exploration Mission-1, past the Moon and farther than any other spacecraft built for humans has flown before. The service module will supply electricity, water, oxygen, nitrogen, propulsion, and temperature control.

Technicians are working in three shifts a day to complete the service module which will be flown to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to be mated with the Orion crew module.

ESA PREPARES TO PROPEL ORION

June 2017 ESD Combined Report 7 TEST VERSION OF ORION CREW MODULE TO VALIDATE SPACECRAFT DESIGN

While flight hardware for NASA’s Orion crew module is undergoing work in Florida, near-identical structural test articles for the spacecraft are coming together in a test facility across the country in Colorado. Engineers at Lockheed Martin’s Waterton facility near Denver will conduct a series of tests to confirm Orion’s design is structurally sound and ensure the spacecraft is ready for deep-space missions.

NASA’s Super Guppy aircraft, which carried the Orion test vehicle, arrived at Buckley Air Force Base near Denver on April 26.

Orion’s structural test article is comprised of three main elements: a crew module, service module and the launch abort system. Unlike the flight hardware, Orion’s structural test articles lack electronics or propulsion systems, except the electronics needed to support testing. During the next few months, the test articles will undergo load, acoustic, vibration, shock and lightning tests. Some tests are done on individual parts, and other parts are tested together to expose the system to stresses expected in flight.

Acoustic testing will simulate the sound the rocket produces and will be used to measure the vibration from the sound to test how it affects Orion. A series of shock tests will ensure shock levels don’t exceed what the components have been designed to survive. Simulated lightning tests will monitor how Orion reacts to close or nearby lightning strikes.

NASA is testing Orion to ensure it is ready for its first integrated mission with the agency’s new Space Launch System rocket in 2019. During that uncrewed flight test, known as Exploration Mission-1, Orion will travel tens of thousands of miles beyond the moon and return home with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean.

8 ESD Combined Report June 2017 VICE PRESIDENT PENCE WELCOMES NEW ASTRONAUT CLASS Vice President Mike Pence speaks at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston following the introduction of NASA’s 2017 astronaut candidate class on June 7. In the front row, from left to right, are , Bob Hines, , , , ; back row, from left to right are , Frank Rubio, Loral O’ Hara, , and .

Watch the introduction: bit.ly/2017Astronauts

President Trump signed an executive order to reestablish the National Space On June 1, a group of White House guests were taken on a behind-the-scenes Council, alongside members of Congress, NASA and commercial space tour of the Operations and Checkout building (O&C) where payloads companies in the White House on June 30. Vice President Mike Pence will are received, assembled and integrated before launch at NASA’s Kennedy Space chair the council. Center in Florida. Participants were informed on the process to ready vehicles and payloads for launch, as well as what Orion experiences on its journey toward Learn more: bit.ly/SpaceCouncil Exploration Misison-1.

June 2017 ESD Combined Report 9 NASA INTERIM LEAD ORION ENGINEER ADMINISTRATOR VISITS INSPIRES GIRLSTART BREMEN,GERMANY ENGINEERS OF On June 21, a joint NASA/ESA team headed by Robert M. Lightfoot Jr., NASA’s acting administrator, and David Parker, TOMORROW ESA director of human space flight and robotic exploration programs visited the Airbus site in Bremen. The international Lead Orion engineer Julie Kramer-White hosted a webchat team meetings focused on progress made on the European with a group of more than 50 female 4th–8th graders service module for NASA’s next generation spacecraft Orion. participating in Girlstart Galaxy Summer camp on June 6. These students participated in a summer camp which Lightfoot emphasized the importance of the work done in taught them what it takes to launch a satellite, live on the Europe for the overall Orion mission during a team briefing International Space Station, land on the Moon, explore deep session with Airbus employees. Parker focused on how the space and more. Kramer showed them the Orion capsule, European partnership benefits from ESA’s experience in talked about what’s required for Orion to travel beyond the exploration programs including the International Space Station, moon and how they could be the team working on Orion in Automated Transfer Vehicle, ExoMars, and Rosetta. the future.

ORION’S SERVICE MODULE FEATURED AT PARIS AIR SHOW

ESA hosted a pavilion at the 2017 Paris Air and Space Show the private and public sector and also across the globe. which took place June 19-25 in northern Paris, France. The show, which was established in 1909, is the oldest air show in the world. NASA has formed a partnership with ESA to work on the ESA’s exhibit showcased European missions and technology that Orion spacecraft. ESA is providing the ESM, which will house will be used in upcoming and current space-related endeavors. critical supplies like air, electricity, and propulsion mechanisms necessary for deep-space travel. The ESA pavilion at the show highlighted the international cooperation on Orion and the European service module (ESM). The service module evolved from ESA’s Automated Transfer The ESM mockup was part of the display and conveyed the goal Vehicle, which sent supplies to the International Space Station. of making human deep-space travel a reality in coming years.

ESA Director General Jan Woerner spoke about ESA’s Space 4.0 initiative, which is described as an era of space-travel marked by a push for commercialization and building relationships between

10 ESD Combined Report June 2017 SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT SAN DIEGO COMPOSITES, INC.

Located in San Diego, , San Diego Composites, Inc. are responsible for Orion’s ogive panels: large curved panels (SDC) is currently constructing key components for the Orion that encapsulate the crew module. The panels protect Orion’s spacecraft. Since 2009, employees at SDC have been providing crew module from high shear wind loads during ascent and the over 1,000 unique parts for the module. Everything created for exhaust of launch abort motors. Orion needs to be lightweight, strong and able to withstand extreme temperatures and high forces. The Orion team at SDC said they enjoy “being part of the team that is working to put mankind into deep space! If you can’t get Using state-of-the-art digital fabrication techniques and a new excited about that…check your pulse.” large-scale curing autoclave, SDC designed and manufactured large critical structures for the Orion launch abort system. They also

June 2017 ESD Combined Report 11 TEACHER EXTERNS EXPERIENCE GENERATION BEYOND JOHNSON SPACE MARS BUS TRAVELS TO CENTER Houston Orion team members hosted teachers from local schools as part KENNEDY SPACE CENTER of TEAM NASA’s annual Teacher Externship Program June 12–16. The The Lockheed Martin Mars Experience Bus joins the Summer of Mars at the teachers who participated were taken Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex in Florida. The first immersive virtual reality behind the scenes to see the diverse vehicle that replicates 200 square miles of Martian landscape, the Mars Experience backgrounds and skill sets necessary Bus uses video game technology to take guests on a virtual journey across the for a team to successfully execute a surface of Mars, complete with rovers already on the Red Planet and a mockup of program as big as Orion. what the first Mars base camp could look like. The bus has been on a nationwide After gaining perspective of NASA’s Orion tour with 33 stops in 12 cities, and has hosted more than 35,000 riders so far. Program, teachers are able to develop new lesson plans based upon real-life The Mars Experience Bus is part of Generation Beyond, Lockheed Martin’s national engineering examples. Implementing education initiative to bring deep space exploration and STEM education to these lessons in their 6th–8th grade classrooms and homes across the country. classes in the upcoming year will increase their students’ experience and excitement for STEM fields. The bus will be added to the myriad experiences and activities that focus on the future of space exploration and Mars missions that make up the Summer of Mars at the Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex.

FOLLOW THE PROGRESS OF NASA’S NEW SPACECRAFT FOR HUMAN EXPLORATION: JULY Twitter ...... Twitter.com/NASA_Orion Vice President Pence Visits Kennedy Space Center Facebook ...... Facebook.com/NASAOrion Water Egress Testing in Gulf of Mexico Flickr ...... Flickr.com/NASAOrion Ogive Panel Testing at Plum Brook Google+ ...... Plus.Google.com/+NASAorion National Aeronautics and Space Administration

JUNE 2017 SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM HIGHLIGHTS MEET NASA’S NEWEST ASTRONAUT RECRUITS After receiving a record-breaking number of applications to SLS and the Orion spacecraft. Astronauts are scheduled to fly join an exciting future of space exploration, NASA announced on the second integrated fight of SLS and Orion, Exploration its largest astronaut class since 2000 on June 7. NASA chose Mission-2. NASA and its contractors are one integrated rocket five women and seven men as the agency’s new astronaut team, working on two rockets: the Block 1 launch vehicle for candidates after evaluating more than 18,300 applicants. In the first uncrewed mission and the Block 1B launch vehicle for August, the astronaut candidates will report to Johnson Space the second mission, which may carry some of the astronauts Center in Houston to begin two years of training. in the photo. After training, the astronauts could be assigned to any of a variety of missions, including future deep space missions on

NASA AWARDS DYNETICS UNIVERSAL STAGE ADAPTER CONTRACT NASA has selected Dynetics, Inc. of Huntsville, Alabama, to develop and build a universal stage adapter for the second configuration of SLS, Block 1B. The adapter will connect NASA’s Orion spacecraft to SLS and provide additional cargo space for the future configurations of the rocket powered by an exploration upper stage. Under the contract, Dynetics will design, develop, test, evaluate, produce and deliver the first universal stage adapter for the second integrated mission of SLS and Orion, known as Exploration Mission-2. This mission will be the first test flight with crew aboard NASA’s new deep space exploration systems.

14 ESD Combined Report June 2017 SLS CORE STAGE PRODUCTION FOR FIRST FLIGHT CONTINUES Throughout NASA’s 43-acre rocket factory, the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, engineers are building all five parts of the SLS core stage. For the first flight, major structural manufacturing is complete on three parts of the core stage: the forward skirt, the intertank and the engine section. Test articles, which are structurally similar to flight hardware, and are used to qualify the core stage for flight, are in various stages of production and testing.

Continued on next page: “One of the most challenging parts of building the world’s most powerful rocket has been making the largest rocket stage ever manufactured for the first time,” said Steve Doering, the SLS stages manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “The 212-foot-tall core stage is a new design made with innovative welding tools and techniques.” Read the full story: bit.ly/2sGWeml

“I was crazy about the DRY STRUCTURES space shuttle as a kid, and I knew I wanted to be among the workers who MANAGER HEATHER help America’s astronauts travel safely to space and HANEY BRINGS back. I decided to become an engineer like my dad,” CORE STRENGTH said SLS Dry Structures Manager Heather Haney. TO SLS “As an engineer in the Space Launch System stages office, I’m part of the team making sure the world’s most powerful rocket is strong enough to handle the extreme forces of spaceflight.” Read the full story: bit.ly/2sHCGhD

16 ESD Combined Report June 2017 LET THE GAMES BEGIN! THREE DIY CUBESATS SCORE RIDES ON SLS

In June, NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) awarded rides for three small spacecraft on SLS, as well as $20,000 each in prize money to the winning teams of citizen solvers competing in the semi- final round of the agency’s Cube Quest Challenge. The three winning teams secured space to launch their CubeSats on Exploration Mission-1, the first integrated flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft. Once deployed, the CubeSats will vie for a share of a $5 million prize in the first-ever competition in deep space. The three teams are: • Cislunar Explorers, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York • CU-E3, University of Colorado in Boulder • Team Miles, Fluid & Reason, LLC, Tampa, Florida Read the full story here: bit.ly/2tNl2Zk

June 2017 ESD Combined Report 17 SLS PROGRESS THRILLS HOMETOWN CROWD Retired astronaut Robert “Hoot” Gibson welcomes the hometown crowd at Huntsville’s Big Spring Park to the fourth annual NASA in the Park celebration. More than 7,500 people viewed an RS-25 rocket engine, heard Gibson speak about his five spaceflights and participated in fun and educational activities for the entire family.

SPACEFLIGHT PARTNERS: Atec, Inc.

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 250 LOCATION: Houston, Texas

WHAT THEY DO FOR SLS: Atec has been in business 64 years and specializes in engineering and manufacturing for the aerospace industry. Atec was recently awarded NASA 2016 and NASA Johnson Space Center Subcontractor of the Year. A critical supplier to RS-25 prime contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne and core stage prime contractor Boeing, Atec supports spaceflight exploration by providing complex mechanical and electrical systems for SLS, the International Space Station and commercial launch vehicles.

FOLLOW THE PROGRESS COMING UP: OF NASA’S NEW LAUNCH VEHICLE FOR DEEP SPACE: RS-25 hot fire testing continues

Twitter ...... Twitter.com/NASA_SLS First booster motor segment cast for second flight

Facebook ...... Facebook.com/NASASLS Orion stage adapter test article ships to Lockheed Martin for testing GROUND SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT & OPERATIONS HIGHLIGHTS

JUNE 2017

CORE STAGE FORWARD SKIRT UMBILICAL INSTALLED ON MOBILE LAUNCHER TOWER Just north of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the Core Stage Forward Skirt Umbilical is installed on the mobile launcher June 30, 2017. The mobile launcher is designed to support the assembly, testing and checkout of the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the Orion spacecraft. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The Core Stage Forward Skirt Umbilical (CSFSU) recently was installed on the tower of the mobile launcher at NASA’s Kennedy CORE STAGE Space Center in Florida, to prepare for the first launch of the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft atop.

FORWARD The mobile launcher tower will be equipped with a number of lines, called umbilicals, which will connect to the SLS and Orion spacecraft and provide commodities during processing and SKIRT preparation for launch of Exploration Mission-1. Cranes and rigging were used to lift the CSFSU and install it at about the 220-foot level on the tower. The CSFSU will swing into UMBILICAL position to provide connections to the core stage forward skirt of the SLS rocket, and then swing away before launch. Its main purpose is to provide conditioned air and gaseous nitrogen to the INSTALLED SLS core stage forward skirt cavity. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is ON MOBILE overseeing installation of the umbilicals on the tower. LAUNCHER 20 ESD Combined Report June 2017 TURN BASIN PREPPED FOR SLS CORE STAGE ARRIVAL

Modifications are underway at the Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida to prepare for the arrival of the Agency’s massive Space Launch System (SLS) core stage aboard the Pegasus barge. Precast concrete poles are being driven to a depth of about 70 feet into the bedrock below the water around the turn basin. The upgrades are necessary to accommodate the increased weight of the core stage along with ground support and transportation equipment aboard the modified barge Pegasus. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

When the core stage for NASA’s massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket departs the Michoud Assembly Facility in New receptacles for the SLS mobile transporter, which will carry the Orleans, it will be shipped by barge to the Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida core stage to the VAB for processing and stacking. to be integrated with other hardware in preparation for its first launch, known as Exploration Mission-1. Modifications are underway to upgrade the wharf and prepare for the arrival of the core stage. Demolition and new construction began in December 2016 and is scheduled to be completed in August 2017. Southeast Cherokee Located just across the street from the iconic Vehicle Assembly Construction Inc., a woman-owned small business, is managing Building (VAB), the dock area that was used for arrival and construction associated with the project for GSDO. offloading of space shuttle external tanks is getting a makeover to accommodate the core stage when it arrives aboard NASA’s The work includes driving multiple precast concrete piles to a modified barge Pegasus. The 212-foot-long core stage, which depth of about 70 feet around the wharf. A crawler crane lifts is more than 50 feet longer than the space shuttle tank, serves and sets each pile in place. When they are at a specified location, as the structural backbone of the rocket and includes the SLS a pile-driving rig “hammers” the piles through soil and bedrock propellant tanks and four RS-25 engines. When Pegasus arrives below the water. Concrete also is being added to strengthen at Kennedy’s turn basin, it will be carrying the core stage and all the wharf. its ground support and transportation equipment—cargo that is more than 600,000 pounds heavier than Pegasus transported for “Ultimately, the wharf soon will be ready to receive the core the space shuttle. stage, as well as other flight hardware components scheduled for delivery at Kennedy,” Rogers said. “The turn basin is undergoing significant structural modifications and electrical upgrades to be ready for the core stage and NASA is preparing for the first integrated mission of the Orion Pegasus barge,” said Jimmy Rogers, a project manager with spacecraft with the SLS rocket in 2019. During the uncrewed Kennedy’s Ground Systems Development and Operations flight test, Orion will travel tens of thousands of miles beyond the Program (GSDO). “Analysis was performed on how Pegasus was Moon and return home with a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. going to be moored at the wharf to offset wind load scenarios. The barge’s length was increased to 310 feet to meet barge-to-dock interface requirements for the core stage.” The electrical system also is undergoing upgrades to meet new power requirements necessary to support Pegasus barge offloading operations. The new electrical system includes power

June 2017 ESD Combined Report 21 GROUND SYSTEMS SPOTLIGHT: JOHN BIDDIX

“The best thing about working at Kennedy Space Center is the ohn Biddix is a ground project manager with Engineering great comradery, and where else can you see a rocket launch JResearch & Consulting (ERC), a partner with Jacobs from your office,” Biddix said. on the Test and Operations Support Contract (TOSC) at NASA’s Biddix has always been interested in space. He grew up in Loxahatchee, in south Florida. “Rocket launches have always Kennedy Space Center in Florida. been a part of the culture here in Florida,” Biddix said.

His main responsibility is managing ground projects for the He attended the University of South Florida, and graduated from Ground Systems Development and Operations Program (GSDO). Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton, FL, in 1990, with a His team handles the projects that are baseline to TOSC, which bachelor’s degree in enterprise economics. help keep the center up, running and ready for processing and launch. “The advice I would give to students who are interested in a career similar to mine is that even though my degree is in Biddix has worked at Kennedy since 2008. He started economics and I am not an engineer, there are plenty of cool jobs working for United Space Alliance as the lead for the Cost in the space industry,” Biddix said. Estimating Department. Toward the end of the Space Shuttle Program, he transitioned to the Orion Program as a proposal Biddix has a three-year-old son, Jack, and fianceé, Juli. They manager and project manager. He worked on the Independent have a yellow Labrador retriever named Charlie, as well as a pair Assessment Team for GSDO. For the last four years, up until of percula clownfish named Meatball and Nemo. February 2017, he worked as the cost analyst for the center director’s Independent Review Team, overseeing GSDO, the His first car was a Kelly green 1972 Chevrolet truck, with more Launch Services Program, the and than 200,000 miles on it. He enjoys tennis, golf, offshore fishing, Exploration Research and Technology Program. traveling, and cooking.

22 ESD Combined Report June 2017 SUPPORTING TURN BASIN CONSTRUCTION

Across from the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center, cement trucks stand by to support a construction project to upgrade the turn basin wharf. The work includes driving multiple precast concrete piles to a depth of about 70 feet to accommodate arrival of the core stage for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. When the core stage for NASA’s SLS departs the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, it will be shipped by the agency’s modified barge to the Launch Complex 39 turn basin. Photo credit: NASA/Leif Heimbold

National Aeronautics and Space Administration FOLLOW THE PROGRESS OF NASA’S GSDO PROGRAM: John F. Kennedy Space Center Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899 NASA GSDO Blog ...... blogs..gov/groundsystems

www.nasa.gov Twitter ...... twitter.com/nasa_go4launch Facebook ...... facebook.com/NASAGOforlaunch SP-2017-07-807-KSC

June 2017 ESD Combined Report 23 .