Fiscal Year 2016 Activities Aeronautics and Space Report of the President
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Aeronautics and Space Report of the President Fiscal Year 2016 Activities Aeronautics and Space Report OF THE PRESIDENT Fiscal Year 2016 Activities The National Aeronautics and Space Act of 1958 directed the annual Aeronautics and Space Report to include a “comprehensive description of the programmed activities and the accomplishments of all agencies of the United States in the field of aeronautics and space activities during the preceding calendar year.” In recent years, the reports have been prepared on a fiscal-year basis, consistent with the budgetary period now used in programs of the Federal Government. This year’s report covers activities that took place from October 1, 2015, through September 30, 2016. Please note that these activities reflect the Federal policies of that time and do not include subsequent Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2016 Activities and SpaceAeronautics Report 2016 of the Year President • Fiscal events or changes in policy. On the title page, clockwise from the top left: 1. Composite image of the diffuse nebula NGC 6357 containing x-ray data from NASA’s Chandra X-ray Observatory and the ROentgen SATellite (ROSAT) telescope (purple), infrared data from NASA’s Spitzer Space Telescope (orange), and opti- cal data from the SuperCosmos Sky Survey (blue) made by the United Kingdom Infrared Telescope (UKIRT). Credit: X-ray—NASA/CXC/PSU/L. Townsley et al.; optical—UKIRT; infrared—NASA/ Jet Propulsion Laboratory–Caltech. 2. Artist’s concept of one of the eight Cyclone Global Navigation Satellite System satellites deployed in space above a hurricane. Credit: NASA. 3. The Bigelow Expandable Activity Module (BEAM), installed on the International Space Station on April 16, 2016, at 5:36 a.m. EDT. Credit: NASA. 4. Composite image, made from ten frames, showing the International Space Station in silhouette as it transits the sun at roughly five miles per second on December 17, 2016, from Newbury Park, California. Credit: NASA/Joel Kowsky. 5. Artist’s concept of NASA’s Future X-57 Maxwell All-Electric Aircraft. Credit: NASA. 6. Completion of James Webb Space Telescope center of curvature pre-test. Credit: NASA/Chris Gunn. TABLE OF CONTENTS Table of Contents Table National Aeronautics and Space Administration . 1 Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate 1 Science Mission Directorate 21 Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate 38 Space Technology Mission Directorate 46 Department of Defense . .57 Federal Aviation Administration . .85 Department of Commerce. 95 Department of the Interior. 113 Federal Communications Commission . 139 U.S. Department of Agriculture . 145 National Science Foundation . 155 Department of State . 167 Department of Energy . 173 Smithsonian Institution. 181 Appendices A-1 U S Government Spacecraft Record 190 A-2 World Record of Space Launches Successful in Attaining Earth Orbit or Beyond 191 B Successful Launches to Orbit on U S Vehicles 192 C Human Spaceflights 194 D-1A Space Activities of the U S Government—Historical Table of Budget Authority in Millions of Real-Year Dollars 195 D-1B Space Activities of the U S Government—Historical Table of Budget Authority in Millions of Inflation-Adjusted FY 2016 Dollars 196 D-2 Federal Space Activities Budget 197 D-3 Federal Aeronautics Activities Budget 198 Acronyms . 199 1 National Aeronautics and Space Administration NATIONAL AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ADMINISTRATION NASA Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate Exploration Systems Development The Exploration Systems Development (ESD) programs—Space Launch System (SLS), Orion, and Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO)—repre- sent an integrated effort to enable a deep space exploration capability for the Nation. SLS is a large launch vehicle for a new era of exploration beyond Earth’s orbit; it will be capable of launching substantial cargo and, in the Orion spacecraft, astronauts on missions to deep space. These exploration systems also open new possibilities for other payloads that might be able to take advantage of these unique capabilities. Orion and GSDO completed their Critical Design Review (CDR) in the first quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2016—commencing the programs’ final design and fab- rication phases. Also, SLS successfully completed the first hot-fire testing of an SLS RS-25 flight engine. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA) strategic international partner, the European Space Agency (ESA), also reached important milestones, including the delivery of the European Service Module primary structure to ESA’s primary assembly facility in Bremen, Germany. Orion Program The Orion Program successfully completed its CDR in the first quarter of FY 2016, demonstrating the level of program maturity needed to continue with 2 the final design and fabrication phase. Following Orion’s successful CDR, primary pressure vessel welding was completed during the second quarter of FY 2016 for the Orion Crew Module at the Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana. The Crew Module was delivered to Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida for assembly, test, launch, and operations (ATLO). While at KSC, the Crew Module passed an important pressure proof test, ensuring the primary vessel’s structural integrity in order to protect the crew’s atmosphere against the vacuum of space. Orion’s Crew Module assembly subsequently proceeded to secondary structures, brackets, and the first components. Harness integration and propulsion piping assembly commenced in the fourth quarter. Also in the fourth quarter, the Crew Module was moved into KSC’s clean room at the Neil Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building, where welding has commenced on environmental and propul- sion tubing. In addition, the first solar array wing deployment test was completed at Glenn Research Center’s (GRC) Plum Brook Station (PBS) in Sandusky, Ohio. Development and qualification landing testing was concluded at Langley Research Center (LaRC) in Virginia with a total of ten tests. NASA’s strategic international Orion partner, ESA, delivered the European Service Module primary structure to Bremen, Germany, for assembly in the third quarter of FY 2016. In addition, the European Service Module Structural Test Article (E-STA) was delivered to PBS in the first quarter of FY 2016. At PBS, E-STA was mated with United States–based components of the Service Module, including the Crew Module Adapter (CMA) and Service Module Adapter (SMA) Aeronautics and Space Report of the President • Fiscal Year 2016 Activities and SpaceAeronautics Report 2016 of the Year President • Fiscal for acoustic, vibration, and shock testing. Orion technicians have started the installation process of the aft composite structure walls for the CMA. The E-STA test team completed the final set of vertical, partially filled tank configuration vibration tests in PBS’s Mechanical Vibration Facility. Final preparations for acous- tic testing in the third quarter of FY 2016 were under way at the time of preparing this report. Space Launch System Program The SLS Program made substantial progress in FY 2016 by successfully complet- ing the first hot-fire testing of an SLS RS-25 flight engine. The test ran its full duration of 500 seconds and met all test objectives, including flight acceptance for a high-pressure fuel turbopump. The SLS Program also completed the second of two full-duration hot-fire tests of the full-scale SLS five-segment booster qualifica- 3 tion motor in the third quarter of FY 2016. During the test, 82 qualification test National Aeronautics and Space Administration objectives were measured through more than 530 instrumentation channels on the booster at a cold motor conditioning temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit, which is the colder end of its accepted propellant temperature range. Preliminary analysis indicates that the instrumentation performance exceeded the test objec- tive criteria. The SLS Program also successfully completed manufacturing the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) structural test article (STA). The ICPS STA will be tested in an integrated assembly, which will be subjected to structural loads and stresses to validate the analytical models of the flight hardware. In addition, the SLS Program finalized major structural modifications to retrofit the legacy Pegasus transportation barge for the Space Shuttle’s external tanks in order to accommo- date the SLS’s larger core stage. Pegasus will transport the SLS core stage from its fabrication at the Michoud Assembly Facility to Stennis Space Center for green-run hot-fire testing and subsequently to KSC for flight integration and launch. Ground Systems Development and Operations Program Modernization and compatibility efforts for the Ground Systems Development and Operations Program continued in FY 2016. GSDO successfully completed its CDR during the first quarter of FY 2016, demonstrating the level of program matu- rity needed to continue with the final design and fabrication phase. GSDO remains on track to receive the Mobile Launcher on Pad 39B in the fourth quarter of FY 2017. GSDO has initiated complex preparations at KSC for the SLS. These included the installation and testing of two J-level work platforms on the north and south sides of Vehicle Assembly Building High Bay 3, where the SLS will be prepared for launch. Upgrades to the Launch Pad 39B flame trench were also attained in FY 2016, including the installation of a new flame detector. International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) continued its