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Jeff Foust

18 Feb, 14 tweets, 2 min read

And it looks like that post-landing briefing is starting on NASA TV.

NASA Acting Administrator Steve Jurczyk said he got a phone call after landing from President Biden: “Congratulations, man.” Adds that the president wants to give thanks to the team in person soon.

With a successful landing, Thomas Zurbuchen, NASA associate administrator for science, dramatically rips up the no-longer-needed contingency plan.

Zurbuchen: the landing is not the end but a beginning, working towards goal of Mars Sample Return and eventually human missions.

JPL director Mike Watkins: something special about the first few days after landing; at a place we’ve never been before and only seen from orbit.

“Now the fun really starts,” said Lori Glaze, NASA planetary science director.

After others complained about not sleeping well last night, project manager John McNamee chimed in: “I slept like a baby.”

Allen Chen, EDL lead: we landed in an area that was relatively rugged; terrain relative navigation managed to find a good spot.

Deputy project manager Jennifer Trosper: rover is facing SE based on shadows, with a tilt of only 1.2 degrees. Power levels good. Excited to spend the next days “opening up” the rover with various deployments.

Ken Farley, project scientist, said that the rover landed right on the boundary between two different geologic units; a great place to be.

Chen on the experience of EDL: the vehicle is going on a roller coaster and you are too.

Deputy project manager Matt Wallace says they hope to have video from entry, descent and landing cameras returned this weekend and ready for a press conference Monday; looking forward himself to seeing it.

Trosper: we’ll head to site for the Ingenuity helicopter demo and do flights in the spring; then go to first science site selected by team and collect first samples in summer.

That’s it for this briefing. Another tomorrow at 1 pm EST.

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More from @jeff_foust

Jeff Foust

@jeff_foust

19 Feb

At the NG-15 briefing, NASA says 75% chance of favorable weather for Antares/Cygnus launch tomorrow, 95% if slips to Sunday.

ISS program manager Joel Montalbano says it’s “too early to say” if the Falcon 9 booster failed landing this week will have any impacts on schedule for next commercial crew mission. NASA is talking with SpaceX about the landing anomaly to better understand any issues.

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Jeff Foust

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19 Feb

NASA briefing on plans for a second Green Run static-fire test of the SLS is getting started. The test is scheduled for next Thursday, the 25th.

NASA’s Tom Whitmeyer says they are still on a path to launch Artemis-1 this year, but recognizes challenges ahead.

John Honeycutt, SLS program manager, says the core stage and RS-25 engines were in “excellent condition” after the first test; a “generational opportunity” to learn about the rocket while still in a test config.

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Jeff Foust

@jeff_foust

18 Feb

Cruise stage separation; about 10 minutes before the spacecraft reaches the “entry interface” of the Martian atmosphere.

Perseverance now beginning its entry into the Martian atmosphere; seven minutes to landing. MRO is now relaying data from Perseverance. [All times, of course, Earth received time; one-way light travel time is nearly 11.5 minutes.]

Perseverance has deployed its parachute.

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Jeff Foust

@jeff_foust

18 Feb

The ASAP meeting is starting with a relatively high-level look at the “rapidly changing human spaceflight environment”, including a need for the agency to develop a strategic plan for its workforce and infrastructure needs.

A very deep discussion on risk management and coordination of NASA exploration programs, which are handled by two different offices (ELS, for SLS/Orion/ELS; and AES, for HLS/Gateway/lunar spacesuits). Lots of complexities and concerns about putting everything together.

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Jeff Foust

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At the ongoing Mars 2020 mission update, deputy project manager Matt Wallace says the spacecraft is ready, and “the team, I think, is ready.”

“This is not what scientists usually do,” project scientist Ken Farley says of the daily planning cycle of rover operations, a “very fast-paced, high-stakes” activity.

Wallace: we’ve never come up with a good way of calculating the probability of success for Mars landing; done as much as we can do ensure success, but never any guarantees.

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Jeff Foust

@jeff_foust

10 Nov 20

NASA’s Steve Stich says they’re replacing a valve on the F9 second stage, pushing back the static fire a day; still on track for a Saturday launch of Crew-1 with weather now looking good.

SpaceX’s Benji Reed: my sense is no worries about running out of time for a Saturday launch even with the slip of the static fire to tomorrow.

Lot of discussion at this Crew-1 briefing about future missions. NASA targeting March 30 for Crew-2, and late summer/early fall for Crew-3. Boeing Starliner OFT-2 no earlier than 1st quarter next year.

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