Technical Services - Summer 2008 - (Page 10)

lc o e Life CyCLe OptimizatiOn and engineering Technical Services Delivers Highly Capable, Affordable Technology for Return-to-Moon Mission By Leah Smith 1 he Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite (LCROSS) continues on its fast-track pace for delivery two months ahead of schedule for launch later this year. The LCROSS mission is to impact the moon to search for water ice and water-bearing compounds in lunar craters. Technical Services’ Lanham, Md., site was responsible for all core spacecraft avionics and flight software for the LCROSS mission and has provided technical support to Northrop Grumman Space Technology’s Spacecraft Integration & Test efforts since early February. The last of the formal spacecraft tests—thermal vacuum testing—is now complete. Many consider thermal vacuum testing to be crucial in validating a spacecraft’s flight worthiness. The test involves cycling the entire spacecraft, in a vacuum, between temperatures as high as 230 degrees Fahrenheit (110 Celsius) and as low as -40 degrees F (-40 C) while simulating a complete mission starting with turn-on and ending with data collection just prior to impact on the moon. “We have avionics on about a third of all NASA’s operational satellites, but LCROSS is something special,” said Doug Lumsden, TS Lanham site director. “Northrop Grumman’s Technical Services and Space Technology team set new cost, schedule and technical excellence standards that will be hard for anyone to match. We make a very good team.” The LCROSS has gained considerable media attention (along with its sister spacecraft, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter) for being part of the new “Moon, Mars and Beyond” missions. LCROSS has also attracted notice for achieving ambitious cost and schedule objectives, which should pave the way for a new class of highly capable, low-cost Northrop Grumman spacecraft. T S T 2 3 1 Pictured is an artist’s rendition of the LCROSS mission. LCROSS consists of two main components, an expended Centaur upper stage and the Northrop Grumman-built Shepherding spacecraft. On approach to the moon, the Shepherding spacecraft will position the upper stage for a precision impact, then separate and perform a braking maneuver in order to observe the upper stage’s impact into the moon using NASA Ames’ on-board sensor payload. TS Lanham employees Jeff Keck (left) and Tom Anderjaska test the LCROSS S-band communications module. TS team member Tuan Duong performs a board test on the LCROSS lowvoltage power converter module. NASA’s Ames Research Center is responsible for the overall mission and is also providing the imaging payloads that will be used to determine if the plume caused by the impact contains water ice. Determining if the moon’s permanently shadowed craters contain water in ice form will be important to any plans to establish permanent settlements on the moon. 2 3 4 4 Technical Services Magazine • Summer 2008 10

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Technical Services - Summer 2008

Technical Services - Summer 2008 Contents President’s Column Second Quarter Results TS Wins Key ID/IQ Contracts Seamless Partnering and Exceptional Performance: Two Defining Traits of the U.K. AWACS Program TS Engineers Investigate B-2 Crash Missile Logistics Support Operation Up and Running Lake Charles Expands Product Support Global Hawk Assists Firefighting Efforts TS Delivers Technology for Moon Mission Joint Venture Teammates Recognized for Service Milestones TS Trains Peacekeepers in Seven African Nations TS Trainers Provide Mission Support; TS Awarded Digital Leader Contract TS Offers Valuable Training Services to Soldiers Live-Fire Training at Fort Hood Naval and Marine Aviators Hone Their Skills GEODSS Celebrates 30 Years; Wallops Island Shoulder to Shoulder – Wounded Warriors I’m In! TS Transitions to One Source; Scholarship Winners Announced TS in Colorado Springs; Ethics Awareness Week

Technical Services - Summer 2008

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