14 DAY TRIAL // Officials with the American space agency announce the successful completion of a major milestone in the Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) Program, which seeks to reconvert the iconic NASA Kennedy Space Center (KSC), in Florida, into a viable, multi-user spaceport for commercial companies and other interested parties.
The major milestone achieved on March 20 was the successful completion of the initial design and technology development phase for GSDO, a procedure known as the Preliminary Design Review. The document was developed to provide a critical assessment of the infrastructure design changes that engineers have planned for the KSC.
The same document also enabled the ground systems development team to move on towards a detailed design stage in the project. Reaching this important point in the project means that the work done so far at the space center is in tune with the space exploration objectives set forth by NASA. The review also demonstrates that the backbone of the reconversion work is solid and sustainable.
Historically, the Kennedy Space Center has always focused on launching the same type of rocket from both launch pads. Decades ago, the installation was dedicated to the Saturn V delivery systems that carried the Apollo spacecraft. More recently, the facility was used to support space shuttle launches. The launch pads have always been modified to suit whatever rocket was being operated from Florida.
Now, NASA is planning to use the GSDO program to reconvert the KSC infrastructure into one capable of supporting launches by multiple companies, using multiple spacecraft and rockets. Some of these missions may even be used for manned space exploration, so the pressure is high to get everything right.
“We've pushed the boundaries of space exploration for more than 50 years and are making progress getting ready to move the frontier even further into the solar system,” explains the NASA deputy administrator for exploration system development, Dan Dumbacher. The official is based at NASA Headquarters in Washington, DC.
“The work being done to transform our abilities to prepare and process spacecraft and launch vehicles at Kennedy is a critical piece of our efforts to send astronauts in Orion on top of the Space Launch System to an asteroid and ultimately Mars,” Dumbacher goes on to say.
When the entire reconversion process is complete, the KSC will be able to launch the Space Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift rocket, which is currently being developed at NASA, and earmarked for completion by 2018. The SLS will carry the Orion Multipurpose Crew Vehicle (MPCV), the next manned spacecraft for the United States.
