1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:04,348 MUSIC 2 00:00:04,383 --> 00:00:07,877 As a Space Shuttle astronaut I 3 00:00:07,912 --> 00:00:08,957 flew the Space Shuttle five 4 00:00:08,992 --> 00:00:10,717 times. Every one of those was on 5 00:00:10,752 --> 00:00:12,828 the redesigned rocket motor that 6 00:00:12,863 --> 00:00:14,420 proved itself to be the most 7 00:00:14,455 --> 00:00:15,893 reliable rocket motor in the 8 00:00:15,928 --> 00:00:17,757 world. So this motor that we 9 00:00:17,792 --> 00:00:18,741 are looking at here is called 10 00:00:18,776 --> 00:00:19,844 the Qualification Motor number 11 00:00:19,879 --> 00:00:21,851 one and it's actually the forth 12 00:00:21,886 --> 00:00:23,628 motor in a series, we had three 13 00:00:23,663 --> 00:00:25,404 development motors. And on the 14 00:00:25,439 --> 00:00:26,772 development motors, they really 15 00:00:26,807 --> 00:00:27,900 are development, where you 16 00:00:27,935 --> 00:00:29,476 start out conservatively, you 17 00:00:29,511 --> 00:00:32,163 do a test firing, you see how we 18 00:00:32,198 --> 00:00:34,051 ll the insulators work, how 19 00:00:34,086 --> 00:00:35,251 much thrust, what was the 20 00:00:35,286 --> 00:00:36,916 performance of the motor really 21 00:00:36,951 --> 00:00:38,411 ůand then you start optimizing 22 00:00:38,446 --> 00:00:40,348 it. So QM-1 will be the first of 23 00:00:40,383 --> 00:00:41,884 two tests that will be used to 24 00:00:41,919 --> 00:00:44,275 qualify the motors for flight. 25 00:00:44,310 --> 00:00:45,795 We are actually already 26 00:00:45,830 --> 00:00:47,019 building the pieces of the 27 00:00:47,054 --> 00:00:48,203 second qualification motor 28 00:00:48,238 --> 00:00:49,723 flight. This is a really 29 00:00:49,758 --> 00:00:51,323 exciting time for all of us here 30 00:00:51,358 --> 00:00:53,114 coming off Orion's first 31 00:00:53,149 --> 00:00:54,867 flight test in December. Less 32 00:00:54,902 --> 00:00:56,779 than a month later we had the 33 00:00:56,814 --> 00:00:59,034 new RS 25 engines, which are the 34 00:00:59,069 --> 00:01:00,187 liquid engines that will power 35 00:01:00,222 --> 00:01:02,234 the rocketůhave been tested at 36 00:01:02,269 --> 00:01:04,034 Stennis with a brand new state 37 00:01:04,069 --> 00:01:05,466 of the art controller. The 38 00:01:05,501 --> 00:01:07,106 pieces of the rocket itself, 39 00:01:07,141 --> 00:01:09,362 the core, almost thirty feet in 40 00:01:09,397 --> 00:01:11,985 diameter, are all being 41 00:01:12,020 --> 00:01:13,402 manufactured at Michoud as we 42 00:01:13,437 --> 00:01:15,378 speak. There's a company called 43 00:01:15,413 --> 00:01:17,650 Conrad down in south Louisiana. 44 00:01:17,685 --> 00:01:19,770 They took our Pegasus barge, 45 00:01:19,805 --> 00:01:21,754 which is the barge we used to 46 00:01:21,789 --> 00:01:23,217 move the External Tank around 47 00:01:23,252 --> 00:01:24,721 during the Shuttle days. They 48 00:01:24,756 --> 00:01:26,105 had to cut it in half and add 49 00:01:26,140 --> 00:01:27,985 sixty five feet and stiffen it 50 00:01:28,020 --> 00:01:29,681 up to be able to handle the 51 00:01:29,716 --> 00:01:31,033 massive core that will come out 52 00:01:31,068 --> 00:01:32,568 of Michoud near New Orleans to 53 00:01:32,603 --> 00:01:34,145 be shipped down to KSC. Then, 54 00:01:34,180 --> 00:01:36,185 in a few months we'll actually 55 00:01:36,220 --> 00:01:37,569 complete the Critical Design 56 00:01:37,604 --> 00:01:39,129 Review of the Space launch 57 00:01:39,164 --> 00:01:40,641 System. This is where we 58 00:01:40,676 --> 00:01:41,952 actually say we are now done 59 00:01:41,987 --> 00:01:43,369 designing and it's time to 60 00:01:43,404 --> 00:01:44,624 start putting all this hardware 61 00:01:44,659 --> 00:01:46,528 together and running it through 62 00:01:46,563 --> 00:01:47,984 it's tests and verifying that it 63 00:01:48,019 --> 00:01:49,465 actually meets the requirements. 64 00:01:49,500 --> 00:01:51,049 We're going to fly the SLS 65 00:01:51,084 --> 00:01:53,168 system in 2018 and between now 66 00:01:53,203 --> 00:01:54,408 and then were going to fire this 67 00:01:54,443 --> 00:01:55,784 motor. Less than a year from 68 00:01:55,819 --> 00:01:57,096 now we'll fire the second 69 00:01:57,131 --> 00:01:58,879 qualification motor, and then 70 00:01:58,914 --> 00:02:00,192 we'll start assembling that 71 00:02:00,227 --> 00:02:01,720 Space Launch System rocket in 72 00:02:01,755 --> 00:02:03,143 Florida for a launch in 2018. 73 00:02:03,178 --> 00:02:04,887 And the second flight of that 74 00:02:04,922 --> 00:02:06,111 rocket motor will take 75 00:02:06,146 --> 00:02:07,536 astronauts further into space 76 00:02:07,571 --> 00:02:09,048 than we have ever been. From 77 00:02:09,083 --> 00:02:10,463 there, we' re now in the 78 00:02:10,498 --> 00:02:11,783 proving ground where we test 79 00:02:11,818 --> 00:02:13,744 the ability to be distant from 80 00:02:13,779 --> 00:02:15,695 Earth by days and weeks, and 81 00:02:15,730 --> 00:02:17,911 getting ready for the long term 82 00:02:17,946 --> 00:02:19,863 exposure to deep space that gets 83 00:02:19,898 --> 00:02:21,248 us ready for a Mars mission in 84 00:02:21,283 --> 00:02:22,735 the future. The planet's been 85 00:02:22,770 --> 00:02:24,295 through one ice age, history 86 00:02:24,330 --> 00:02:25,654 tells us it will go through 87 00:02:25,689 --> 00:02:27,415 another, so we really do need to 88 00:02:27,450 --> 00:02:28,727 get out there and explore, to 89 00:02:28,762 --> 00:02:30,143 find other planets that are 90 00:02:30,178 --> 00:02:31,471 earth like that we can survive 91 00:02:31,506 --> 00:02:33,102 on. So they say the journey of 92 00:02:33,137 --> 00:02:35,022 a thousand mile begins with the 93 00:02:35,057 --> 00:02:36,390 first step. In this case out 94 00:02:36,425 --> 00:02:37,919 journey is millions of miles 95 00:02:37,954 --> 00:02:39,287 away to Mars, and we are 96 00:02:39,322 --> 00:02:40,567 starting to take these steps. 97 00:02:40,602 --> 00:02:42,342 The next step is going to be 98 00:02:42,377 --> 00:02:44,086 this QM motor firing and we are