March 12, 2017

ULA Reschedules Delta IV Launch to March 17 "Due to Eastern Range Availability" (Source: ULA)
The ULA Delta IV rocket carrying the WGS-9 satellite for the U.S. Air Force is scheduled for no earlier than March 17, due to Eastern Range availability. The launch vehicle team is finalizing closure actions for the booster issue in support of final launch preparations. A Delta IV Medium+ (5,4) rocket will launch the ninth Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS-9) mission for the U.S. Air Force. (3/11)

NASA Moving Ahead with Plans for Cislunar Human Outpost (Source: Space News)
Despite uncertainty about potential policy changes, NASA is pressing ahead with plans for a cislunar “gateway” outpost for future human missions, with decisions about how to develop it expected in the coming months. Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administrator for human exploration and operations, said he was studying concepts for launching the first elements of the proposed outpost as secondary payloads on early flights of the Space Launch System.

“There’s starting to be a sense of urgency” about selecting what to fly on those initial SLS missions to support development of the cislunar outpost, he said. “We’ve really got to start making some decisions about what that cargo is.”

The outpost will be a collection of habitation, cargo and other modules that could support crews working in lunar orbit or elsewhere in cislunar space for extended periods. Orion spacecraft would ferry astronauts to and from the outpost, where they could test technologies and perform other work needed to support NASA’s long-term plans for human missions to Mars in the 2030s. (3/10)