Morpheus Launch Pad Move, NASA Space Shuttle Landing Facility

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A crane is used to lower the launch pad for the Project Morpheus prototype lander onto a new location at the north end of the Shuttle Landing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The launch pad was moved to a different location to support the next phase of flight testing. Morpheus completed its seventh free flight test on March 11. The 83-second test began at 3:41 p.m. EDT with the Morpheus lander launching from the ground over a flame trench and ascending to 580 feet. Morpheus then flew its fastest downrange trek at 30 mph, travelling farther than before, 837 feet. The lander performed a 42-foot divert to emulate a hazard avoidance maneuver before descending and touching down on Landing Site 2, at the northern landing pad inside the automated landing and hazard avoidance technology ALHAT hazard field. Morpheus landed within one foot of its intended target. Project Morpheus tests NASA’s ALHAT and an engine that runs on liquid oxygen and methane, or green propellants, into a fully-operational lander that could deliver cargo to other planetary surfaces. The landing facility provides the lander with the kind of field necessary for realistic testing, complete with rocks, craters and hazards to avoid. Morpheus’ ALHAT payload allows it to navigate to clear landing sites amidst rocks, craters and other hazards during its descent. Project Morpheus is being managed under the Advanced Exploration Systems, or AES, Division in NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. The efforts in AES pioneer new approaches for rapidly developing prototype systems, demonstrating key capabilities and validating operational concepts for future human missions beyond Earth orbit. For more information on Project Morpheus, visit http://morpheuslander.jsc.nasa.gov/. Photo credit: NASA/Dimitri Gerondidakis