Project Morpheus

Project Morpheus was a NASA project that began in 2010 to develop a vertical takeoff and vertical landing (VTVL) test vehicle called the Morpheus Lander. It is intended to demonstrate a new nontoxic spacecraft propellant system (methane and oxygen) and an autonomous landing and hazard detection technology. The prototype planetary lander is capable of autonomous flight, including vertical takeoff and landings. The vehicles are NASA-designed robotic landers that will be able to land and take off with 1,100 pounds (500 kg) of cargo on the Moon. The prospect is an engine that runs reliably on propellants that are not only cheaper and safer here on Earth, but could also be potentially manufactured on the Moon and Mars. (See: In-situ resource utilization.) The Alpha prototype lander was manufactured and assembled at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) and Armadillo Aerospace's facility near Dallas. The prototype lander is a "spacecraft" that is about 12 ft (3.7 m) in diameter, weighs approximately 2,400 lb (1,100 kg) and consists of four silver spherical propellant tanks topped by avionics boxes and a web of wires. The project is trying out cost and time saving "lean development" engineering practices. Other project activities include appropriate ground operations, flight operations, range safety and the instigation of software development procedures. Landing pads and control centers were also constructed. From the project start in July 2010, about $14 million was spent on materials in the following 4 years; so the Morpheus project is considered lean and low-cost for NASA. In 2012 the project employed 25 full-time team members, and 60 students. At any one time an average of 40 people worked on the project. Project Morpheus devised and used streamlined processes and practices. The Morpheus Lander's last flight was in December 2014. As there were no funds for further flights the lander was returned to JSC in February 2015. Six formal documents were produced by the project. At the end of project review on March 12, 2015, it was estimated that $50 million had been saved by the lean development methods, minimising documentation, and buying parts from Home Depot, MSC Industrial Direct, and W. W. Grainger.

History Project Morpheus started in July 2010 and was named after Morpheus, the Greek god of dreams. The Morpheus spacecraft was derived from the experimental lander produced by Project M with the assistance of Armadillo Aerospace. Project M (NASA) was a NASA initiative to design, develop and land a humanoid robot on the lunar surface in 1000 days. Work on some of the lander's systems began in 2006, when NASA's Constellation program planned a human return to the Moon. In the same year 2006, Armadillo Aerospace entered the first Pixel rocket lander into the Lunar Lander Challenge part of NASA's Centennial Challenges. The Morpheus #1 Unit A test vehicle was first hot-fired on 15 April 2011. Morpheus's new 4,200-pound-force (19,000 N) engine permitted NASA to fly longer durations by lifting more propellant into the air. The engine was upgraded again in 2013 to 5,000 lbf (22,000 N) finally reaching 5,400 lbf (24,000 N). A new design of landing gear was part of the Mechanical changes. NASA also replaced the avionics - this included power distribution and storage, instrumentation, the flight computer, communications and software. The enhanced landing system permits Morpheus, unlike the Pixels, to liftoff, fly, and land without help from a pilot. For Range Safety purposes the Morpheus#1 prototype falls into the category of guided suborbital reusable rocket. In July 2012 the prototype lander was sent to the Kennedy Space Center for free flight testing and the media invited to view the Morpheus Lander. On August 9, 2012, the prototype Morpheus #1 Unit A (Alpha) lander crashed on takeoff, whilst performing its second untethered flight at Kennedy Space Center. No one was injured and no property was damaged but the vehicle was damaged beyond repair. The project investigated the cause and continued by building unit B. In the second half of 2012 the Project Morpheus and ALHAT teams were combined. On February 7, 2013, the Project Morpheus team blogged that they have built the Morpheus 1.5B and 1.5C vehicles. The vehicles underwent a series of static hot fire and dynamic tethered flight tests at Johnson Space Center spring 2013 in preparation for a return to free-flight testing at Kennedy Space Center later that year.

On May 1, 2013, the replacement Morpheus #1.5 Unit B testbed was Hot Fired at the Johnson Space Center. The replacement's enhancements include a 5,400 pounds-force (24,000 N) thrust main engine and integrated oxygen/methane reaction control system (RCS), making it the first oxygen/methane vehicle with Main and RCS engines drawing propellant from the same tanks and first vehicle to use a cryogenic RCS. On June 14, 2013, rapid re-usability was demonstrated by having two flights using the same lander on the same day. In July 2013 the ALHAT equipment was integrated into and tested with the lander. On September 26, 2013, the vehicles performed 20 short engine firings at a variety of conditions whilst fastened to the ground. In November 2013 the Bravo Lander was taken to Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Florida for free flight testing. $750,000 of parts were purchased to make the replacement lander. KSC limited the noise vibrations on the lander as it lifts off by designing a mobile launch pad with a built-in flame trench. Free Flight 9 on March 11, 2014, was the final flight before integration of ALHAT sensors on Bravo vehicle. Free Flight 14 on May 28, 2014, was performed at night with the ALHAT acting as the prime guidance system. The hazards in the hazard field were automatically avoided. In May 2014 Project Morpheus formed part of the reference material for NASA's Lunar CATALYST initiative. A paper was published in 2013 revealing the lessons learnt during the development, which may be useful to future projects. In 2014 a paper describing the integrated test campaign, including the free flights, was published. An article giving a short history of the project was printed in RocketSTEM on July 11, 2014. In November 2014, the Morpheus Lander was fitted with additional ALHAT sensors. The new optics permit the Navigation Doppler Lidar to accurately measure the vehicle's velocity relative to the ground.

Objectives The primary objectives of the Morpheus project were to demonstrate:

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