Keith's 14 Apr note: Successful firing (Image). More at their Facebook page. Nothing whatsoever has been issued by JSC PAO about this event. This is sheer incompetence on the part of JSC PAO.

Keith's 16 Apr note: The project's official website is now online.

NASA JSC Project Morpheus Update

Internal NASA memo: "Out in the open field at the new Morpheus launch pad. West of JSC Building 14. If all goes well and there is no Govt. shutdown, the series of test firings may begin sometime Monday. The rocket engine burns methane and oxygen and is pressurized with helium. Note the ground restraint straps to keep it from "wandering." This constraint is necessary since there is no active flight control system installed yet. There is ES Div. engineering support to this program, but very little publicity."

Keith's 11 Apr note: I asked JSC PAO why they are ignoring Morpheus. I got this response: "Morpheus is at an early phase of testing, there will be more info as the project continues to develop.  The release was the initial step in making people in the local area aware of the upcoming tests that the project will be conducting this week and next.  NASA social media sites are in the process of being linked to NASA web pages which will continue to provide updates." In other words, they are not interested.

According to posts made today to the Project's Facebook page "Hot fire delayed until tomorrow due to weather." This image has the caption "Running through final checks and tweaks with the extra time. Hot fire, here I come!". This image is captioned "My team is covering the straps with insulation in preparation for Monday's hot fire." Follow their Twitter for updates on the hot fire test since JSC PAO won't be paying attention.

Keith's 12 Apr note: This image shows a view looking down at Morpheus. This image shows prepaprations for today's test. Meanwhile JSC PAO continues to officialy ignore this activity. FAIL.

Keith's 12 Apr 6:00 pm EDT note: Twitter update: "Hot fire portion of test scrubbed for today. Continue with an igniter test and then wrap up for the day. Watch here for info on future tests"

Keith's 13 Apr 11:00 pm EDT note: According to a Twitter update: "Unless something comes up in the post test overviews, my next hot fire test will be on Thursday." ... "Problem appears to have been faulty regulator on the helium trailer used to bring tanks up to pressure. This is why we test, and test a lot"

Why Does JSC Hide Their Cool Stuff?, earlier post