Editing Marshall Space Flight Center (section)

===2000s and 2010s - late Shuttle and successors===
MSFC is NASA's designated developer and integrator of launch systems. The state-of-the-art Propulsion Research Laboratory serves as a leading national resource for advanced space propulsion research. Marshall has the engineering capabilities to take space vehicles from initial concept to sustained service. For manufacturing, the world's largest-known welding machine of its type was installed at MSFC in 2008; it is capable of building major, defect-free components for human-rated space vehicles.{{citation_needed|date=July 2019}}

In early March 2011, NASA Headquarters announced that MSFC will lead the efforts on a new heavy-lift rocket that, like the Saturn V of the lunar exploration program of the late 1960s, will carry large, [[Human-rating certification|human-rated]] payloads beyond low-Earth orbit. MSFC has the program office for the [[Space Launch System]].<ref>{{cite news|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720114812/http://marshallstar.msfc.nasa.gov/3-3-11.pdf |url=http://marshallstar.msfc.nasa.gov/3-3-11.pdf|title = Program offices, new technology solicitations announced|work =Marshall Star |date=March 3, 2011|page= 1|publisher = NASA|archive-date = 20 July 2011}}</ref>

==== Orbital Space Plane ====
The initial plans for the Space Station envisaged a small, low-cost [[Crew Return Vehicle]] (CRV) that would provide emergency evacuation capability. The 1986 ''Challenger'' disaster led planners to consider a more capable spacecraft. The [[Orbital Space Plane]] (OSP) development got underway in 2001, with an early version then expected to enter service by 2010. In 2004, the knowledge gained on the OSP was transferred to [[Johnson Space Center]] (JSC) for use in the development of the [[Crew Exploration Vehicle]] of the [[Constellation program]]. No operational OSP was ever built.<ref>[http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/background/facts/ospfacts.html "Beginning a New Era of Space Flight: The Orbital Space Plane"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110319044422/http://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/news/background/facts/ospfacts.html |date=2011-03-19 }} MSFC Fact Sheet, May 2003</ref>

====''Columbia'' disaster and Shuttle retirement====
MSFC had responsibility for the Space Shuttle's rocket propulsion elements, including the External Tank. On February 1, 2003, the [[Space Shuttle Columbia disaster|Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' disaster]] was caused by a piece of insulation that broke off the [[external tank]] during launch and damaged the [[Space Shuttle thermal protection system|thermal protection]] on the Orbiter's left wing.{{citation_needed|date=July 2019}}

MSFC was responsible for the external tank, but few or no changes to the tank were made; rather, NASA decided that it was inevitable that some insulation might be lost during launch and thus required that an inspection of the orbiter's critical elements be made prior to reentry on future flights.{{citation_needed|date=July 2019}}

NASA retired the Space Shuttle in 2011, which left the US dependent upon the Russian [[Soyuz (spacecraft)|''Soyuz'']] spacecraft for crewed space missions for the next nine years until Demo-2 in 2020.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts135/launch/sts-135_mission-overview.html |title=STS-135: The Final Voyage |work=NASA |date=9 March 2015 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=27 July 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190727080027/https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/shuttlemissions/sts135/launch/sts-135_mission-overview.html |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/spacex-demo-2-mission-launches-into-history |title=SpaceX Demo 2 Mission Launches into History |date=8 January 2021 |access-date=10 March 2022 |archive-date=19 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220319201550/https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/spacex-demo-2-mission-launches-into-history/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

====Constellation Program====
Between 2004 and early 2010, the [[Constellation Program]] was a major NASA activity. MSFC was responsible for the propulsion of the proposed [[Ares I]] and [[Ares V]] heavy-lift vehicles.<ref>Connolly, John F.; [http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/163092main_constellation_program_overview.pdf "Constellation Program Overview] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070710060512/http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/163092main_constellation_program_overview.pdf |date=2007-07-10 }}", NASA Constellation Program Office, October 2006; .</ref>

Starting in 2006, the MSFC Exploration Launch Projects Office began work on the Ares projects. On October 28, 2009, an Ares I-X test rocket lifted off from the newly modified [[Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39|Launch Complex 39B]] at [[Kennedy Space Center]] (KSC) for a two-minute powered flight; then continued for four additional minutes traveling {{cvt|150|mi|km}} down range.{{citation_needed|date=July 2019}}

====Deep-space astronomy====
The [[Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope]], initially called the Gamma-Ray Large Area Space Telescope (GLAST), is an international, multi-agency space observatory used to study the cosmos. It was launched June 11, 2008, has a design life of 5 years and a goal of 10 years. The primary instrument is the Large Area Telescope (LAT), which is sensitive in the photon energy range of 0.1 to greater than 300 GeV and can view about 20% of the sky at any given moment.<ref>[http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/spacecraft/index.html "Fermi Gamma-Ray Space Telescope"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110318183528/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/spacecraft/index.html |date=2011-03-18 }}, NASA</ref> The LAT is complemented by the GLAST Burst Monitor (GBM) which can detect burst of X-rays and gamma rays in the 8-keV to 3-MeV energy range, overlapping with the LAT. The GBM is a collaborative effort between the U.S. [[National Space Science and Technology Center]] and the [[Max Planck Institute for Extraterrestrial Physics]] in Germany. MSFC manages the GBM, and Charles A. Meegan{{update inline|date=July 2019}} of MSFC is the Principal Investigator. Many new discoveries have been made in the initial period of operation. For example, on May 10, 2009, a burst was detected that, by its propagation characteristics, is believed to negate some approaches to a new theory of gravity.<ref>[http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/news/first_year.html NASA - Fermi Telescope Caps First Year With Glimpse of Space-Time] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110416160427/http://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/GLAST/news/first_year.html |date=2011-04-16 }}. Nasa.gov. Retrieved on 2013-07-21.</ref>

The Burst and Transient Source Experiment (BATSE), with [[Gerald J. Fishman]] of MSFC serving as Principal Investigator, is an ongoing examination of the many years of data from gamma-ray bursts, pulsars, and other transient gamma-ray phenomena.<ref>"The Gamma-Ray Astronomy Team Home Page; {{cite web |url=http://www.batse.msfc.nasa.gov/ |title=Gamma Ray Astrophysics at the NSSTC |access-date=2011-11-13 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111108070046/http://www.batse.msfc.nasa.gov/ |archive-date=2011-11-08}}</ref> The 2011 [[Shaw Prize]], often called "Asia's Nobel Prize," was shared by Fishman and Italian astronomer [[Enrico Costa (physicist)|Enrico Costa]] for their gamma-ray research.<ref>Roop, Lee; "Gamma rays lead to glory," ''The Huntsville Times'', June 16, 2011, p. 1</ref>