NASA Morpheus Tether Test #8 - YouTube video

The Morpheus team successfully performed another Tether Test. This was the longest run of the vehicle to date.

Morpheus grew out of the efforts of Project M and stands with its own list of accomplishments. The Morpheus testbed, completed in cooperation with Armadillo Aerospace, is providing an avenue through which the development of future landers, to the Moon or beyond, is improved, in less time, and with less money.

Since its beginning, the Morpheus team has focused on off-the-shelf solutions, modularity of components, rapid turn-around of testing, testing as much as possible, and making use of the talents of other NASA centers.

But more than the hardware or software innovations that are a hallmark of Morpheus, one of the project’s biggest hallmarks may very well be its affect on those working on it.

Gone are the days, as one engineer put it, “…when you have a file cabinet for every screw”, a natural outgrowth of the Shuttle era.

It has to be remembered that during the 30 years that was the Shuttle era, making any changes to the spacecraft required a great deal of analysis and paperwork.

Rather than test and test again, the workflow was one of analyze and analyze again. When one is talking about changing a crewed spacecraft that works, such mindset is perfectly understandable. After all, getting the crew back safely was, and remains the number one priority.