Tag: SLS
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NASA Stennis wrapping up B-2 Stand activation for SLS Green Run testing
Activation of the B-2 test stand at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi for the “Green Run” test campaign of the first Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage is almost complete and NASA and its contractor workforce are moving into practice and simulations of the upcoming tests while finishing up remaining tasks. The B-2 position of…
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Government MECO delays RS-25 testing following premature shutdown
NASA is yet to release any information as to why the latest RS-25 test in December aborted just seconds into what was set to be a full duration firing. The lack of information partly relates to NASA employees being out of work during the current government shutdown, which has also impacted on the test schedule.…
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Third SLS STA headed to Marshall as limited work continues during NASA shutdown
Just prior to expiration of U.S. federal government funding for NASA on December 21, the third of four structural test articles (STA) for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) left the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans on its way by barge to the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, for testing in…
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Crewed Orion spacecraft passes critical design review
In early December, NASA’s Orion Program completed a “Delta” Critical Design Review (CDR) of the crewed spacecraft configuration that will first fly on Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2). This CDR focused on the changes between the uncrewed spacecraft configuration that will fly on Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) and EM-2. The CDR looked at the progress of designs for…
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“Plan D for Outer Space” — NASA updates EM-2 mission baseline
Coming off this year’s manifest changes to the early missions in NASA’s Exploration campaign, the outline and major parameters for the first crewed Orion flight were formally updated to reflect those big picture updates. Exploration Mission-2 is still a test flight to check out Orion with crew system upgrades and circumnavigate the Moon, but the…
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EGS Plan for the Pad: processing EM-1 hardware for launch
The first integrated Orion and Space Launch System (SLS) vehicle that will launch Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) will be put through a series of tests at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) by NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) processing teams beyond typical launch processing checkouts. Structural testing will be performed as major EM-1 hardware are joined for…
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Orion test article completes key White Sands firings for ESM shipment
Testing of the Propulsion Qualification Module (PQM) for NASA’s Orion spacecraft resumed at the White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico in mid-October. The test team at White Sands conducted two hot-fire tests critical to shipping the first European Service Module (ESM) from its Bremen, Germany, production site to the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in…
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NASA moves to maintain SLS Core Stage work tempo, address schedule concerns in OIG report
Following NASA’s Office of Inspector General (OIG) releasing a report on October 10 of their audit of the agency’s management of the Space Launch System (SLS) Stages contract, NASA has reacted by confirming they have already taken measures to assure that there is not a stoppage of work on the SLS Stages. The OIG concluded…
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Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems readies SRBs for first SLS flights
Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems continues production of solid rocket booster (SRB) segments for the first launches of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at their Promontory Propulsion Systems facility in Northern Utah. Mixing of solid propellant for the SLS boosters and casting it in each of the ten segments for the second flight set is…
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Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems readies SRBs for first SLS flights
Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems continues production of solid rocket booster (SRB) segments for the first launches of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at their Promontory Propulsion Systems facility in Northern Utah. Mixing of solid propellant for the SLS boosters and casting it in each of the ten segments for the second flight set is…