Tag: SLS
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SLS Core Stage Pathfinder prepares for barge ride to MAF
A full-scale model of a Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage, called the Core Stage Pathfinder, was recently completed at a plant in Northern Alabama, and will soon be shipped and turned over to NASA. A ceremony was held to mark the completion of construction and assembly of the gigantic steel article at G&G Steel’s…
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RS-25 fires up again in another controller test for SLS
A little more than two weeks after the last test, the RS-25 test team acceptance tested the next completed engine controller unit (ECU) that will eventually fly on NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) launch vehicle. Another flight-duration hot-fire of Development Engine 0528 (E0528) occurred Wednesday afternoon local time in the A-1 test stand at the…
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Pad 39B in the final stages in preparation to welcome SLS Mobile Launcher
The final work on Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39B is being conducted in line with the construction and outfitting of systems on the Mobile Launcher (ML) for the Space Launch System (SLS). This multi-element verification and validation (V&V) testing is set to take place next year, a full dress rehearsal ahead of the rollout of…
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Preparing the Mobile Launcher to be armed and ready for SLS
The Ground Systems Development and Operations (GSDO) team at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC) in Florida is continuing construction and testing to get ready to support upcoming Exploration Mission launches. Testing at the Launch Equipment Test Facility (LETF) is in full swing delivering launch vehicle umbilicals and swing arms to the Mobile Launcher (ML). LEFT…
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RS-25 conducts another hot fire as SLS flight engines line up for EM-1
The RS-25 engine team has conducted the latest engine controller unit (ECU) hot-fire acceptance test on Tuesday in the A-1 test stand at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. NASA, RS-25 prime contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne, and Stennis facilities contractor Syncom Space Services (S3) performed a flight-duration test firing of Development Engine 0528 (E0528) with the…
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Installation of new flame deflector for SLS begins on 39B
Engineers have begun to install the new Flame Deflector into the Flame Trench of Pad 39B. Following the demolition of the legacy deflector that catered for the Space Shuttle, a large Ignition Over-Pressure/Sound Suppression (IOP/SS) manifold pipe has now been installed ahead of surrounding it with the new universal deflector for the Space Launch System…
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SLS Upper Stage set to take up residence in the former home of ISS modules
The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) is now deep into its latest phase of processing, as it prepares to be housed in the Space Station Processing Facility (SSPF) – a facility once packed with modules waiting for their ride on Shuttles to make up the elements of the International Space Station (ISS). The ICPS will be the…
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Solid production – Booster segments readying for opening SLS launches
Orbital ATK recently provided a peek at current production of Space Launch System (SLS) booster segments at their Promontory Propulsion Systems facility in Northern Utah. Work on the segments for the first two SLS launches continues and is on track to ship hardware to the launch site when needed. The last segment for the first launch,…
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Qualifying the life saver – LAS set for two more tests ahead of EM-2
Following Orbital ATK successful test-firing of an Orion launch abort system (LAS) abort motor at their Promontory facility in Utah on June 15, two more qualification tests will be required before the vital crew safety element is officially ready to fly with crewed Space Launch System (SLS) missions, beginning with Exploration Mission -2 (EM-2) mission…
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ASAP on board with NASA’s DSG as stepping stone to Mars
NASA’s major push towards building a new outpost near the Moon has received encouraging words from its key safety advisory body. NASA’s Aerospace Safety Advisory Panel (ASAP) was told the build up of the outpost in the 2020s represented an ambitious, forward-looking and credible plan that has both agency and political support. DSG: NASA has been…