Tag: Space Launch System
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NASA announces a challenging schedule for inaugural launch of its SLS moon rocket
A full moon shines above NASA’s Space Launch System rocket during pad testing on June 14. (NASA Photo) If all goes according to plan, NASA could launch its heavy-lift Space Launch System rocket on its first flight around the moon by as early as Aug. 29. That’s a big “if,” however: Workers at Kennedy Space…
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SLS rolled back to VAB for final launch preparations
After a successful Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR), NASA Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) rolled back the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), which should be the last time this is performed before launch. The Artemis 1 vehicle will now undergo final readiness checks and launch preparations ahead of its debut flight…
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NASA’s ML-1 Completes Testing at LC-39B ahead of SLS Stacking
NASA’s Mobile Launcher-1, or ML-1, has rolled back to the Vehicle Assembly Building after completing a series of tests at Launch Complex-39B (LC-39B). This marks the last trip to the launch pad for ML-1 until the first fully stacked Space Launch System rocket rolls out for the Artemis I mission. (Lead photo via Stephen Marr…
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NASA, Northrop Grumman complete first SLS Flight Support Booster test
Northrop Grumman’s Propulsion Systems Division has completed the first of a series of Flight Support Booster (FSB) tests of the NASA Space Launch System’s solid rocket motors, a series that will last as long as the SLS program exists. The FSB-1 booster will help NASA and Northrop Grumman evaluate new materials for use in future…
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SLS booster test-fired in Utah
An SLS flight support booster was test-fired Wednesday in Utah. Credit: NASA/Northrop Grumman/Scott Mohrman Northrop Grumman test-fired a five-segment solid-fueled booster for NASA’s Space Launch System Wednesday at the company’s test facility in Promontory, Utah. The powerful rocket ignited at 3:05 p.m. EDT (1:05 p.m. MDT; 1905 GMT) Wednesday and burned for a little more…
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SLS launch platform returns to pad 39B
EDITOR’S NOTE: Updated Sept. 11 with pad arrival. The Space Launch System’s mobile tower emerged from the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Tuesday morning to begin the 4.2-mile trip back to pad 39B. Credit: Spaceflight Now The towering mobile platform for NASA’s Space Launch System emerged from the Vehicle Assembly Building at…
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NASA’s target for the first launch of its SLS moon rocket shifts from 2020 to 2021
NASA engineers load a test article for the SLS liquid-oxygen tank into its test stand at Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama. (NASA Photo) NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told lawmakers today that the first launch of the heavy-lift Space Launch System was “definitely achievable by 2021,” seemingly signaling a shift in the plan for a…
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Watchdogs issue warning about NASA’s SLS moon rocket plan, but Boeing CEO stays the course
An artist’s conception shows NASA’s Space Launch System in flight. (NASA Illustration) The federal government’s watchdog agency says getting NASA’s heavy-lift Space Launch System rocket off the ground is likely to take longer and cost more than the space agency says it will. Any issues that crop up in the months ahead could push the…
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NASA considers shifting a key test flight beyond the moon to commercial rockets
An artist’s conception shows NASA’s Orion deep-space crew capsule with its European Service Module placed beneath it and an upper stage powering it out of Earth orbit. (NASA Illustration) NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine told a Senate hearing today that his agency is looking into an option to double up commercial launch vehicles in order to…
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NASA watchdogs blame SLS rocket snags on Boeing missteps and poor oversight
A structural test version of the intertank for NASA’s new deep-space rocket, the Space Launch System, arrives at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in March for testing aboard the barge Pegasus. The intertank is the second piece of structural hardware for the massive SLS core stage. (NASA Photo) NASA’s Space Launch System, the rocket that’s…