{"id":19335,"date":"2016-06-28T17:05:37","date_gmt":"2016-06-28T09:05:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/its-a-blast-nasas-booster-for-heavy-lift-sls-rocket-gets-final-pre-launch-test-firing\/"},"modified":"2016-06-28T17:05:37","modified_gmt":"2016-06-28T09:05:37","slug":"its-a-blast-nasas-booster-for-heavy-lift-sls-rocket-gets-final-pre-launch-test-firing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/its-a-blast-nasas-booster-for-heavy-lift-sls-rocket-gets-final-pre-launch-test-firing\/","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s a blast! NASA\u2019s booster for heavy-lift SLS rocket gets final pre-launch test firing"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_257497\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-257497\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-257497 size-full-width\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/160628-sls2-630x427.jpg\" alt=\"SLS solid-rocket booster firing\" width=\"630\" height=\"427\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/160628-sls2-630x427.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/160628-sls2-768x520.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/160628-sls2-1240x840.jpg 1240w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/06\/160628-sls2.jpg 1594w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-257497\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Orbital ATK\u2019s solid-rocket booster is in the midst of a test firing in Utah. (Credit: NASA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>The solid-rocket booster that\u2019s destined to help send future NASA missions into deep space has blasted through its last full-scale test firing in advance of 2018\u2019s maiden&nbsp;launch of the heavy-lift SLS&nbsp;rocket.<\/p>\n<p>Today\u2019s two-minute, six-second firing at Orbital ATK\u2019s test range near Promontory, Utah, wowed hundreds of workers and onlookers who gathered (at a safe distance) to watch the booster light up like a \u201cGame of Thrones\u201d dragon.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s always a blast,\u201d Alex Priskos, manager of NASA\u2019s Space Launch System Boosters Office, said with a straight face afterward.<\/p>\n<p>Charlie Precourt, a former NASA astronaut who is now Orbital ATK\u2019s vice president and general manager for propulsion systems, said it was a \u201cbeautiful test.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThat rumble that you get is awesome,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>The test was a rehearsal with the super-sized, five-segment version of a four-segment booster design that was used during the space shuttle program. For the practice firing, the rocket was braced in a horizontal rather than a vertical position.<\/p>\n<p>There were a few glitches before the curtain went up: Priskos said the rocket team had to resolve several computer sequencing issues and hardware issues. As a result, the test took place an hour later than originally scheduled.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ll go find out what was going on there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"SLS SRB QM-2 static test\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/URT86tpHPC4?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Two of the 177-foot-long boosters, each packing 3.6 million pounds of thrust, are to be used on the Space Launch System rocket when it lifts off for flights beyond Earth orbit.&nbsp;The first SLS is being built at NASA\u2019s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama.<\/p>\n<p>The 2018 test launch, known as Exploration Mission 1 or EM-1, will power an uncrewed Orion capsule beyond the moon and back. In addition to the solid-rocket boosters, the SLS will be powered by a core stage with four&nbsp;of Aerojet Rocketdyne\u2019s shuttle-derived RS-25 engines, and a Boeing-built upper stage.<\/p>\n<p>Priskos said three of the 10 solid-rocket segments required for EM-1 are already built. \u201cWe\u2019re way on our way to EM-1,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>EM-1 will set the stage for EM-2, which would lift off in the 2021-2023 time frame to send astronauts on a trip beyond the moon.&nbsp;Eventually, SLS rockets are expected to send NASA crews&nbsp;to study a piece of an asteroid, and then explore Mars and its moons.<\/p>\n<p>SLS isn\u2019t the only brand-new deep-space rocket in the works: SpaceX is developing the Falcon Heavy rocket, which could have its maiden launch this year and start sending Dragon capsules to Mars as early as 2018. The&nbsp;California-based company, which was founded by billionaire Elon Musk, is working on a even bigger launch vehicle known as the Mars Colonial Transporter.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Orbital ATK\u2019s solid-rocket booster is in the midst of a test firing in Utah. (Credit: NASA) The solid-rocket booster that\u2019s destined to help send future NASA missions into deep space has blasted through its last full-scale test firing in advance of 2018\u2019s maiden&nbsp;launch of the heavy-lift SLS&nbsp;rocket. Today\u2019s two-minute, six-second firing at Orbital ATK\u2019s test [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[190,2899,4370],"class_list":["post-19335","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-nasa","tag-orbital-atk","tag-sls-rocket"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19335"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19335"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19335\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19335"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19335"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19335"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}