After taking precautions against a fifth approaching hurricane, the Space Launch System (SLS) Green Run test team is back on site in the B-2 Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi to continue preparations for the final two critical tests of the year-long campaign on the first Core Stage. Prime contractor Boeing is conducting Stage Green Run test operations, completing the sixth of eight test […]
SLS
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Four veteran Space Shuttle Main Engines will benchmark the performance of the rookie Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage in the final two critical tests of NASA’s Green Run campaign. After loading the stage with propellant for the first time and demonstrating in a countdown that it can satisfy engine start criteria, the final test will be a full-duration firing of the Core Stage that is […]
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 boosters and new manufacturing processes as well as current manufacturing quality, […]
The interstage connector for the first NASA Space Launch System (SLS) vehicle was delivered to NASA in mid-July and is in transit to its launch site. The Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter (LVSA) was completed by Teledyne Brown Engineering at the Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Alabama and officially turned over to the agency for use on the Artemis 1 launch, tentatively scheduled for late 2021. […]
Boeing is getting ready to conduct the next phase of the Green Run test campaign for NASA’s first Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage. The second and third test cases were recently completed in the B-2 Test Stand at the NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Test case four begins this week and test case five after that will checkout the new stage’s Main Propulsion System […]
A second Mobile Launcher (ML-2) for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) is heading into its construction phase as Ground Support Equipment begins to arrive at the Kennedy Space Center (KSC). NASA called for a second ML to be constructed to cater for the slightly taller Block 1B SLS that is set to come online in the middle of the decade. SLS already has a Mobile Launcher […]
NASA Exploration Ground Systems and prime test and operations contractor Jacobs mated the first of two Space Launch System (SLS) aft motor segments for the Artemis 1 launch with its aft skirt on June 24. The connection of two of the major elements of the right-hand aft booster assembly continues preparations of Northrop Grumman booster hardware for the first SLS launch tentatively scheduled for late next […]
NASA has initialized plans via a letter contract with Northrop Grumman for 12 additional Solid Rocket Boosters, or SRBs, for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket — a pending contract with a potential value of $49.5 million USD. In the letter contract, the agency will “provide initial funding and authorization” to Northrop Grumman to begin ordering components, including long-lead items, for the 12 additional SRBs […]
Boeing powered up the Core Stage for the first Space Launch System on the B-2 Test Stand at the NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi last week following a long stand down due to the coronavirus pandemic. The first Core Stage is at the outdoor facility for a Green Run test campaign that culminates in first-time propellant loading followed by an inaugural test-firing. Teams got within […]
NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) program is stepping into the launch processing flow for the Artemis 1 mission after taking delivery of Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) hardware for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will start the uncrewed lunar orbit mission next year. SLS Booster prime contractor Northrop Grumman turned over almost all of the SRB hardware to EGS in the last week, and all […]
Hands-on operations with the Space Launch System (SLS) resumed this week, following a lengthy standdown due to the restrictions relating to COVID-19. This included a return to Green Run preparations at the Stennis Space Center, with “limited crews” preparing the Artemis-1 core stage on the B-2 test stand for what will be one of the most defining tests relating to the launch date. That maiden launch […]
NASA is extending its RS-25 engine production contract with Aerojet Rocketdyne through the rest of the decade, a move that guarantees a steady supply of liquid-fueled engines for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s core stage. This consolidates Aerojet Rocketdyne’s RS-25 engine contracts, ensuring they continue to prepare the 16 RS-25 flight engines inherited from the Space Shuttle Program for the first four SLS missions while […]