Engineers from NASA and Boeing have added cryogenic motions to the main stage of the Space Launch System (SLS), reaching a major milestone in the development of this advanced rocket.
That’s seven down, one to go.
NASA is in the middle of the Green Run test at SLS base stage, a series of tests to prepare the rocket for a real launch. The latest experiment, performed Sunday at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, has been dubbed the “wet uniform forecast,” in which engineers loaded more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic stimulants. into the rocket tanks. The driver was controlled and then drained, “returning the platform to a safe position,” according to to a NASA statement.
With this seventh Green Run test ready, NASA can now look forward to the eighth and final test, in which all four RS-25 engines will be fired for up to eight minutes. This test sets the stage for Artemis certification and the beginning of time. NASA hopes to launch SLS, sans crew, in November 2021.
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The 212-foot-tall SLS rocket, with a four-engine platform, is an integral part of the Artemis program. The current plan to send astronauts to the lunar surface in 2024 could be thwarted if the SLS program does not deliver on time.
Propellant for SLS includes dissolved hydrogen and dissolved oxygen. Together, this propellant serves as fuel and as the oxidizing agent needed to burn the fuel. The chemicals are cooled to ultra-low temperatures to keep the propellant in the form of a round liquid. Six bars delivered the crane needed for the test, a feat made possible thanks to a network of canals in the area. The fuel was made because the SLS rocket main section was maintained by the facility’s B-2 test center.
NASA and Boeing engineers carefully monitored the key underlying systems during the test. A preview of the data reveals that the “level was well achieved during the propellant loading and refilling process,” according to NASA.
But the test was not perfect. The plan was to simulate a countdown with propellant in the heart, but the test ended abruptly when the T-33 clock reached a second, for reasons not yet known. The “base level and B-2 test center is in very good condition, and does not appear to be a problem with the hardware,” NASA explained, noting that the team is evaluating data. to find out exactly what caused the early closure. . ”
Despite this, however, NASA will move forward with the eighth Green Run test, which should be far more exciting than loading carriers. In fact, we are very sorry to see this monster burn out, even though it has to stay on the ground. At least for now.