NASA prepares for final ‘green test’ of its SLS megarocket on Artemis lunar missions- News News, Firstpost

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FP TrendingJan 13, 2021 14:03:14 IST

The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) is expected to proceed with the next phase of testing the megarocket that will power the next mission to the moon. In an earlier statement, the U.S. space agency had said that the final test in the Green Run series of the megarocket will be scheduled for January 17, 2021. The hot fire, according to NASA, is the part about end of the Green Run test – an eight-part evaluation campaign that will gradually improve the core phase of the Space Launch System (SLS). The SLS is the deepest space rocket that will power the body’s next-gen human moon missions.

NASA conducted the seventh test of the SLS on December 20, 2020, providing the space agency with a range of important data about the structural and environmental parameters that the rocket must operate. He also helped look at the cryogenic storage capabilities of the platform, demonstrated software with the platform’s flying computers and avionics, and conducted performance audits. However, the end of the test was automatically stopped a few minutes early due to valve shutdown time. It was found that the closure of the valves was delayed by a fraction of a second.

NASA is preparing for the final green test of its SLS megarocket Artemis lunar missions

NASA Space Rocket Launch System (SLS). Image: NASA

Julie Bassler, NASA’s SLS standards manager, said other parts of the test went according to plan, including green running software, the main stage and the platform administrator.

“Data from the tests so far have given us confidence to move forward with the hot fire,” Bassler said.

The hot-fire test will test all four RS 25 engines at SLS base level, firing them up for eight minutes at the test center at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. If all goes well, NASA and Boeing plan to upgrade the main stage and board it to the Kennedy Space Center for the final assembly and launch.

Barry Robinson, project manager for the SLS foundation green test at Stennis, revealed that the upcoming Green Run hot fire test will be a major milestone event for NASA ‘s Artemis missions, planned for 2024.

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