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The countdown is on... 🔥
We're getting fired up for the two remaining tests in the 12-part RS-25 certification engine test series being conducted at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center. Engineers are collecting data from this test series to certify updated engine production for engines that will help power the #SLS rocket for future Artemis flights to the Moon, beginning with Artemis V.
Credit: NASA
#NASA #NASAMarshall #sls #spacelaunchsystem #nasasls #exploration #rocket #Artemis #ArtemisV
The Space Launch System (SLS) core stage is seen atop the mobile launcher inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 15, 2021. Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs lifted and lowered the core stage – the largest part of the rocket – onto the mobile launcher, placing it in between the twin solid rocket boosters. The 188,000-pound core stage, with its four RS-25 engines, will provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust during launch and ascent, and coupled with the boosters, will provide more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send the Artemis I mission to space. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, as well as establish a sustainable presence on the lunar surface in preparation for human missions to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Chris Swanson
A 3-D printed rocket part blazes to life during a hot-fire test designed to explore how well large rocket engine components withstand temperatures up to 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit and extreme pressures, typical of the environments experienced by rocket engines.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC/Emmett Given
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These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
Steel is rising for two towers that will compose a 215-foot-tall structural test stand for NASA's Space Launch System at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The first tiers were welded into place on Aug. 31, 2015, and the towers are already visible above the tree line. When construction is completed, hydraulic cylinders at Test Stand 4693 will push, pull and bend the liquid hydrogen tank of the SLS’s massive core stage to subject the tank and hardware to the same loads and stresses they will endure during launch. SLS, the most powerful rocket ever built, will carry astronauts in NASA's Orion spacecraft on deep space missions, including to an asteroid placed in lunar orbit and on the journey to Mars. The new test stand is designed to accommodate future tests of different tank sizes and other equipment, in addition to the SLS core stage liquid hydrogen tank. It is being built in Marshall's West Test Area on the foundation of the stand where the Apollo Saturn V F-1 engine was tested during the 1960s.
Credits: NASA/MSFC/Fred Deaton
Read Full Image Feature here: Towers of Steel
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_______________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
In High Bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, one of the Artemis I aft booster segments for the Space Launch System is being prepared for stacking operations on Nov. 20, 2020. Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams will stack the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 over a number of weeks. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. The SLS is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
A test version of the SLS (Space Launch System) rocket’s payload adapter is ready for evaluation, marking a critical milestone on the journey to the hardware’s debut on NASA’s Artemis IV mission.
Comprised of two metal rings and eight composite panels, the cone-shaped payload adapter will be part of the SLS Block 1B configuration and housed inside the universal stage adapter atop the rocket’s more powerful in-space stage, called the exploration upper stage. The payload adapter is an evolution from the Orion stage adapter used in the Block 1 configuration of the first three Artemis missions that sits at the topmost portion of the rocket and helps connect the rocket and spacecraft.
Teams at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center manufactured, prepared, and moved the payload adapter test article to the test stand. The payload adapter will undergo testing in the same test stand that once housed the SLS liquid oxygen tank structural test article.
Credit: NASA
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Artist concept of the SLS and Orion spacecraft being stacked in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Modifications of the Vehicle Assembly Building are underway to support the SLS and Orion spacecraft, which also will result in the ability to process multiple types of launch vehicles.
(Concept updated Aug. 1, 2013)
Image credit: NASA/MSFC
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_____________________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
In a view high above in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASAâs Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the right-hand and left-hand forward segments are secured on the center forward segments on the mobile launcher (ML) for the Space Launch System (SLS) on March 3, 2021. Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams stacked the twin five-segment boosters on the ML over a number of weeks. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, manages the SLS. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson
Astronauts and astronaut candidates from NASA and the Canadian Space Agency pose for a photograph in front of NASA’s Artemis I Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft atop the mobile launcher on the pad at Launch Complex 39B on Aug. 28, 2022. The astronauts are, from left to right: Randy Bresnik, NASA astronaut; Joshua Kutryk, Canadian Space Agency astronaut; Zena Cardman, NASA astronaut; Jack Hathaway, NASA astronaut candidate; Christina Birch, NASA astronaut candidate; Reid Wiseman, NASA astronaut; Jessica Wittner, NASA astronaut candidate; Joe Acaba, NASA astronaut; Andre Douglas, NASA astronaut candidate; Kate Rubins, NASA astronaut; Jeremy Hansen, Canadian Space Agency astronaut; Stephanie Wilson, NASA astronaut; Jessica Meir, NASA astronaut; Don Pettit, NASA astronaut; Chris Williams, NASA astronaut candidate; Victor Glover, NASA astronaut; Shannon Walker, NASA astronaut; Stan Love, NASA astronaut. Artemis I is scheduled to launch Aug. 29, at 8:33 a.m. EDT. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. NASA/Kim Shiflett
After completing its journey from NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi aboard the Pegasus barge, teams with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) and lead contractor Jacobs transport the massive Space Launch System (SLS) core stage to Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida on April 29, 2021 in this aerial view. Once inside the VAB, it will be prepared for integration with the completed stack of solid rocket boosters atop the mobile launcher ahead of the Artemis I launch. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
A 5-percent scale model of the Space Launch System (SLS) is ignited Aug. 28 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The model is being used for acoustic testing, which will help NASA engineers understand how loud the SLS vehicle will be during liftoff. Data from the test series will be used to design the water sound suppression system that reduces liftoff vibrations on the vehicle. SLS will be the most powerful rocket ever built for deep-space missions, including to an asteroid and ultimately to Mars.
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Image credit: NASA/MSFC/David Olive
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These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
This artist concept shows the 70-metric-ton configuration of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) on the launchpad.
(Note: artist concept updated July 30, 2013)
The Space Launch System, or SLS, will be designed to carry the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, as well as important cargo, equipment and science experiments to Earth's orbit and destinations beyond.
America’s new heavy-lift rocket will be the largest launch vehicle ever built and more powerful than the Saturn V rocket that carried Apollo astronauts to the moon. The 70-metric-ton configuration (77 tons) will lift more than 154,000 pounds and will provide 10 percent more thrust than the Saturn V rocket. The 130-metric-ton-configuration (143 tons) will lift more than 286,000 pounds and provide 20 percent more thrust than the Saturn V.
The first SLS mission — Exploration Mission 1 — in 2017 will launch an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to demonstrate the integrated system performance of the SLS rocket and spacecraft prior to a crewed flight.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC
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_____________________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) will be the most powerful rocket in history for deep space missions, including to an asteroid and ultimately to Mars.
The Journey to Mars became more real this week. For the first time in almost 40 years, a NASA human-rated rocket has completed all steps needed to clear a critical design review (CDR). The agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) is the first vehicle designed to meet the challenges of the journey to Mars and the first exploration class rocket since the Saturn V. The CDR provided a final look at the design and development of the integrated launch vehicle before full-scale fabrication begins.
Also as part of the CDR, the program concluded the core stage of the rocket and Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter will remain orange, the natural color of the insulation that will cover those elements, instead of painted white.
Image Credit: NASA/MSFC
(Artist concept updated Oct. 20, 2015)
Hello Flickr friends! Thanks for all the great comments and participation for "Love Your Pet Day" on Feb. 20. We had lots of fun posting the space images related to favorite pets. Now to finish things up, here's a very special canine friend who's a little closer to Earth...
In this image: Jeff Spencer transports Crockett, a Collie mix who sustained major injuries after being hit by a car, from an Alabama animal shelter to a Collie rescue in Texas. Crockett was later adopted by a Texas couple, who paid to have his hip and leg properly repaired. He is currently in training to be a registered therapy dog.
When Jeff Spencer isn't working to get the Space Launch System (SLS), NASA's new heavy-lift rocket, to its first flight in 2017, he's taking to the skies for a different mission -- saving the lives of animals.
Spencer, a pilot and technical assistant for external interface integration for the SLS Program Chief Engineers Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, has been a volunteer since 2010 for Pilots N Paws. Through the organization, private pilots provide free transport to abused, neglected and homeless animals, and to the people who rescue, shelter or foster those animals. The organization has 2,466 pilot volunteers and 8,281 rescuers.
"I’ve always been an animal lover, and my favorite hobby is flying, so this is the perfect combination for me," said Spencer, who has rescued approximately 100 dogs through volunteering with the organization. "More than 4 million pets are euthanized in the United States every year. For many of these animals, the difference in life or death is a ride to a foster or adoptive home. It is so rewarding to help give them a chance."
Image credit: NASA/MSFC
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These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
Ahead of NASA’s Artemis I launch, a flight of T-38 supersonic trainer aircraft from the Johnson Space Center Aircraft Operations Division flies in formation over the agency’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft on the pad at Launch Complex 39B at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, on Aug. 23, 2022. Pilots and passengers of the five aircraft include NASA Research Pilot Chris Condon and NASA Astronaut Zena Cardman in the lead plane, followed by NASA astronaut candidate Nicole Ayers and NASA astronaut Christina Koch in the second plane, Canadian Space Agency astronaut Jeremy Hansen and NASA astronaut Drew Morgan in the third plane, NASA astronaut Reid Wiseman and NASA astronaut Joe Acaba in the fourth plane, and NASA astronaut candidate Jack Hathaway and Josh Valcarcel, NASA photographer, in the chase plane. Artemis I is scheduled to launch at 8:33 a.m. EDT on Aug. 29, 2022. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 carrying the agency’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, secured to the mobile launcher, begins the 4.2-mile journey toward Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. Seen in the background is also mobile launcher 2, which will be used on future Artemis flights beginning with Artemis IV. The Artemis II test flight will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), around the Moon and back to Earth no later than April 2026. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
NASA image use policy.
The NASA logo illuminated on the side of the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana. Established during World War II and later repurposed for the Apollo and Space Shuttle programs, the vast complex continues to play a central role in U.S. space manufacturing. Today, Michoud supports construction of major components for NASA’s Artemis missions, including the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft.
A 5-percent scale model of the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage fires up for another round of acoustic testing at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. SLS, NASA's new rocket, will be the largest, most powerful rocket ever built for deep space missions. The SLS core stage, towering more than 200 feet tall with a diameter of 27.6 feet, will store cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen that will feed the vehicle’s RS-25 engines. The acoustic tests, which began in January, will show how powerful noise from the engines and boosters can impact the rocket and crew, especially at liftoff. Data from the tests will help verify the rocket's design and help develop an effective suppression system to stifle the sound. The current test series, which began March 20, will be used to determine the noise reduction capabilities of the water suppression system at NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Miss. The system will be used for core stage "green run" testing. "Green run" testing ensures all stage and engine parts have been exposed to flight-like environments prior to use on a mission.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC/David Olive
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_______________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
In High Bay 4 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane lowers Space Launch System (SLS) solid rocket booster pathfinder segments onto a platform during a training exercise on Jan. 8, 2020. A team of engineers with Exploration Ground Systems and crane operators and technicians with contractor Jacobs are practicing lifting, moving and stacking maneuvers, using important ground support equipment to train employees and certify all the equipment works properly. The booster pathfinders are inert, full-scale replicas of the actual booster hardware that will be attached to the SLS rocket for Artemis missions. The five-segment, 17-story-tall twin boosters will provide 3.6 million pounds of thrust each at liftoff to help launch Orion on Artemis I, its first uncrewed mission beyond the Moon. Photo credit: NASA/Glenn Benson
A 16mm fisheye lens was used to show a wide angle view of the Vertical Assembly Center at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans at a ribbon-cutting ceremony Sept 12. The VAC is the largest spacecraft welding tool in the world. It is part of a family of state-of-the-art tools designed to weld the core stage of the Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket ever built for mission deep in space.
Read more:
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Image credit: NASA
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Space Launch System Flickr album
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_____________________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials,
advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
A close-up view of the Artemis I Space Launch System rocket inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 10, 2022. In view are the left and right boosters. Artemis I will be the first integrated test of NASA’s deep space exploration systems: the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and the ground systems at Kennedy.. In later missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Corey Houston
The Orion spacecraft for NASAâs Artemis I mission, fully assembled with its launch abort system, begins the move out of the Launch Abort System Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 19, 2021. Orion will be transported to the Vehicle Assembly Building where it will join the already stacked flight hardware and be raised into position atop the Space Launch System rocket in High Bay 3. Launching in 2021, Artemis I will be an uncrewed test flight of the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Under Artemis, NASA aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon and establish sustainable lunar exploration. Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson
A close-up view of Moonikin “Campos” secured in a seat inside the Artemis I Orion crew module atop the Space Launch System rocket in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 3, 2022. Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate NASA’s capability to extend human present to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft’s integrated systems before crewed missions. Under Artemis, NASA aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon and establish sustainable lunar exploration. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
NASA’s Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft atop the mobile launcher are in view in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022. All of the work platforms have been retracted in preparation for rollout to Launch Complex 39B ahead of launch of Artemis I. The crawler-transporter, driven by engineers, is under the Artemis I stack atop the mobile launcher and will carry it 4.2 miles via the crawlerway that connects the VAB to the launch pad. The agency’s Artemis I flight test is scheduled to liftoff on Monday, Aug. 29. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will provide a foundation for human deep space exploration and demonstrate our commitment and capability to extend human presence to the Moon and beyond. The primary goal of Artemis I is to thoroughly test the integrated systems before crewed missions by launching Orion atop the SLS rocket, operating the spacecraft in a deep space environment, testing Orion’s heat shield, and recovering the crew module after reentry, descent, and splashdown. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
The Orion spacecraft for NASA’s Artemis I mission, fully assembled with its launch abort system, is lifted above the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 20, 2021. The stacking of Orion on top of the SLS completes assembly for the Artemis I flight test. Teams will begin conducting a series of verification tests ahead of rolling out to Launch Complex 39B for the Wet Dress Rehearsal. Artemis I will be an uncrewed test flight of the Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Under Artemis, NASA aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon and establish sustainable lunar exploration. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
Test Stand 4697 rises from its foundation at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, in February 2016 as the project nears the "topping out" of its final steel beams. The structural test stand is one of two being built at Marshall that are critical to development of the Space Launch System. SLS will be the world's most powerful rocket for human space exploration, able to carry astronauts in the Orion spacecraft on deep-space missions, including the journey to Mars.
The 85-foot-tall Test Stand 4697 will use hydraulic cylinders to subject the liquid oxygen tank and hardware of the massive SLS core stage to the same loads and stresses it will endure during a launch. The test stand is scheduled for completion in summer 2016 by prime contractor Brasfield & Gorrie of Birmingham, Alabama, and several of its subcontractors. (Photo courtesy Brasfield & Gorrie)
For more information on the Space Launch System, visit: www.nasa.gov/sls
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Space Launch System Flickr photoset:
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#JourneyToMars #NASAMarshall #SLS
_______________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
LS
The future of NASA space flight, the Space Launch System, on the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B
An F/A-18 research jet simulated various flight conditions that NASA's Space Launch System may experience as it makes its way from the launch pad to space to evaluate the rocket's flight control system. The tests are helping engineers design a system that can autonomously adjust to unexpected conditions during flight.
Image credit: NASA/Dryden
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_____________________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
Wildflowers frame a view of the Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft on Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on April 21, 2022. Also in view are two of the three lightning protection towers and the water tower. The SLS and Orion atop the mobile launcher were transported to the pad on crawler-transporter 2 for a prelaunch test called a wet dress rehearsal. Artemis I will be the first integrated test of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. In future Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, completed a subscale booster motor test Sept. 14 in Marshall’s East Test Area. The 24-inch booster produced more than 82,000 pounds of thrust. It is the third test in an ongoing series supporting development of an upgraded booster design with alternative nozzle and insulation materials for SLS (Space Launch System) flights after Artemis VIII. Marshall manages the SLS Program.
Image credit: NASA
#NASA #NASAMarshall #sls #spacelaunchsystem #nasasls #exploration #rocket #artemis #moontomars
A 5-percent scale model of the Space Launch System (SLS) is ignited Aug. 28 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. The model is being used for acoustic testing, which will help NASA engineers understand how loud the SLS vehicle will be during liftoff. Data from the test series will be used to design the water sound suppression system that reduces liftoff vibrations on the vehicle. SLS will be the most powerful rocket ever built for deep-space missions, including to an asteroid and ultimately to Mars.
Original image:
www.nasa.gov/sls/multimedia/gallery/sls-august-smat-test2...
Image credit: NASA/MSFC/David Olive
More about SLS:
More SLS graphics and concepts:
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Space Launch System Flickr album
www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157627559536895/
_____________________________________________
These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
Editor's note: hello Flickr friends! Check out the new test stand being built here at Marshall Space Flight Center. Getting us closer to our #Journeytomars
A crane positions the first steel piece for the twin towers of a 215-foot-tall structural test stand for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), the most powerful rocket ever built. The steel was welded into place Aug. 31, 2015, at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. When completed, hydraulic cylinders at Test Stand 4693 will push, pull and bend the liquid hydrogen tank of the SLS’s massive core stage to subject the tank and hardware to the same loads and stresses they will endure during launch. During the tests, engineers will also apply pressure loads to the tank, which will be partially filled with inert nitrogen rather than combustive liquid hydrogen. SLS will carry astronauts in NASA's Orion spacecraft on deep space missions, including to an asteroid placed in lunar orbit and ultimately to Mars. Test Stand 4693 is being built in Marshall's West Test Area on the foundation of the stand where the Apollo Saturn V F-1 engine was tested during the 1960s.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC/Fred Deaton
Standing atop the mobile launcher, NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft arrive at Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 18, 2022. The Artemis I stack was carried from the Vehicle Assembly Building to the pad – a 4.2-mile journey that took nearly 11 hours to complete – by the agency’s crawler-transporter 2 for a wet dress rehearsal ahead of the uncrewed launch. Artemis I will test SLS and Orion as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Through Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the lunar surface, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
NASA’s crawler-transporter 2 carrying the agency’s Artemis II SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft, secured to the mobile launcher, begins the 4.2-mile journey toward Launch Complex 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Saturday, Jan. 17, 2026. Seen in the background is also mobile launcher 2, which will be used on future Artemis flights beginning with Artemis IV. The Artemis II test flight will take Commander Reid Wiseman, Pilot Victor Glover, and Mission Specialist Christina Koch from NASA, and Mission Specialist Jeremy Hansen from the CSA (Canadian Space Agency), around the Moon and back to Earth no later than April 2026. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
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In High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the left-hand and right-hand forward segments are secured on top of the center forward segments on the mobile launcher (ML) for the Space Launch System (SLS) on Feb. 24, 2021. Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams are stacking the twin five-segment boosters on the ML over a number of weeks. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. The SLS is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Photo credit: NASA/Glenn Benson
Small satellites, called CubeSats, are shown secured inside NASA’s Orion stage adapter at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 5, 2021. Technicians from Exploration Ground Systems and Jacobs teams are working with developers of the shoebox-sized secondary payloads as they undergo final processing. The ring-shaped stage adapter will be connected to the Space Launch System’s Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage, and the Orion spacecraft will be secured on top. The CubeSats will conduct a variety of science experiments and technology demonstrations that will expand our knowledge of the lunar surface during the Artemis I mission. NASA/Cory Huston
NASA engineers conducted a 550-second test of the new J-2X rocket engine at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi on July 13. The J-2X engine will power the upper-stage of a planned two-stage Space Launch System, or SLS. The SLS will launch NASA's Orion spacecraft and other payloads, and provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. Designed to be safe, affordable and flexible for crew and cargo missions, the SLS will continue America's journey of discovery and exploration to destinations including nearby asteroids, Lagrange points, the moon and ultimately, Mars.
The test, conducted on the A-2 Test Stand, continued a series of firings to gather critical data for engine development. This was the first flight-duration test of the engine's nozzle extension, a bell shaped device to increase engine performance.
Operators collected data about the nozzle extension's performance in conditions that simulated heights up to 50,000 feet. Additionally, operators introduced different propellant pressures at startup to test how the engine reacted. The J-2X is being developed by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne for NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. It is the first liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen rocket engine rated to carry humans into space to be developed in 40 years.
Credit: NASA/SSC
View NASA feature:
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/j2x/j2x_july13_1.html
More about the J-2X Engine Development:
There's a Flickr photoset about the J-2X egnine development, if you'd like to know more: www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157625345364038/
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These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
The Space Launch System (SLS) core stage is seen in the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 10, 2021. Teams with the agency’s Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs are preparing to lift the 188,000-pound core stage and place it on the mobile launcher in between the two solid rocket boosters in High Bay 3 of the VAB. The core stage alone will provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust at launch, and coupled with the boosters, will provide more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust to launch the Artemis I mission. The first in an increasingly complex series of missions, Artemis I will test SLS and the Orion spacecraft as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Photo credit: NASA/Glenn Benson
The crew module for NASA’s Artemis II mission is shown inside Kennedy Space Center’s Neil A. Armstrong Operations and Checkout Building on July 15, 2021. Artemis will lay the foundation for a sustained long-term presence on the lunar surface. NASA will use the Moon to validate deep space systems and operations before embarking on a human voyage to Mars. NASA image use policy.
Boeing is building the core stages for NASA’s next heavy-lift rocket, the 321-foot tall Space Launch System, at the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
LEARN MORE - www.boeing.com/space/space-launch-system/
In High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the left-hand forward center booster segment for Artemis I is lowered onto the center center booster segment on the mobile launcher for the Space Launch System (SLS) on Jan. 29, 2021. Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams will stack the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 over a number of weeks. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. The SLS is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
The fully stacked twin solid rocket boosters for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket are seen on top of the mobile launcher inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 9, 2021. Now that booster stacking is complete inside the VAB, teams with NASA's Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs are preparing to integrate the boosters with largest part of the SLS rocket, the massive 212-foot core stage, which arrived at Kennedy in April 2020. The 188,000-pound core stage alone will provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust during launch and ascent, and coupled with the boosters, will provide more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send the Artemis I mission to space. The first in an increasingly complex series of missions, Artemis I will test SLS and the Orion spacecraft as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
A view of the Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion spacecraft atop the mobile launcher on Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 15, 2022. Also in view are two of the three lightning towers that surround the pad and protect the SLS and Orion from lightning strikes. Artemis I is the first integrated test of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. In future Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Jason Parrish
Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs integrate the launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the massive SLS core stage on the mobile launcher in the agency’s Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 22, 2021. Engineers used one of five VAB cranes to lift the adapter almost 250-feet in the air and then slowly lower it on to the core stage. The LVSA arrived at Kennedy from the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, in July 2020 and has remained in the VAB for processing. During integration, known as “stacking,” the LVSA is bolted to the forward skirt of the core stage, connecting the core stage and the interim cryogenic propulsion stage in preparation for the first flight of the rocket and the Orion spacecraft during Artemis I. The ICPS’s RL10 engine will fit down inside the LVSA, which protects the engine during launch. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test SLS and the Orion spacecraft as an integrated system prior to crewed flights in which NASA will land the first woman and person of color on the Moon. Photo credit: NASA/Frank Michaux
The right-hand and left-hand forward assemblies for the Artemis I Space Launch System (SLS) are in the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 21, 2021. The forward assemblies will be transferred to High Bay 3 for stacking on the twin boosters on the mobile launcher. Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams will stack the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 over a number of weeks. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. The SLS is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, operations are underway to attach a cover, called a spider, to the top of the Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage pathfinder on Oct. 3, 2019. With the spider secured in place, a crane will be attached to it to lift the pathfinder into the vertical position. The 212-foot-long core stage pathfinder arrived in NASA's Pegasus Barge at Kennedy’s Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf on Sept. 27, 2019. The Pegasus Barge made its first delivery to Kennedy in support of the agency's Artemis missions. The upgraded 310-foot-long barge arrived, ferrying the SLS core stage pathfinder, a full-scale mock-up of the rocket's core stage. It will be used by Exploration Ground Systems and its contractor, Jacobs, to practice offloading, moving and stacking maneuvers, using important ground support equipment to train employees and certify all the equipment works properly. The pathfinder will stay at Kennedy for approximately one month before trekking back to NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Space Launch System, or SLS, begins a bolder mission for NASA and the world -- a new era of exploration unlike anything we're done before. Able to carry more payload than the space shuttle and generate more thrust at launch than the Saturn V, SLS will send the Orion spacecraft farther into space than Apollo ever ventured...and that's just the first flight!
Image credit: NASA
Original image:
www.nasa.gov/sls/multimedia/gallery/sls-infographic2.html
More about SLS:
More SLS graphics and concepts:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/S...
Space Launch System Flickr album
www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157627559536895/
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These official NASA photographs are being made available for publication by news organizations and/or for personal use printing by the subject(s) of the photographs. The photographs may not be used in materials, advertisements, products, or promotions that in any way suggest approval or endorsement by NASA. All Images used must be credited. For information on usage rights please visit: www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelin...
Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs lift the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage – the largest part of the rocket – and prepare to move it over to High Bay 3 in the Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be placed atop the mobile launcher in between the twin solid rocket boosters, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 12, 2021. The 188,000-pound core stage, with its four RS-25 engines, will provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust during launch and ascent, and coupled with the boosters, will provide more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send the Artemis I mission to space. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon, as well as establish a sustainable presence on the lunar surface in preparation for human missions to Mars. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston
In High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the right-hand and left-hand center aft booster segments for Artemis I have been stacked onto the left and right aft booster segments on the mobile launcher for the Space Launch System (SLS) on Jan. 12, 2021. Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams will stack the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 over a number of weeks. When the core stage arrives, it will join the boosters on the mobile launcher, followed by the interim cryogenic propulsion stage and Orion spacecraft. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the twin boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch. The SLS is managed by Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett