SpaceLaunchSystem photos on Flickr

Space Launch System night launch by Lia Chan

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J-2X -- Back in the Saddle Again (NASA, J-2X, SLS, 11/27/12) by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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A J-2X power pack assembly burns brightly during a hot fire test Nov. 27 at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Engineers pulled the assembly from the test stand in September to install additional instrumentation in the fuel turbopump. The test, which ran for 278 seconds, verified the newly installed strain gauges designed to measure the turbine structural strain when the turbopump is spinning at high speeds that vary between 25,000 and 30,000 rotations-per-minute. The J-2X engine -- built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif. -- will power the upper stage of NASA's Space Launch System, managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The new heavy-lift rocket system will launch the Orion spacecraft and enable humans to explore new destinations beyond low Earth orbit.

Image credit: NASA/SSC

View original image/caption:

www.nasa.gov/topics/technology/features/cryotank.html

More about the J-2X Engine Development:

www.nasa.gov/j2x

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/

_____________________________________________

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...

KSC-20200203-PH-KLS01_0216 by NASA Kennedy

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Members of the Artemis I launch team participate in a countdown simulation inside the Launch Control Center’s Firing Room 1 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 3, 2020. Under the leadership of Launch Director Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, a team of nearly 100 engineers from Orion, Space Launch System (SLS) and NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems came together to work through a series of simulated challenges, as well as a final countdown procedure. During these exercises, different issues were introduced to familiarize the team with launch day operations, while providing them with an opportunity to practice how they would handle those issues in real-time. Artemis I will be the first integrated test flight of the Orion spacecraft and SLS rocket – the system that will ultimately land the first woman and the next man on the Moon. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA image use policy.

Artemis I at Pad 39B by VALERIE ROCHE

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Standing atop the mobile launcher, NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket is photographed at Launch Pad 39B at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 18, 2022. The rocket, with the Orion capsule atop, 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 Artemis I 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.

Operation Insulation: NASA Marshall Prepares for SLS Foam Testing by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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It’s “Operation Insulation” for NASA’s new rocket, the Space Launch System, at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Steve Bray, above, a Bevilacqua Research Corp. employee supporting Marshall’s Engineering Directorate, is part of a team of engineers and technicians who are preparing panels that will be used for testing foam insulation materials for SLS -- the largest, most powerful launch vehicle in the world for deep-space missions, including Mars. Different types of polyurethane-based foam will be used to protect and insulate the SLS core stage and launch vehicle stage adapter, which connects the core stage to the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS). The ICPS will give the Orion spacecraft the big push needed to fly beyond the moon before the spacecraft returns to Earth. Approximately 180 panels have been prepped for various tests, which are being conducted to qualify the insulation for the challenging environments SLS will experience before and during flight. The Marshall Center manages the SLS Program for NASA.

Image credit: NASA/MSFC

Hardware for NASA’s Journey to Mars is 'Big Catch' for Upcoming Test Series by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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A lid is lifted off to reveal the interim cryogenic propulsion stage test article, which is similar to the upper part of NASA’s Space Launch System. On the first flight of SLS with NASA's deep-space craft, the ICPS is the liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen-based system that will give Orion the big, in-space push needed to fly beyond the moon before it returns to Earth.

To read the full article, click here.

_____________________________________________

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, click here.

Turning Down the Volume on Rocket Noise (NASA, SLS, 06/17/14) by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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A 5-percent scale model, including solid rocket motors, of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) is ignited to test how low- and high-frequency sound waves will affect the rocket on the launch pad. The data collected from the tests will be used to help direct and verify the design of the rocket's sound suppression system.

More about SLS:

www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html

More SLS Photos:

www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/S...

Space Launch System Flickr photoset:

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...

KSC-20210223-PH-GEB01_0072 by NASA Kennedy

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Inside High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane lowers the right-hand forward segment onto the center forward segment on Feb. 23, 2021. Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs are completing the stacking of the twin solid rocket boosters on the mobile launcher for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS). 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

NASA image use policy.

KSC-20210428-PH-KLS01_0002 by NASA Kennedy

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From left, Kennedy Space Center Deputy Director Janet Petro, Director Bob Cabana, Exploration Ground Systems’ (EGS) Senior Vehicle Operations Manager Cliff Lanham, Space Launch System (SLS) Stages Manager Julie Bassler, and Associate Director, Technical, Kelvin Manning celebrate the arrival of the SLS core stage on April 28, 2021, with a symbolic “passing of the baton” from the SLS program to EGS. Journeying from NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi aboard the Pegasus barge, the core stage arrived at the Florida spaceport on April 27 to be processed for flight by EGS. It is the final piece of Artemis hardware to arrive at Kennedy and will be offloaded and moved to the Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be prepared for integration atop the mobile launcher with the completed stack of solid rocket boosters 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/Kim Shiflett

NASA image use policy.

KSC-20210302-PH-ILW01_0172 by NASA Kennedy

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In the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers use a crane to lift the right-hand forward assembly for the Space Launch System (SLS) high up for transfer into High Bay 3 on March 2, 2021. The forward assembly will be attached to the center forward segment on the mobile launcher (ML). 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. 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

NASA image use policy.

KSC-20190927-PH-MTD01_0086 by NASA Kennedy

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NASA's Pegasus Barge arrives at the Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf at Kennedy Space Center in Florida to make its first delivery to Kennedy in support of the agency's Artemis missions. The upgraded 310-foot-long barge arrived Sept. 27, 2019, ferrying the 212-foot-long Space Launch System rocket core stage pathfinder. The pathfinder is a full-scale mock-up of the rocket's core stage. The pathfinder will be used by the Exploration Ground Systems Program and their 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/Mike Downs

NASA image use policy.

Rocket roll by European Space Agency

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The Artemis II rocket has reached its launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, United States, ready for a historic journey. Over the weekend, engineers slowly and carefully rolled the nearly 100-metre-tall Space Launch System rocket from the Vehicle Assembly Building to Launch Complex 39B. The 6.5-km journey took around 12 hours and was carried out using NASA’s crawler-transporter, which has been moving rockets to launch pads for over 50 years.

Standing nearly 100 m tall, the Space Launch System will weigh approximately 2.6 million kg once fully fuelled and ready for liftoff. At its top sits the Orion spacecraft, bearing the ESA and NASA logos and designed to carry four astronauts on a 10-day lunar flyby mission. Artemis II will be the first crewed flight of the Artemis programme and the first time humans have ventured towards the Moon in over 50 years.

Their journey depends on our European Service Module, built by industry from more than 10 countries across Europe. This powerhouse will take over once Orion separates from the rocket, supplying electricity from its four seven-metre long solar arrays, providing air and water for the crew, and performing key propulsion burns during the mission, including the critical trans-lunar injection that sends the spacecraft on its trajectory towards the Moon.

European engineers will be at mission control around the clock, monitoring operations from ESA’s ESTEC site in the Netherlands and alongside NASA teams in the Mision Evaluation Room at the Johnson Space Center in Houston.

The European Service Module’s main engine carries a unique legacy. Originally flown on six Space Shuttle missions between 2000 and 2002, the engine was refurbished and tested after two decades in storage and installed on the second European Service Module at Airbus in Bremen, Germany, giving this historic piece of hardware a new role in deep-space exploration.

The next major milestone is the wet dress rehearsal, during which teams will practise fuelling the rocket and running through the launch countdown, bringing Artemis II one step closer to launch.

Credits: ESA-S. Corvaja

KSC-20200625-PH-KLS01_0013 by NASA Kennedy

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Kathy Lueders, second from right, NASA’s associate administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, along with members of the Exploration Ground Systems and Jacobs Technology leadership view Artemis hardware inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 25, 2020. Manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah, the solid rocket booster segments for the Space Launch System rocket are in view. 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

NASA image use policy.

KSC-20210714-PH-GEB01_0016 by NASA Kennedy

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NASA astronaut Christina Koch stands inside Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building on July 14, 2021, in front of the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will power the Orion spacecraft on the Artemis I mission later this year. Artemis I will be an uncrewed flight test of Orion and SLS as an integrated system ahead of missions with astronauts. Under Artemis, NASA aims to land the first woman and first person of color on the Moon and establish a long-lasting presence on and around the Moon while preparing for human missions to Mars. NASA image use policy.

Space Launch System Roll Out by Michael Seeley

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This is the fully-assembled NASA Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion capsule, seen outside the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center for the first time on March 17, 2022. Here the rocket is being transported to Launch Complex 39B, where it will undergo tests and a "wet dress rehearsal" in advance of the Artemis 1 mission.

For its inaugural launch, currently scheduled for mid-2022, the SLS will send the Orion capsule on a journey around the Moon and back.

The 4-mile journey to the pad took approximately 11-hours; The aptly named Crawler Transporter crawls along at about .8mph (1.28kph).

Putting a Ring on It for the First Flight of SLS (NASA, SLS, 08/27/14) by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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At NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, all of the flight rings for the Space Launch System's first mission, EM-1, have been welded. The rings were made using the Segmented Ring Tool, which uses a friction-stir-weld process to produce segmented support rings for the SLS core stage. The 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 rings connect and provide stiffness between domes and barrels. The Boeing Co. is the prime contractor for the SLS core stage, including avionics.

Original image:

www.nasa.gov/sls/multimedia/gallery/sls-flight-ring.html

Image credit: Boeing

More about SLS:

www.nasa.gov/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/

_____________________________________________

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...

Attaching a towing bridal to the Orion Crew Module (December2014) by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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#HappyNewYearMarshall

KSC-20191031-PH-CSH01_0002 by NASA Kennedy

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NASA’s Pegasus barge, with the 212-foot-long Space Launch System (SLS) rocket core stage pathfinder secured inside, departs the Launch Complex 39 turn basin wharf at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 31, 2019. The core stage pathfinder is a full-scale mock-up of the rocket's core stage. It was used by the Exploration Ground Systems Program and their contractor, Jacobs, to practice offloading, moving and stacking maneuvers inside the Vehicle Assembly Building, using important ground support equipment to train employees and certify all the equipment works properly. The pathfinder was at Kennedy for about a month. The barge with the pathfinder will make the trek back to NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

NASA image use policy.

KSC-20210126-PH-KLS01_0005 by NASA Kennedy

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The twin boosters for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis I are in view in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Jan. 26, 2021. Work is in progress to lower the right-hand center center booster segment onto the center aft booster segment 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

NASA image use policy.

KSC-20220816-PH-JBS01_0092 by NASA Kennedy

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The mobile launcher with NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft rolls out of the Vehicle Assembly Building’s High Bay 3 to Launch Complex 39B on Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. As part of the agency’s Artemis I flight test, the fully stacked and integrated SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft 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/Ben Smegelsky

NASA image use policy.

NASA’s Orion spacecraft by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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NASA’s Orion spacecraft completed its move to Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 37 at 3:07 a.m. Nov. 12. After arrival at the launch pad, engineers and technicians will lift Orion and mount it atop a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket. Orion is scheduled to launch Dec. 4 atop the Delta IV for its first unpiloted flight test, and in 2018 on NASA’s Space Launch System. SLS will be the most powerful rocket ever built for deep space missions, including to an asteroid and ultimately Mars. The Marshall Center manages the SLS Program for the agency.

Image credit: NASA

More about SLS:

www.nasa.gov/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/

KSC-20191016-PH-JBS01_0176 by NASA Kennedy

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Inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a worker watches as a crane lowers the Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage pathfinder into High Bay 3 on Oct. 16, 2019. The 212-foot-long core stage pathfinder arrived on 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 pathfinder is being 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 through at least the month of October before trekking back to NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in Louisiana. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

NASA image use policy.

J-2X Powerpack Test Sets Record (NASA, J-2X, SLS, 06/08/12) by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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During a record-breaking June 8 test, engineers throttled the J-2X powerpack up and down several times to explore numerous operating points required for the fuel and oxidizer turbopumps. The results of this test will be useful for determining performance and hardware life for the J-2X engine turbopumps. The J-2X engine will power the upper stage of the evolved NASA¹s Space Launch System, an advanced heavy-lift rocket that will provide an entirely new national capability for human exploration beyond Earth¹s orbit. The test was conducted at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is developing the J-2X engine for NASA¹s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Credit: NASA/SSC

View NASA feature:

www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/j2x/12-167.html

More about the J-2X Engine Development:

www.nasa.gov/j2x

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/

_____________________________________________

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...

Wind Tunnel Testing for SLS Liftoff (NASA, Space Launch System, 09/20/13) by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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Environmental factors, like wind gusts, can factor into an aircraft's performance. NASA's new heavy-lift launch vehicle, the Space Launch System (SLS), is no exception when it comes to Mother Nature.

NASA engineers and contractors recently completed liftoff transition testing of a 67.5-inch model of the SLS in a 14-by-22-foot subsonic wind tunnel at NASA’s Langley Research Center in Hampton, Va. Data acquired from the test will help prepare SLS for its first mission in 2017, Exploration Mission-1, which will deliver an unmanned Orion spacecraft to a stable lunar orbit to check out the vehicle's fully integrated systems.

Wind tunnel tests are a tried-and-true method to understand the forces an object may endure as it moves through the atmosphere.

Instead of learning how environmental factors affect the SLS only during flight, engineers have started at the beginning to improve understanding of how the environment also affects the rocket while it's sitting on the pad, ready for liftoff.

"In a typical wind tunnel test, we point the model into the flow field," said John Blevins, lead engineer for aerodynamics and acoustics in the Spacecraft & Vehicle Systems Department at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "For the liftoff test, that's not the case. The wind is actually traversing across the model at much higher angles -- simulating a liftoff environment."

Engineers tested four different payload configurations of the SLS, carrying up to 130 metric tons.

"The test data is key to ensure vehicle control as we lift off and pass the ground tower," Blevins added. "At supersonic speeds, engineers can more easily compute the forces and moments, but that's more challenging at low speeds. This test is low speed, with winds in the tunnel only reaching up to 160 miles per hour."

With winds up to 160 mph over the model, engineers can measure forces and moments that the air exerts over the vehicle.

"Moments, or torque, act like a twisting force on the vehicle," explained Jeremy Pinier, research aerospace engineer in Langley’s Configuration Aerodynamics Branch.

Understanding forces and moments upon the vehicle at different wind conditions enables the vehicle to fly safely.

Engineers also used a technique for studying airflow streamlines called smoke flow visualization. Smoke is put into the wind flow and can be seen during testing. This allows engineers to see how the wind flow hits the surface of the model. "Understanding the flow patterns can give us insight into what we are seeing in the data," Pinier explained.

Image credit: NASA/LaRC

Read more about SLS wind tunnel testing:

www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/sls-wind-tunnel-lift...

More about SLS:

www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html

More SLS Photos:

www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/S...

Space Launch System Flickr photoset:

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...

Space Launch System Welding Barrels at Michoud (NASA, SLS, 08/27/14) by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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Ten barrels have been welded, including the first four LH2 qualification barrels, for the SLS core stage at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The Vertical Weld Center tool welds barrel panels together to produce whole barrels for the two pressurized tanks, the forward skirt and the aft engine section. Soon, the Vertical Assembly Center will be used to join domes, rings and barrels together to complete the tanks or dry structure assemblies.

Original image:

www.nasa.gov/sls/multimedia/gallery/sls-welding-barrels.html

Image credit: Boeing

More about SLS:

www.nasa.gov/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/

_____________________________________________

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...

Storms and Sunrise over the SLS by Michael Seeley

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Saturday morning with SLS & Orion (redux): Lots of lightning, and then 20-minutes later the rising Sun appeared through the clouds and rain.

That rocket, NASA's Space Launch System, is scheduled to launch on 8/29, sending the Orion spacecraft to the Moon.

Orion on the move by European Space Agency

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On 3 May, the fully assembled Orion spacecraft for Artemis II began its journey to the Multi-Payload Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. The spacecraft is shown in transport, with its protective fairing panels clearly visible and proudly bearing the ESA and NASA logos.

This milestone marks the end of Orion’s assembly and testing phase, and the start of launch preparations for the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon in over 50 years. ESA’s European Service Module, just underneath the fairing panels, will provide power, propulsion and life support essentials for the four astronauts flying around the Moon and back.

At the Multi-Payload Processing Facility, engineers will load Orion with propellants and other essential fluids in preparation for its 10-day mission, the first of several final steps before stacking Orion atop NASA’s powerful Space Launch System rocket.

Read more about Europe’s role in Artemis II and what’s next for Orion here.

Credits: NASA-K. Shiflett

KSC-20210429-PH-JBS02_0217 by NASA Kennedy

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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. 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/Ben Smegelsky

NASA image use policy.

KSC-20220816-PH-JBS01_0027 by NASA Kennedy

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The mobile launcher with NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft aboard is seen inside the Vehicle Assembly Building during the opening of the doors to High Bay 3 before rolling out to Launch Complex 39B for launch, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. As part of the agency’s Artemis I flight test, the fully stacked and integrated SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft 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/Ben Smegelsky

NASA image use policy.

STS 124 by David Chilson

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KSC-20201123-PH-CSH01_0008 by NASA Kennedy

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The first of two Artemis I aft booster segments for the Space Launch System is secured onto the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASAâs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 23, 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/Corey Huston

NASA image use policy.

Artist Concept of SLS on Launchpad by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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Artist Concept of SLS on Launchpad

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)

J-2X Engine Test: Shake, Rattle, Roar (NASA, J-2X, SLS, 05/16/12) by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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The shake, rattle and roar lasted just seven seconds, but the short J-2X test conducted May 16 at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi moved the space agency ever closer to a return to deep space. NASA operators tested the next-generation J-2X engine on the A-2 Test Stand at Stennis to collect early data on performance of the engine and test stand with the new nozzle extension and clamshell configuration. The test also provided data on startup and shutdown processes. The J-2X engine is the first new liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen rocket engine developed in 40 years that will be rated to carry humans into space. The May 16 test was part of a second series of firings to collect critical data for continued development of the engine. The J-2X engine is being developed for NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif.

Credit: NASA/SSC

View NASA feature:

www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/j2x/CLT-12-053.html

View video:

www.nasa.gov/multimedia/videogallery/index.html?media_id=...

More about the J-2X Engine Development:

www.nasa.gov/j2x

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/

_____________________________________________

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...

RS-25D Engine Awaits Shipment at KSC (NASA, Space Launch System, 01/12/12) by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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A RS-25D engine in the Engine Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., is awaiting placement in a transportation canister for shipment to Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi. The 15 RS-25D engines used during the Space Shuttle Program will be stored at Stennis for future use on NASA's new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System, which will carry NASA's new Orion spacecraft, cargo, equipment and science experiments beyond low-Earth orbit.

Image credit: NASA/KSC

Original image:

www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/R...

More about the RS-25D:

www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/rs25d.html

More about SLS:

www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html

Space Launch System Flickr photoset:

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...

5-SLS by VALERIE ROCHE

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Hello Lego friends,

A new era of human space exploration for NASA dawns with the Space Launch System, or SLS. This super heavy-lift launch vehicle will take the Orion spacecraft and its crew of up to four astronauts beyond Earth’s orbit, enabling missions to the Moon, Mars and deep-space destinations.

Designed to reach a record-breaking speed of Mach 23 and rated for payloads of 26 metric tons, this variant will complete the first three Artemis Lunar missions.

At 1:110 scale, our product idea includes a total of 2020 Lego bricks and has three key sections.

Core stage

•Four RS-25 engines.

•External fuel line.

•Two solid boosters.

•Launch vehicle stage adaptor.

•1,953 bricks and 30 decals.

•Diameter: 10 studs, 8 cm or 3.14 inches.

•Rocket & Boosters width: 19 studs, 15.2 cm or 2.04 inches.

•Height: 126 studs, 100.8 cm or 39.68 inches.

•

Orion Crew Vehicle

•Crew module.

•Service module - with collapsed and extended solar arrays.

•Launch abort system.

•Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage.

•71 bricks and 19 decals.

•Diameter: 4 studs, 3.2 cm or 1.25 inches.

•Height: 15 studs, 12 cm or 4.72 inches.

•Wingspan: 15 studs, 12 cm or 4.72 inches.

Optional Display Stand

•Displays SLS ready for launch at Kennedy Space Center’s Pad 39B.

•222 bricks.

•Width: 24 studs, 19.2 cm or 7.55 inches.

•Length: 28 studs, 22.4 cm or 8.81 inches.

•Height: 10 studs, 8 cm or 3.14 inches.

This collaborative project was created by Saturn V co-designer Valerie Roche (Whatsuptoday) and her SpaceX Collection/ Starship & New Glenn Co-Designer Matthew Nolan, along with co-designer of SpaceX Starship Mark Nolan.

Please, visite our Lego Ideas project: ideas.lego.com/projects/e72800b7-14d6-40b4-b9f1-d9a60efc9e45

Have it fun and enjoy it!

Marcie Nolan, Matthew Nolan & Valérie Roche

KSC-20210610-PH-FMX01_0009 by NASA Kennedy

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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 10, 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/Frank Michaux

NASA image use policy.

The SLS RS-25 Engine: Eight Minutes of Pure Power by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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When NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket roars to life on the launch pad, NASA’s Artemis astronauts inside the Orion spacecraft will feel the power of the rocket’s four RS-25 engines for eight minutes.The four RS-25 engines on SLS are some of the most efficient engines ever built. Two giant propellant tanks on the SLS core stage provide the fuel to power the engines that, together, provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon. The RS-25 engines are produced by Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies Company. Watch this video to learn more about how these engines have been adapted from the Space Shuttle Program for the SLS rocket’s bold missions into deep space.

Credit: NASA

#NASA #NASAMarshall #sls #spacelaunchsystem #nasasls #exploration #rocket #artemis #ArtemisIII #ICPS #astronauts #RocketScience

More about SLS:

www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html

More SLS Photos:

www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/S...

Space Launch System Flickr photoset:

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...

SLS / Artemis by Michael Seeley

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Shortly after 12:01am (ET) Monday, the Space Launch System (aka "SLS) and the Orion spacecraft exited the Vehicle Assembly Building and began the roll to LC39B.

This was the view from the nearby Press Site at ~1am, shortly before the crew access arm was retracted.

Unprecedented X-ray View of Supernova Remains (September2014) by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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#HappyNewYearMarshall

Astronauts at the Artemis Launch Pad by NASA Johnson

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NASA astronauts and astronaut candidates 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 at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 2, 2022. The astronauts are, from left to right: Victor Glover, NASA astronaut; Marcos Berrios, NASA astronaut candidate; Anne McClain, NASA astronaut; Anil Menon and Deniz Burnham, NASA astronaut candidates; and Zena Cardman, NASA astronaut. 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. 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. Credit: NASA/Steven Seipel

900-pound Steel Beam lifted for Top of Test Stand 4697 by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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A 900-pound steel beam is lifted to "top out" Test Stand 4697, which is under construction to test the Space Launch System liquid oxygen tank at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center. SLS will be the world's most powerful rocket and carry astronauts in NASA's Orion spacecraft on deep-space missions, including the journey to Mars. "Topping out" is a builders' rite traditionally held when the last beam is placed on top of a structure during its construction. The 85-foot-tall test stand 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 tests also will verify the models already in place that predict the amount of loads the core stage can withstand during launch and ascent. (NASA/Marshall/Emmett Given)

More SLS Photos:

www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/S...

Space Launch System Flickr photoset:

www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157627559536895/

#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...

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Engine Controller unit by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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The engine controller unit allows communication between the vehicle and the engine, relaying commands to the engine and transmitting data back to the vehicle. Engineering model controllers are being tested at the Marshall Center and Stennis Space Center.

Image credit: NASA/MSFC

More about SLS:

www.nasa.gov/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/

_____________________________________________

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...

Second SLS Test Stand Begins Rise at NASA Marshall by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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A crane moves the first steel tier to be bolted into place on Jan. 6, for welding of a second new structural test stand at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama -- critical to development of NASA's Space Launch System. When completed in 2016, 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 stand is rising in Marshall's West Test Area, where work is also underway on the 215-foot-tall towers of Test Stand 4693, which will conduct similar structural tests on the SLS core stage's liquid hydrogen tank. SLS, the most powerful rocket ever built, will carry astronauts in NASA's Orion spacecraft on deep space missions, including the journey to Mars. (NASA/MSFC/FredDeaton)

For more information on the Space Launch System, visit: www.nasa.gov/sls

More SLS Photos:

www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/S...

Space Launch System Flickr photoset:

www.flickr.com/photos/28634332@N05/sets/72157627559536895/

#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

SLS Boosters Centered on Qualification Test (NASA, Space Launch System, 06/03/13) by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

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The center aft segment for qualification motor-1 (QM-1), a full-scale version of a solid rocket motor for the Space Launch System (SLS), was transported May 29 to its test area at ATK's facility in Promontory, Utah. SLS is an advanced heavy-lift launch vehicle that will provide an entirely new national capability for human exploration beyond Earth's orbit.

The center aft piece will be integrated with the other segments in preparation for a test firing of QM-1, scheduled for late 2013. The five-segment booster is the largest, most powerful solid rocket booster ever built for flight.

The SLS Program is managed at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. ATK is the prime contractor for the boosters. The booster development is on track to support SLS's first flight in 2017.

Image credit: ATK

More about SLS:

www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html

Space Launch System Flickr photoset:

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...

KSC-20200911-PH-KLS01_0069 by NASA Kennedy

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Technicians with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems rehearse lifting operations using a mock-up of the Space Launch System (SLS) aft booster segment, referred to as a pathfinder, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Sept. 11, 2020, in preparation for Artemis I. The exercise involved preparing the aft pathfinder segment in High Bay 4 of the VAB and moving it over to High Bay 3, where it was placed on the mobile launcher. Stacking of the actual booster segments will occur later this year, before the SLS core stage arrives at Kennedy. Artemis I is the first in a series of increasingly complex missions that will test SLS and the Orion spacecraft as an integrated system prior to crewed flights to the Moon. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

NASA image use policy.

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