View allAll Photos Tagged SpaceLaunchSystem
Cliff Lanham, fourth from left, ground operations manager with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS), passes the baton to Charlie Blackwell-Thompson, Artemis I launch director, inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 16, 2022. Joining them from left, are Stacey Bagg, Matt Czech, and Liliana Villareal, with EGS. Next to Blackwell-Thomson are Jeremy Graeber, deputy launch director, and Teresa Annulis. The Space Launch System (SLS) and Orion will make the trek to Launch Complex 39B for a wet dress rehearsal ahead of launch atop the crawler-transporter 2. Artemis I will be the first integrated test of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. 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/Glenn Benson
Technicians and engineers with Exploration Ground Systems at the NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida recently tested the Crew Access Arm (CAA) that was added on the mobile launcher being prepared to support the agency’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket. The crucial test confirmed the functionality and integrity of the CAA. The CAA is designed to rotate from its retracted position and line up with Orion's crew hatch. The arm will provide entry and emergency egress for astronauts and technicians into and out of the Orion spacecraft.
Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
One of the aft booster segments for the Space Launch System is inside the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASAâs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 19, 2020. Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams will stack the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher inside the VAB 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/Frank Michaux
Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASAâs Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 17, 2020, the left and right booster segments for the Space Launch System are being prepared for their move to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams will stack the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher inside the VAB 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
An over-sized, heavy transport trailer, carrying the first half of the "G" level work platforms, arrives at the west side parking area of the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The platform, one-half of the "G" platforms, was fabricated by Steel LLC of Scottdale, Georgia, and assembled by Sauer Co. in Oak Hill, Florida. A contract to modify High Bay 3 in the VAB was awarded to Hensel Phelps Construction Co. of Orlando, Florida in March 2014. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to the high bay to support processing of NASA's Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft, and other exploration vehicles. A total of 10 levels of new platforms, 20 platforms altogether, will surround the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft and provide access for testing and processing in High Bay 3. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
One of the aft booster segments for the Space Launch System is near the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 19, 2020. Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams will stack the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher inside the VAB 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/Frank Michaux
Inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Nov. 17, 2020, the left and right booster segments for the Space Launch System are being prepared for their move to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB). Workers with Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs teams will stack the twin five-segment boosters on the mobile launcher inside the VAB 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 liquid oxygen tank confidence article for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, completes final welding on the Vertical Assembly Center at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
A liquid oxygen tank confidence article for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, completes final welding on the Vertical Assembly Center at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
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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 heavy load transport truck has arrived at the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, carrying the second half of the F-level work platforms for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The platform will be delivered to the VAB staging area in the west parking lot. The Ground Systems Development and Operations Program is overseeing upgrades and modifications to VAB High Bay 3 to support processing of the SLS and Orion spacecraft. A total of 10 levels of new platforms, 20 platform halves altogether, will surround the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft and provide access for testing and processing. Delivery of this platform brings the total to 10 platforms, or half of the work platforms delivered to Kennedy, Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
Boeing engineers Tony Castilleja and Myron Fletcher
Tony works on the CST-100 Starliner, which will provide NASA with transportation to and from the International Space Station.
Myron works on the Space Launch System, which will proper humans into deep space on NASA's Journey to Mars.
WATCH Tony talk about what inspired him to become a rocket engineer - www.boeing.com/principles/education/students-families.pag...
WATCH Myron talk about what inspired him to become a rocket engineer - www.boeing.com/principles/education/students-families.pag...
NASA engineers prepared a test article, similar in size to a rocket fuel tank, for a series of tests conducted inside the structural test area at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. These shell buckling tests allowed engineers to examine the structural design features of rocket fuel tanks in an attempt to develop new shell buckling knockdown factors, complex engineering design standards for launch vehicles. The checked orthogrid patterns inside the test article play a role in the structural strength of rocket propellant tanks. The data from these tests will be used by NASA to develop fuel tanks for the Space Launch System, which will be the most powerful rocket ever built.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC
Read more:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/p...
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...
In a brief but dazzling display, a 1.86-second burst of flame emerges from the A-1 test stand at Stennis Space Center as NASA kicks off the first in a series of J-2X powerpack tests the evening of Feb. 15.
Read the NASA press release:
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/j2x/12-016.html
Image credit: NASA/SSC
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/
_____________________________________________
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 engine section for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket for the Artemis III mission is being processed inside the high bay of the Space Station Processing Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 15. NASA and Boeing, the SLS core stage lead contractor, are installing tubing within the structure. The engine section is one of five major elements that makes up the SLS rocket’s 212-foot-tall core stage. It houses the rocket’s four RS-25 engines and vital systems for mounting, controlling, and delivering fuel from the stage’s two massive liquid propellant tanks to the engines. The engine section is one the most complex and intricate parts of the rocket stage that will help to power the Artemis missions to the Moon. NASA’s Pegasus barge delivered the SLS engine section for Artemis III from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans in December 2022. Beginning with Artemis III, technicians at the spaceport will finish outfitting the engine section before integrating it with the rest of the rocket stage. In tandem, teams at Michoud will continue to manufacture the major core stage structures. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
A specialized state-of-the-art milling tool grinds away at an aluminum ring with a diameter of nearly 20 feet in the Mechanical Fabrication Branch at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. This ring will match the design of adapter rings to be used on the flight test of the Orion spacecraft in 2014 on a Delta IV rocket and on the first flight of NASA's Space Launch System in 2017.
Credit: NASA/MSFC
Original image:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/e...
More about SLS development:
There's a Flickr photoset about NASA's Space Launch System, if you'd like to know more:
www.flickr.com/photos/nasamarshall/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...
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/
_____________________________________________
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 conducted a successful 500-second test firing of the J-2X rocket engine on Wednesday, Nov. 9, marking another important step in development of an upper stage for the heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS).
SLS will carry the Orion spacecraft, its crew, cargo, equipment and science experiments to destinations in deep space. SLS will be safe, affordable and sustainable to continue America's journey of discovery from the unique vantage point of space.
Data from the test will be analyzed as operators prepare for additional engine firings. The J-2X and the RS-25D/E engines for the SLS core stage will be tested for flight certification at Stennis. Both engines use liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants. The core stage engines were developed originally for the space shuttle.
Read the NASA press release:
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/j2x/500_second_test.html
Image credit: NASA/SSC
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/
_____________________________________________
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 NASA SLS rocket with the Orion spacecraft and European Service module in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, USA.
Taken a day before rollout to the launchpad this Moon rocket will launch the Orion spacecraft on the Artemis I mission.
In that package is the Orion spacecraft which consists of the NASA’s Crew Module, the Crew Module Adapter and ESA’s European Service Module. Together these modules will power the spacecraft around the Moon and back. Over 30 engines, four solar wings, 8.6 tons of propellant and 11 km of cables are inside. For the first Artemis mission they will work in harmony to travel from Earth to the Moon, make two flybys and return.
Credits: ESA–A. Conigli
DSC_8670proc
Edited NASA image of the SLS for the Artemis I mission in the summer.
Original caption: NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the Orion spacecraft aboard is seen illuminated by spotlights atop a mobile launcher at Launch Complex 39B, Friday, March 18, 2022, after being rollout out to the launch pad for the first time at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Ahead of NASA’s Artemis I flight test, the fully stacked and integrated SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft will undergo a wet dress rehearsal at Launch Complex 39B to verify systems and practice countdown procedures for the first launch. Photo Credit: (NASA/Joel Kowsky)
On September 8, 2018, the ML moved into High Bay 3 in NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will stay 7 months for fit tests. (Pics: Michael Seeley / We Report Space)
SLS Engine Section Barrel Hot off the Vertical Weld Center at Michoud
The barrel for the engine section of NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, is taken off the Vertical Weld Center at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The barrel is flight hardware to be used on the first uncrewed test flight of the 70-metric-ton configuration of the rocket. The engine section, made up of the barrel and a ring -- also welded at Michoud -- will hold four RS-25 engines that will power the core stage of the SLS. The core stage, towering more than 200 feet tall with a diameter of 27.5 feet, will store cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen that will feed the vehicle’s RS-25 engines.
The Vertical Weld Center is part of a family of state-of-the-art tools at Michoud that is being used to build the core stage. Along with the engine section, it will weld barrel panels together to produce whole barrels for the SLS two pressurized tanks, the intertank and the forward skirt. It stands about three stories tall and weighs 150 tons.
On September 8, 2018, the ML moved into High Bay 3 in NASA's Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will stay 7 months for fit tests. (Pics: Michael Seeley / We Report Space)
On Dec. 14, NASA engineers conducted their final J-2X engine test for 2011 -- the 10th in a series -- at the A-2 test stand at the Stennis Space Center. The upper stage engine is a key component of the Space Launch System, a new heavy-lift launch vehicle capable of missions beyond low-Earth orbit.
Read the NASA press release:
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/j2x/11-158.html
Image credit: NASA/SSC
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/
_____________________________________________
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...
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
The J-2X powerpack is installed and ready for testing in the A-1 test stand at the Stennis Space Center.
For engineers working on the J-2X engine program, installation of the upgraded J-2X powerpack on the A-1 Test Stand on Dec. 5 had to feel like a long-awaited holiday gift.
The powerpack consists of a gas generator and turbopumps and is a critical component for the new engine. It is responsible for pumping liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the engine’s main combustion chamber to produce the needed thrust capability. Arrival and installation of the next-generation engine component marked the culmination of more than two years of extensive modification work to prepare the A-1 stand for the critical test series. The major work effort began after NASA engineers completed an initial series of tests on a heritage J-2 engine powerpack in mid-2008.
Read the NASA Web feature:
www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/j2x/11-152.html
Image credit: NASA/SSC
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/
_____________________________________________
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...
State of NASA event at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center on Monday, Feb. 2
On Monday, Feb. 2 NASA Marshall invited social media followers to an in-person State of NASA event. The event included a tour of the center which showcased highlights of the work Marshall is doing on the Space Launch System, NASA’s new heavy lift rocket. Another tour segment included the development and maintenance on the advanced life support systems on the International Space Station, as well as the life support systems that could be used on future exploration missions to Mars and other deep space destinations.
Image credit: Emmett Given (NASA/MSFC)
The twin towers of a 215-foot-tall structural test stand for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), the world's most powerful rocket for human space exploration, take shape at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. After construction is completed, hydraulic cylinders at Test Stand 4693 will push and pull 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. 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. (Photo courtesy Brasfield & Gorrie)
_____________________________________________
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...
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:
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...
Before testing the 3-D printed rocket injector, materials engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., performed a computer tomography scan to ensure the part was fabricated according to the design.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC
Read more:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/3...
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/3dprinting.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...
Exploration Ground Systems’ mobile launcher makes its last solo trek along the crawlerway atop crawler-transporter 2 to Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39B in Florida on June 27, 2019. The mobile launcher departed from the Vehicle Assembly Building at midnight on June 27 for the 10-hour journey to the pad and will remain there for the summer, undergoing final testing and checkouts. Its next roll to the pad will be with the agency’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft in preparation for the launch of Artemis 1. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
Engineers at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility transfer a 22-foot-tall barrel section of the SLS core stage from the Vertical Weld Center. The barrel section, above, will be used for the liquid hydrogen tank, which will help power the SLS rocket out of Earth’s orbit.
Image credit: NASA/Michoud
Read more:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/sls-barrel-at-michou...
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/b...
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...
The Orion spacecraft for Artemis II, the first crewed mission to the Moon in over 50 years, is now equipped with its powerful solar wings. Built and attached by European engineers, these four, seven-metre-long solar arrays are attached to ESA's European Service Module, rotating to absorb the most sunlight and provide essential power to Orion and its crew as they travel to the Moon and back.
The solar arrays were manufactured by engineers at Airbus in the Netherlands and were sent to the United States in 2023. Since then, they have been through rigorous testing, including an acoustic test that simulates the intense vibrations at launch. Last week, engineers from Airbus installed the four solar arrays at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. They carefully secured each wing with 16 hold-down mechanisms to ensure stability during launch; once in orbit, an electrical current will trigger deployment, allowing the panels to unfold automatically.
With the solar wings now installed, the next step is to add protective fairing panels around the European Service Module. Once Orion reaches space, these panels will detach, and the solar arrays will unfold to greet the Sun's light, powering the spacecraft.
Learn more about the intricate solar array installation process on our blog.
Credits: Lockheed Martin
A liquid oxygen tank confidence article for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, completes final welding on the Vertical Assembly Center at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
A liquid oxygen tank confidence article for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, completes final welding on the Vertical Assembly Center at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.
_______________________________
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...
Jim Bolton, Core Stage Element Operations manager in Exploration Ground Systems (EGS), is at the north end of the transfer aisle in the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Oct. 3, 2019. Behind him is the Space Launch System Core Stage pathfinder. A cover, called a spider, is being attached to the top of the pathfinder. 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 aboard 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 EGS 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
Nasa's Pegasus barge that will carry fuel tanks for the Space Launch System to other NASA facilities for testing and launches.
More Info:
NASA Infographic: www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/barge-peg...
Pegasus Barge Fact Sheet: www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/atoms/files/sls_pegasus_...
Exploration Ground Systems’ mobile launcher departs from Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building at midnight on June 27, 2019, for its final solo trek to Launch Complex 39B in Florida. After the 10-hour journey to the pad, the mobile launcher will remain there for the summer, undergoing final testing and checkouts. Its next roll to the pad will be with the agency’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft in preparation for the launch of Artemis 1. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
Liftoff!!
At 1:48am (ET) Wednesday the #Artemis1 mission took flight, as the Space Launch System aka #SLS carried the Orion spacecraft to space.
#WeAreGoing? We just went…to the Moon!
Just amazing, and LOUD!
The future of NASA space flight, the Space Launch System, on the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B
An artist rendering of the various configurations of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS), managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The flexible configuration, sharing the same basic core-stage, allows for different crew and cargo flights as needed, promoting efficiency, time and cost savings. The SLS enables exploration missions beyond low-Earth orbit and support travel to asteroids, Mars and other destinations within our solar system.
Image credit: NASA
Original image:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/s...
More about SLS:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html
Space Launch System Flickr photoset:
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...
The future of NASA space flight, the Space Launch System, on the Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39B
One of the largest composite cryotanks ever built recently completed a battery of tests at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The tank was lowered into a structural test stand where it was tested with cryogenic hydrogen and structural loads were applied to simulate stresses the tank would experience during launch. Next-generation technologies including composite systems have the potential to make rockets, including NASA’s Space Launch System -- a deep space rocket being developed at Marshall -- more capable and affordable.
Read more:
www.nasa.gov/press/2014/august/nasa-completes-successful-...
Image credit: NASA/MSFC/David Olive
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/
_____________________________________________
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...
Monday morning view of the #SpaceLaunchSystem and Orion spacecraft. The #artemis mission launch window was scheduled from 8:33am to 10:33am, but the launch was called off because of issues with one of the rocket engines.
The next possible launch attempt is Friday, September 2.
#WeAreGoing
Editor's note: Happy Thursday! There's also a great 46-second video of this test firing located here: www.youtube.com/watch?v=IOFxrzOR7q4.
Two-percent scale models of the Space Launch System (SLS) solid rocket boosters and core stage RS-25 engines, which will power the vehicle to deep space missions, have been designed and built ahead of base heating testing scheduled this summer. The current model RS-25 engine clocking configuration, different from the SLS configuration, is used to adequately visualize plumes during the Pathfinder Test Program. The work was a collaborative effort between Marshall Center engineers and Calspan-University of Buffalo Research Center Inc. in Buffalo, N.Y.
In this image, the 2-percent scale models of the SLS boosters and core stage engines are ignited for a 100 millisecond, hot-fire test. The test was used to validate the design of the models.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC
Original image:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/gallery/s...
Read full information about test:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/sls-mini-rocket-mode...
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...
Construction workers stage parts and equipment nearby Launch Pad 39B at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Feb. 22, 2019. The launch pad has undergone upgrades and modifications to accommodate NASA's Space Launch System and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1 and subsequent missions. Upgrades include new heat-resistant bricks on the walls of the flame trench and installation of a new flame deflector. All of the upgrades have been managed by Exploration Ground Systems. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
Jason Eldridge, an ERC Incorporated employee supporting the Materials & Processes Laboratory at the Marshall Center, signs his name on the interior of the adapter. Marshall Center team members who were involved in the design, construction and testing of the adapter had the opportunity to autograph it before the hardware is shipped to NASA's Kennedy Space Center. (NASA/MSFC/)
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/
________________________________
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...
During rollout operations for NASA’s Artemis I Moon rocket, the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building is visible in the background behind the countdown clock at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2022. As part of the agency’s Artemis I flight test, the fully stacked and integrated Space Launch System (SLS) rocket with the 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