View allAll Photos Tagged SpaceLaunchSystem
NASA’s Pegasus barge, carrying the agency’s massive SLS (Space Launch System) core stage, arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Complex 39 turn basin wharf in Florida on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, after journeying from the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The core stage is the next piece of Artemis hardware to arrive at the spaceport and will be offloaded and moved to NASA Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be prepared for integration ahead of the Artemis II launch. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
NASA image use policy.
In this aerial view, teams with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) transport the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) core stage to the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, after it completed the journey from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans aboard the Pegasus barge. In the coming months, SLS will be prepared for integration atop the mobile launcher ahead of the Artemis II launch. Photo credit: NASA/Jamie Peer and Michael Downs
NASA image use policy.
NASA’s Pegasus barge, carrying the agency’s massive SLS (Space Launch System) core stage, arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Complex 39 turn basin wharf in Florida on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, after journeying from the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The core stage is the next piece of Artemis hardware to arrive at the spaceport and will be offloaded and moved to NASA Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be prepared for integration ahead of the Artemis II launch. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
NASA image use policy.
NASA engineers load a structural test version of the Orion Stage Adapter for NASA's Space Launch System onto NASA’s Super Guppy Aircraft at the Redstone Arsenal Airfield in Huntsville, Alabama, for delivery to Lockheed Martin in Denver. The OSA connects NASA's Orion spacecraft to the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion System, which will give the spacecraft its big, in-space boost to fly around the moon in its first integrated flight with SLS. Built at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, the OSA was used in integrated structural testing for the top of the SLS rocket and will be used in similar testing with Orion at Lockheed. The Guppy has a cargo compartment that is 25 feet tall, 25 feet wide and 111 feet long and can carry up to 24 tons. The aircraft has a unique hinged nose that can open 110 degrees, allowing large pieces of cargo to be loaded and unloaded from the front.
Image credits: NASA/MSFC/Emmett Given
This image is excerpted from a U.S. GAO report:
www.gao.gov/products/GAO-15-596
SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM: Management Tools Should Better Track to Cost and Schedule Commitments to Adequately Monitor Increasing Risk
Inside NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, a massive aluminum dome section undergoes welding using a PAR Systems I-Stir Friction Welder — a precision tool developed for joining thick aerospace materials without melting them. This technique, essential for spacecraft and fuel tank construction, uses frictional heat and mechanical pressure to create exceptionally strong, defect-free joints. Boeing engineers employ the system for the assembly of rocket and space vehicle components, part of a long legacy of large-scale fabrication at Michoud dating back to the Saturn V and Space Shuttle programs.
NASA engineers load a structural test version of the Orion Stage Adapter for NASA's Space Launch System onto NASA’s Super Guppy Aircraft at the Redstone Arsenal Airfield in Huntsville, Alabama, for delivery to Lockheed Martin in Denver. The OSA connects NASA's Orion spacecraft to the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion System, which will give the spacecraft its big, in-space boost to fly around the moon in its first integrated flight with SLS. Built at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, the OSA was used in integrated structural testing for the top of the SLS rocket and will be used in similar testing with Orion at Lockheed. The Guppy has a cargo compartment that is 25 feet tall, 25 feet wide and 111 feet long and can carry up to 24 tons. The aircraft has a unique hinged nose that can open 110 degrees, allowing large pieces of cargo to be loaded and unloaded from the front.
Image credits: NASA/MSFC/Emmett Given
NASA's Near-Earth Asteroid Scout, a small satellite designed to study asteroids close to Earth, performed a successful deployment test June 28 of the solar sail that will launch on Exploration Mission-1. The test was performed in an indoor clean room at the NeXolve facility in Huntsville, Alabama.
Image: NASA/Emmett Given
To learn more about NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems, visit:
https://www.nasa.gov/directorates/heo/aes/index.html
For more information about Secondary Payloads, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/launching-science-and-technology
For more information about NEA Scout, visit:
After completing its journey from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans aboard the Pegasus barge, teams with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) transport the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) core stage into the transfer aisle inside Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. In the coming months, SLS will be prepared for integration atop the mobile launcher ahead of the Artemis II launch. Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson
NASA image use policy.
The core stage for NASA's first Artemis mission to the Moon moved to the agency’s Pegasus barge on Jan. 8, 2020. The 212-foot Space Launch System rocket stage, built by NASA and lead contractor Boeing at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, rolled the onto Pegasus, which shipped it to NASA's Stennis Space Center on Jan. 12. Here, it will undergo a comprehensive series of engineering tests called the Green Run. After Green Run is complete, the core stage will be sent to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where it will join with SLS's giant boosters and the Orion spacecraft to launch into space on Artemis I.
Image credit: NASA
After completing its journey from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans aboard the Pegasus barge, teams with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) transport the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) core stage to Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. Once inside, SLS will be prepared for integration atop the mobile launcher ahead of the Artemis II launch. Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson
NASA image use policy.
The core stage for NASA's first Artemis mission to the Moon moved to the agency’s Pegasus barge on Jan. 8, 2020. The 212-foot Space Launch System rocket stage, built by NASA and lead contractor Boeing at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, rolled the onto Pegasus, which shipped it to NASA's Stennis Space Center on Jan. 12. Here, it will undergo a comprehensive series of engineering tests called the Green Run. After Green Run is complete, the core stage will be sent to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where it will join with SLS's giant boosters and the Orion spacecraft to launch into space on Artemis I.
Image credit: Eric Bordelon
A massive crane lifts the launch vehicle stage adapter 250 feet into the air on Thursday, April 3, 2025, to prepare integration onto the SLS (Space Launch System) core stage in High Bay 3 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During launch and ascent, the launch vehicle stage adapter provides structural support and protects avionics and electrical devices within the upper stage from extreme vibrations and acoustic conditions. The Artemis II test flight will take a crew of four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon, helping confirm the foundational systems and hardware needed for human deep space exploration. Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson
NASA image use policy.
A massive crane lowers the launch vehicle stage adapter onto the SLS (Space Launch System) core stage on Thursday, April 3, 2025, in High Bay 3 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During launch and ascent, the launch vehicle stage adapter provides structural support and protects avionics and electrical devices within the upper stage from extreme vibrations and acoustic conditions. The Artemis II test flight will take a crew of four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon, helping confirm the foundational systems and hardware needed for human deep space exploration. Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson
NASA image use policy.
After completing its journey from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans aboard the Pegasus barge, teams with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) transport the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) core stage to Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. Once inside, SLS will be prepared for integration atop the mobile launcher ahead of the Artemis II launch. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
NASA image use policy.
An engine section structural qualification test article for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, is loaded onto the barge Pegasus at the agency's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The test article now will make its way from Michoud to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for structural loads testing. For the test series, hydraulic cylinders will be electronically controlled to push, pull, twist and bend the test article with millions of pounds of force to ensure the hardware can withstand the extreme forces of launch and ascent. The engine section, located at the bottom of the rocket's core stage, will house the four RS-25 engines and be an attachment point for the two solid rocket boosters. The engine section test article is the first of four core stage test articles manufactured at Michoud and is designed to the same specifications as the engine section that will fly on the first SLS mission with the Orion spacecraft.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC/Michoud
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A massive crane lifts the launch vehicle stage adapter 250 feet into the air on Thursday, April 3, 2025, to prepare integration onto the SLS (Space Launch System) core stage in High Bay 3 inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. During launch and ascent, the launch vehicle stage adapter provides structural support and protects avionics and electrical devices within the upper stage from extreme vibrations and acoustic conditions. The Artemis II test flight will take a crew of four astronauts on a 10-day journey around the Moon, helping confirm the foundational systems and hardware needed for human deep space exploration. Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson
NASA image use policy.
After completing its journey from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans aboard the Pegasus barge, teams with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) transport the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) core stage to Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. Once inside, SLS will be prepared for integration atop the mobile launcher ahead of the Artemis II launch. Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson
NASA image use policy.
I was always fascinated with aerospace work, whether it was launching rockets or flying in an airplane. When I was a senior in high school, we were asked to write an essay called, “What Does Your Future Look Like in 10 Years?” One of things I wrote down was working for NASA. I started working for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., in May 2008. It has lived up to my dream in every way.
I am a structural test engineer in the Structural Strength Test Lab at the Marshall Center. I was the lead test engineer for the recent Orion stage adapter structural qualification test. The adapter will connect the Orion spacecraft to a Delta IV rocket for Orion's first mission, Exploration Flight Test (EFT)-1. I led all the test planning and test set-up activities for the loads test, where we pushed, pulled and twisted a test article adapter with similar conditions it will experience in flight. We basically want to ensure the flight adapter can handle those conditions.
There is such a variety of work required of the lead test engineer. It is never boring and constantly produces new challenges. It’s always exciting to see real flight hardware, much less be responsible for lifting it, attaching hardware to it and actually applying structural loads to it.
My advice to students is to study hard (because that really does matter), and dream big. As long as we have dreams and goals, I think we are pursuing them, even if we don’t realize it.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC
Original image:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/i-am-building-sls-va...
More "I Am Building SLS" profiles:
www.flickr.com/photos/nasamarshall/sets/72157644513255476/
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 core stage for NASA's first Artemis mission to the Moon moved to the agency’s Pegasus barge on Jan. 8, 2020. The 212-foot Space Launch System rocket stage, built by NASA and lead contractor Boeing at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, rolled the onto Pegasus, which shipped it to NASA's Stennis Space Center on Jan. 12. Here, it will undergo a comprehensive series of engineering tests called the Green Run. After Green Run is complete, the core stage will be sent to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where it will join with SLS's giant boosters and the Orion spacecraft to launch into space on Artemis I.
Image credit: Eric Bordelon
Members of the media visited the International Space Station Processing Facility "high bay" on August 11, 2017 to view the Space Launch System's Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS). Representative from NASA and Boeing were on hand to answer questions.
The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) is the first segment for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to arrive at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and is currently in the Space Station Processing Facility. The ICPS will be located at the very top of the SLS, just below the Orion capsule. During Exploration Mission-1, NASA's first test mission of the SLS rocket and Orion, the ICPS, filled with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, will give Orion the big in-space push needed to fly beyond the Moon before returning to Earth. The ICPS was designed and built by ULA in Decatur, Alabama, and Boeing in Huntsville, Alabama.
(Photos by Michael Seeley / We Report Space)
NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne test fire the RS-25 first stage engine for the Space Launch System (SLS) on August 13, 2015 at Stennis Space Center, MS. Photo Credit: Matthew Travis / Zero-G News
NASA’s Pegasus barge, carrying the agency’s massive SLS (Space Launch System) core stage, arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Complex 39 turn basin wharf in Florida on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, after journeying from the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The core stage is the next piece of Artemis hardware to arrive at the spaceport and will be offloaded and moved to NASA Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be prepared for integration ahead of the Artemis II launch. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
NASA image use policy.
NASA’s Pegasus barge, carrying the agency’s massive SLS (Space Launch System) core stage, arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Complex 39 turn basin wharf in Florida on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, after journeying from the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The core stage is the next piece of Artemis hardware to arrive at the spaceport and will be offloaded and moved to NASA Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be prepared for integration ahead of the Artemis II launch. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett
The VWC is a friction-stir-weld tool for wet and dry structures on the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage. It will weld barrel panels together to produce whole barrels for the two pressurized tanks, the intertank, the forward skirt and the aft engine section.
More Info: www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/
The core stage for NASA's first Artemis mission to the Moon moved to the agency’s Pegasus barge on Jan. 8, 2020. The 212-foot Space Launch System rocket stage, built by NASA and lead contractor Boeing at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, rolled the onto Pegasus, which shipped it to NASA's Stennis Space Center on Jan. 12. Here, it will undergo a comprehensive series of engineering tests called the Green Run. After Green Run is complete, the core stage will be sent to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where it will join with SLS's giant boosters and the Orion spacecraft to launch into space on Artemis I.
Image credit: NASA
After completing its journey from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans aboard the Pegasus barge, teams with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) transport the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) core stage to Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. Once inside, SLS will be prepared for integration atop the mobile launcher ahead of the Artemis II launch. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
NASA image use policy.
In this aerial view, NASA’s powerful 212-foot long SLS (Space Launch System) core stage is shown being offloaded from the agency’s Pegasus Barge on Wednesday, July 24, 2024, after arriving at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Teams with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) will transfer the rocket stage to the spaceport’s Vehicle Assembly Building to prepare it for integration atop the mobile launcher ahead of the Artemis II launch. Photo credit: NASA/Jamie Peer and Michael Downs
NASA image use policy.
The core stage for NASA's first Artemis mission to the Moon moved to the agency’s Pegasus barge on Jan. 8, 2020. The 212-foot Space Launch System rocket stage, built by NASA and lead contractor Boeing at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, rolled the onto Pegasus, which shipped it to NASA's Stennis Space Center on Jan. 12. Here, it will undergo a comprehensive series of engineering tests called the Green Run. After Green Run is complete, the core stage will be sent to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where it will join with SLS's giant boosters and the Orion spacecraft to launch into space on Artemis I.
Image credit: Danny Nowlin
This is a photo of Italy’s Raffaello Multi-Purpose Logistics Module (MPLM).
Members of the media visited the International Space Station Processing Facility "high bay" on August 11, 2017 to view the Space Launch System's Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS). Representative from NASA and Boeing were on hand to answer questions. â¨â¨The Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) is the first segment for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to arrive at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida and is currently in the Space Station Processing Facility. The ICPS will be located at the very top of the SLS, just below the Orion capsule. During Exploration Mission-1, NASA's first test mission of the SLS rocket and Orion, the ICPS, filled with liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen, will give Orion the big in-space push needed to fly beyond the Moon before returning to Earth. The ICPS was designed and built by ULA in Decatur, Alabama, and Boeing in Huntsville, Alabama. â¨â¨(Photos by Michael Seeley / We Report Space)
The core stage for NASA's first Artemis mission to the Moon moved to the agency’s Pegasus barge on Jan. 8, 2020. The 212-foot Space Launch System rocket stage, built by NASA and lead contractor Boeing at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, rolled the onto Pegasus, which shipped it to NASA's Stennis Space Center on Jan. 12. Here, it will undergo a comprehensive series of engineering tests called the Green Run. After Green Run is complete, the core stage will be sent to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where it will join with SLS's giant boosters and the Orion spacecraft to launch into space on Artemis I.
Image credit: NASA
I've been fascinated with space exploration for as long as I can remember, and this focused my interests in college. I earned a bachelor's degree in computer engineering, a master's in electrical engineering and a doctorate in electrical engineering with an emphasis in dynamics and controls -- all from the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
As a contractor engineer supporting NASA, I'm on a team that is developing algorithms for the flight control system of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS). We are testing those algorithms on an F-18 fighter jet at NASA's Dryden Flight Research Center. We’re able to maneuver this jet in such a way that our software doesn't know that it's flying an airplane. It thinks it's flying SLS -- the biggest, most-capable launch vehicle ever designed.
Our team has an exceptional opportunity as early-to-mid-career engineers on this project. We’re doing something that is really unprecedented in human spaceflight from the standpoint of algorithm design, development and flight certification. We're expanding the envelope of the capabilities of SLS a little bit outside what we'd normally be able to achieve through a traditional analysis process. With an advanced algorithm, we can be more responsive to anomalies in flight, like unpredictable winds, to ensure the vehicle stays on its trajectory.
My advice to students is to find something that inspires you, whatever it is, and invest in it. Too often, we assume that in order to reach the stars, we only need engineers, technicians, mathematicians and scientists. We also need artists, poets and visionaries. Find a way to become one -- or many -- of these things.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC
Original image:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/i-am-building-sls-or...
More "I Am Building SLS" profiles:
www.flickr.com/photos/nasamarshall/sets/72157644513255476/
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...
Built for SHIPtember 2024 using Stud.io building software. At 1:110, the same scale as the official Saturn V, the SLS rocket is 112 studs long has a core stage diameter of 9.5 studs and is built form 2379 pieces.
The core stage for NASA's first Artemis mission to the Moon moved to the agency’s Pegasus barge on Jan. 8, 2020. The 212-foot Space Launch System rocket stage, built by NASA and lead contractor Boeing at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, rolled the onto Pegasus, which shipped it to NASA's Stennis Space Center on Jan. 12. Here, it will undergo a comprehensive series of engineering tests called the Green Run. After Green Run is complete, the core stage will be sent to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where it will join with SLS's giant boosters and the Orion spacecraft to launch into space on Artemis I.
Image credit: NASA
Built “to take humans farther than they’ve ever gone before”, this is NASA’s Orion spacecraft that will launch humans to space on Exploration Mission 2 in 2023 from Kennedy.
More Info:
Meet The Rocket: www.nasa.gov/sls/multimedia/gallery/sls-infographic3.html
Space Launch System: www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/index.html
The VWC is a friction-stir-weld tool for wet and dry structures on the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage. It will weld barrel panels together to produce whole barrels for the two pressurized tanks, the intertank, the forward skirt and the aft engine section.
More Info: www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/
A structural test version of the intertank for NASA's new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System, is loaded onto the barge Pegasus Feb. 22, at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The intertank is the second piece of structural hardware for the rocket's massive core stage scheduled for delivery to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for testing. Engineers at Marshall will push, pull and bend the intertank with millions of pounds of force to ensure the hardware can withstand the forces of launch and ascent. The flight version of the intertank will connect the core stage's two colossal fuel tanks, serve as the upper-connection point for the two solid rocket boosters and house the avionics and electronics that will serve as the "brains" of the rocket. Pegasus, originally used during the Space Shuttle Program, has been redesigned and extended to accommodate the SLS rocket's massive, 212-foot-long core stage -- the backbone of the rocket. The 310-foot-long barge will ferry the flight core stage from Michoud to other NASA centers for tests and launch. (NASA/Michoud/Steven Seipel)
I was born in Los Angeles, Calif., but raised in a small farming community in central Utah named Meadow. I earned a degree in biology from Utah State University. I learned Spanish while living in Peru two years serving a religious mission. I presently work for ATK and direct and coordinate all details for the development and qualification of the avionics subsystem to be used on America’s next heavy-lift launch vehicle for the human and scientific exploration of space beyond Earth’s orbit. How incredible is that? I would have to say the highlight of my job is being able to meet and work with so many people from so many different walks of life that share the same goal – to put America back in space.
I first became interested in space while I was involved in the Boy Scouts of America. There is a merit badge related to the study of astronomy, and I have always loved looking at the stars when camping in wilderness areas far away from the lights of the city. I was involved with many aspects of the manufacturing of the reusable solid rocket motors used on the Space Shuttle Program, and I was fortunate enough to actually see a space shuttle launch. I saw what went in to such an event and knew that I had to be part of the next generation solid rocket booster. I am most proud of the fact our team is nearing completion of the development of the new, advanced avionics system, a critical aspect of the twin SLS boosters, providing power distribution, communication with flight computers, booster ignition, command and control of the booster steering system and booster staging.
I would encourage anyone who is interested in pursuing a career in a similar field as mine to do just that. If someone is going to do it, why not you? Turn each negative experience into a positive one, and apply what you have learned when the next challenge presents itself.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC
Original image:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/i-am-building-sls-be...
En Español: www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/i-am-building-sls-be...
More "I Am Building SLS" profiles:
www.flickr.com/photos/nasamarshall/sets/72157644513255476/
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 core stage for NASA's first Artemis mission to the Moon moved to the agency’s Pegasus barge on Jan. 8, 2020. The 212-foot Space Launch System rocket stage, built by NASA and lead contractor Boeing at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility, rolled the onto Pegasus, which shipped it to NASA's Stennis Space Center on Jan. 12. Here, it will undergo a comprehensive series of engineering tests called the Green Run. After Green Run is complete, the core stage will be sent to NASA's Kennedy Space Center, where it will join with SLS's giant boosters and the Orion spacecraft to launch into space on Artemis I.
Image credit: NASA
After completing its journey from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans aboard the Pegasus barge, teams with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) transport the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) core stage to Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. Once inside, SLS will be prepared for integration atop the mobile launcher ahead of the Artemis II launch. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
NASA image use policy.
After completing its journey from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans aboard the Pegasus barge, teams with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) transport the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) core stage to Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. Once inside, SLS will be prepared for integration atop the mobile launcher ahead of the Artemis II launch. Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson
NASA image use policy.
I am the project lead for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) Advanced Real Time Environment for Modeling, Integration and Simulation (ARTEMIS).
ARTEMIS is the real-time simulation backbone of the SLS Systems Integration Test Facility, Systems Integration Laboratory, and the Software Development Facility -- all where we test avionics. My team has the responsibility to develop mockups of the SLS avionics for the avionics hardware and software.
Integrating and powering up the hardware, software and operating systems for the SLS -- something we call "first light" -- is an exciting milestone for both our avionics prime contractor, Boeing, and NASA. It represents the first time in the program that we have successfully integrated the SLS core stage avionics in a “flight-like” configuration.
Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d ever be working for NASA, much less leading an important project like this for the agency. I came to NASA in 2007 after serving more than 10 years on active duty in the U.S. Army. As a child, I always marveled at the accomplishments of NASA and viewed the engineers and scientists working here as being the smartest people on the planet. I feel honored and very fortunate to work on the SLS Program, and with some of the most dedicated and accomplished engineers and scientists in the world.
My advice to students would be to invest in your future by fully applying yourself to your education. Learn to employ effective time-management strategies to help you manage your school, work and life balance. It is important that you make time to study but equally important to make time for yourself and your family. Find something that makes you happy.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC
Original image:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/i-am-building-sls-le...
More "I Am Building SLS" profiles:
www.flickr.com/photos/nasamarshall/sets/72157644513255476/
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...
NASA’s Pegasus barge, carrying the agency’s massive SLS (Space Launch System) core stage, arrives at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center Complex 39 turn basin wharf in Florida on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, after journeying from the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The core stage is the next piece of Artemis hardware to arrive at the spaceport and will be offloaded and moved to NASA Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building, where it will be prepared for integration ahead of the Artemis II launch. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky
NASA image use policy.
After completing its journey from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans aboard the Pegasus barge, teams with Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) transport the agency’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) core stage to Kennedy Space Center’s Vehicle Assembly Building in Florida on Wednesday, July 24, 2024. Once inside, SLS will be prepared for integration atop the mobile launcher ahead of the Artemis II launch. Photo credit: NASA/Isaac Watson
NASA image use policy.
A beautiful 1965 NASA-MTO photo of construction of the A2 Test Stand.
Since one or two (maybe) of you are wondering “What is “MTO?”, the following is the naming history of this facility:
- Mississippi Test Operations (MTO), as of 18 December 1961
- Mississippi Test Facility (MTF), as of 1 July 1965
- National Space Technology Laboratories (NSTL), as of 14 June 1974
- John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC), as of 20 May 1988.
The amount of detail/resolution within the image is seriously impressive, revealed by my generous 1200 dpi scan of it. Although there is greater than expected peripheral waviness due to the military-grade adhesive used to affix the caption on the verso, it doesn't detract from the photograph:
The referenced caption. The careless & glaringly erroneous nature of the mislabeling leads me to believe it to be of NASA origination.
Regardless, it was obviously meant for an internal audience:
“No. 7 you might want to use this sketch of the Saturn V which shows where the S-II and S-IC boosters fit into the picture.”
Interesting:
www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/styles/full_width/public...
www.nasa.gov/centers/stennis/about/history/chronology.html
I cite the following only because it features the photo:
A structural test version of the intertank for NASA's new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System, is loaded onto the barge Pegasus Feb. 22, at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The intertank is the second piece of structural hardware for the rocket's massive core stage scheduled for delivery to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for testing. Engineers at Marshall will push, pull and bend the intertank with millions of pounds of force to ensure the hardware can withstand the forces of launch and ascent. The flight version of the intertank will connect the core stage's two colossal fuel tanks, serve as the upper-connection point for the two solid rocket boosters and house the avionics and electronics that will serve as the "brains" of the rocket. Pegasus, originally used during the Space Shuttle Program, has been redesigned and extended to accommodate the SLS rocket's massive, 212-foot-long core stage -- the backbone of the rocket. The 310-foot-long barge will ferry the flight core stage from Michoud to other NASA centers for tests and launch. (NASA/Michoud/Steven Seipel)
I started a graduate fellowship with NASA in 2006 while working on my doctorate in engineering at the University of Michigan. My focus in graduate school was in the area of gas, fluid and granular dynamics for space systems. My dissertation directly involved NASA's Phoenix Mars Mission -- designed to study the landing phase of the spacecraft on Mars. Once I was involved with a NASA program, I was sold.
I began working at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in 2010. I am an aerospace engineer and lead technical engineer for the Space Launch System (SLS) Pathfinder and Main Base Heating test programs.
The Pathfinder team is composed of a small group of talented engineers and technicians at the Marshall Center; Calspan-University of Buffalo Research Center Inc. in Buffalo, N.Y.; and NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland, Ohio. We designed and tested 2-percent scale models of the SLS core stage engines and solid rocket motors for base heating tests later this summer. The tests will help us better understand the heating environments that the base of the SLS will experience upon ascent. It's really exciting to develop hardware that involves the expertise of so many technical fields. I look forward to the work ahead that will benefit SLS.
My advice to students would be to study hard in whatever field you pursue. There's no substitute for hard work. Also, think outside the box whenever possible.
Image credit: NASA/MSFC
Original image:
www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/i-am-building-sls-me...
More "I Am Building SLS" profiles:
www.flickr.com/photos/nasamarshall/sets/72157644513255476/
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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