Artemis I update: Crews to replace quick disconnect seal on SLS while on launch pad, NASA says
NASA announced on Tuesday evening that they have decided to replace the quick disconnect seal between the liquid hydrogen fuel feed line on the mobile launcher and the Space Launch System rocket while at the launch pad.
NASA considering 13 sites for moon landing in 2025
While the Artemis program mission to land on the moon will come at least three years after the first launch of the Space Launch System, NASA hosted a teleconference Friday to pinpoint where on the lunar surface astronauts could be landing for the first time in more than 50 years.
Space Launch System 17-story twin solid rocket boosters stacked at Kennedy Space Center
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – The first solid rocket boosters stacked inside NASA’s Vehicle Assembly Building since the space shuttle are on a mission to the moon. The completely stacked, 17-story solid rocket boosters of the Space Launch System rocket now await the arrival of the SLS’s core stage, which will be integrated between the boosters. “Some of them have supported Space Shuttle flights, some of them were test articles and we’ve got some new ones,” VAB Operations Chief Tony Dees said. On the tenth floor of @NASAKennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building, we’re about halfway to the top of the completely stacked @NASA_SLS twin solid rocket boosters. The core stage, upper stage of the rocket and the Orion capsule will be stacked to a height twice as tall at the 17-story SRBs.
NASA completes engine test firing of moon rocket on 2nd try
With this critical test finally finished, NASA now will send the rocket segment to Kennedy Space Center for launch preparations. (NASA via AP)CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA completed an engine test firing of its moon rocket Thursday, after the first attempt in January ended prematurely. This time, the four main engines of the rocket’s core stage remained ignited for the full eight minutes. John Honeycutt, NASA's program manager for the Space Launch System or SLS rocket, said everything seemed to go well in Thursday's test firing. The SLS rocket will send an empty Orion capsule to the moon and back.
NASA successfully fires up moon rocket during ‘Green Run’ do-over test
At 4:37 p.m. the core stage fired its four engines on the test stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. A previous green run hot fire on Jan. 16 was also supposed to run for eight minutes but barely fired for one minute. Ad[RELATED: What to know about NASA’s final Green Run test of the Artemis rocket]🚀 Today, the @NASA_SLS core stage that will power our @NASAArtemis I mission to the Moon successfully completed its Green Run hot fire test. Here’s a recap: https://t.co/QpYSIQq4ox pic.twitter.com/aLmEkS9pbA — NASA (@NASA) March 18, 2021Engineers had to repeat the test to get more data. The core stage will be refurbished before it’s sent via barge ship down to Florida.
What to know about NASA’s final Green Run test of the Artemis rocket
The B-2 Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi with the core stage for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The Space Launch System is NASA’s mega rocket designed to launch astronauts to the moon in the Orion spacecraft and, eventually, on to Mars. | Fla. begins COVID vaccine appointment system]AdThe hot fire is known as a “Green Run” test. This is the eighth and, hopefully, final test in the “Green Run” test series needed to prepare the rocket for launch and really put the pedal to the metal testing its power and capabilities. If the final “Green Run” test goes well, it will complete an important milestone toward launch.
Rocket re-do: NASA will run SLS Green Run test again
The B-2 Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi with the core stage for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. NASA officials said they were first reviewing all the data before deciding if another Green Run test would need to happen before the hardware is brought down to Kennedy Space Center for launch. The core stage built by Boeing will be used on the Artemis-1 mission, sending the uncrewed Orion spacecraft around the moon and back. Ad[RELATED: What to know about NASA’s final Green Run test of the Artemis rocket]The Green Run test is the eighth and, hopefully, final test in a series needed to prepare the rocket for launch and really put the pedal to the metal testing its power and capabilities. AdIf all goes well during the second try, the core stage will undergo some refurbishment and then be transported via barge down to Florida.
NASA might not repeat test of moon rocket to preserve it for launch later this year
The core stage for the first flight of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket is seen in the B-2 Test Stand during a hot fire test Jan. 16, 2021, at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. NASA attributed the automatic shutdown to the strict test limits meant to protect the core stage so it can be used on the first Artemis flight. At this rate, the 212-foot core stage made by Boeing is down to about six “tanks” on its lifespan. President-elect Joe Biden has yet to name who will lead the space agency through a critical time in the ambitious timeline to return to the lunar surface. The outgoing administrator did have some advice for whoever next leads the U.S. space agency, urging the next agency head to keep politics out of space exploration.
Halted rocket test could stall NASA moon shot, redo possible
In this Saturday, Jan. 16, 2021 photo made available by NASA, the core stage for the first flight of NASA's Space Launch System rocket undergoes a hot fire test at NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Miss. On Tuesday, Jan. 19, 2021, NASA blamed the automatic shutdown on the strict test limits. All four engines fired for barely a minute, rather than the intended eight minutes, on the test stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. NASA said it can adjust the test limits if a second test is deemed necessary, to prevent another premature shutdown. The Artemis program is working to put astronauts back on the moon by 2024, a deadline set by the Trump administration.
NASA test fires SLS rocket ahead of move to Florida, but engines shut down early
NASA’s rocket charged with taking the agency back to the moon fired its four main engines Saturday afternoon, but the test in Mississippi was cut short after a malfunction caused an automatic abort, News 6 partner Florida Today reports. The 212-foot Space Launch System core stage fired its four RS-25 main engines at Stennis Space Center just before 5:30 p.m. Eastern time, sending a plume of exhaust towering above the B-1/B-2 test stand. “Still have four good engines, right?”The engines fired for 12 more seconds after the exchange before an automatic, computer-controlled shutdown was called. Once complete, the core stage will be loaded onto a barge and shipped from Mississippi to a dock near the Vehicle Assembly Building at KSC. The Boeing-built core stage, under development for nearly a decade, uses previously flown space shuttle main engines.
NASA’s SLS rocket, Orion spacecraft still targeting 2021 maiden flight
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. – The mega-rocket even more powerful than the Saturn V is coming together at the Kennedy Space Center and also NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. On the Gulf Coast Saturday, the Space Launch System is scheduled for a major engine test. The rocket is key to NASA’s Artemis program with plans to return humans to the lunar surface by 2024. And by the year 2024, NASA still plans on SLS and Orion sending the first man and next woman to the Moon. Artemis I would become the first launch from KSC launch complex 39B since 2009.