Artemis – Page 36

Under Pressure! New Rainbird System Will Protect Artemis II

Water spraying out of a nozzle for rainbird testing for the Artemis II mission. — Water flows through a small-scale, 3D-printed nozzle during prototype testing of a new rainbird system on March 24, 2021, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

As NASA prepares for the uncrewed Artemis I test flight, teams at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center are also hard at work getting ready for the Artemis II mission that will send astronauts on a trip around the Moon ahead of a crewed lunar landing.

Water flows through large nozzles during rainbird testing for the Artemis II mission. — Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems and supporting contractors conduct prototype testing of a new rainbird system at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on March 24, 2021, that can be used for the crewed Artemis II mission to the Moon. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

This includes assessing a new prototype “rainbird” system designed to protect the mobile launcher – as well as NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) – when the engines roar to life. The March 24 tests included running various water pressures through small-scale, 3D-printed nozzles to capture data that can be used to develop full-scale hardware.

The rainbirds will release enough water to fill 40 swimming pools in 40 seconds. This massive volume will help absorb the heat and energy when SLS, the most powerful rocket the agency has ever built, lifts off with the Orion spacecraft from Kennedy’s Launch Pad 39B.

While upgraded rainbirds – large-scale water nozzles – have already been tested and installed on the mobile launcher for the Artemis I launch, Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) found room for improvement. This led teams from EGS and supporting contractors to start testing another prototype system to distribute water more evenly to maximize performance ahead of the Artemis II launch.

Water flows through a nozzle during rainbird testing for the Artemis II mission. — Alongside the iconic Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, teams with the agency’s Exploration Ground Systems and supporting contractors conduct prototype testing of a new rainbird system on March 24, 2021. Photo credit: NASA/Ben Smegelsky

“By running our prototype through a range of pressures, we can simulate what each of the rainbirds will see on the mobile launcher on launch day and have a better understanding of how they will perform when we scale them back up to full size,” said Dave Valletta, a design engineer at Kennedy working on the ignition overpressure protection and sound suppression (IOPSS) system.

A critical piece of the IOPSS system, the rainbird got its name decades ago when space shuttle developers noted that it looked like a garden sprayer.

“When we saw the pattern of the water discharge during the first test flow in the shuttle program, it reminded us of your common lawn sprinkler, only it did not rotate and was 100 times the size,” said Jerry Smith, a design engineer for mechanical-fluid systems at Kennedy.

Once prototype testing is complete, allowing better prediction of future spray patterns, the team will move forward with designing a preferred concept. That concept will be built and installed on the mobile launcher to undergo verification and validation testing, where the newly installed nozzles will be fully integrated with the launch pad to ensure they work as expected.

“The confidence check gained from these tests will lead us to developing full-scale nozzles for the mobile launcher,” said Gerald Patterson, IOPSS and fire suppression system operations engineer and test lead. “Once installed, they’ll provide more efficient water distribution across the deck and, ultimately, better protection to ground systems, the SLS rocket, and its crew for Artemis II and beyond.”

NASA Begins Major Assembly of Rocket Stage for First Crewed Artemis Mission

The NASA team is moving parts of the Space Launch System rocket to begin assembly of the forward, or upper part, of the rocket’s core stage for the Artemis II Moon mission. On March 19, the intertank was moved to the vertical assembly area at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where the core stage is manufactured. The intertank flight hardware is part of the upper portion of the core stage that will help power Artemis II, the second flight of the deep space rocket and the first crewed lunar mission of NASA’s Artemis program.

The Space Launch System rocket’s intertank is the first piece of the upper part of the core stage to be moved for stacking in the vehicle assembly area at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

To form the massive, 212-foot-tall core stage for the agency’s Moon rocket, five major structures are joined together: the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, intertank, liquid hydrogen tank, and engine section. NASA and Boeing, the core stage prime contractor, are preparing to connect three structures together to create the forward assembly of the core stage. The process of stacking and assembling the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank, and intertank is called the forward join, and it is the first major vertical integration of hardware for the Artemis II core stage. The intertank is first installed in a vertical stacking cell at Michoud. Later, teams will move the liquid oxygen tank and forward skirt to the same area to stack the three structures together.

Ifographic on forward join The intertank contains avionics that are the “brains” of the rocket. It also serves as one of the main attach points for the twin solid rocket boosters that work with the core stage to send SLS to space. The core stage will supply propellant and power to the four RS-25 engines at the bottom of the stage to produce the remaining 2 million pounds of thrust needed to send the Artemis II mission to orbit.

NASA is working to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon. SLS and Orion, along with ground systems at Kennedy, the human landing system and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, are NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission. (NASA image)

Green Run Update: Post-Test Press Briefing at 7 p.m. ET.

Teams from NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) Program conducted a successful full-duration hot fire test for more than 8 minutes. See press release HERE.

To learn more, tune in to NASA TV for a post-test briefing at 7 p.m. EDT at NASA Live.

Learn more about Green Run, and check back at this blog for updates on the SLS core stage hot fire test. Watch a replay of the test on NASA Television or NASA’s YouTube channel. For all the photos and videos related to the test, visit, the Green Run Album on NASA Images.org.

Video of today’s test can be downloaded there as well.

Green Run Update: Full Duration Hot Fire Successfully Completed on Mar. 18

Teams from NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) Program conducted a successful full-duration 8 minute (499.6 seconds) hot fire of the Artemis I core stage on Thursday, Mar. 18 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi on the historic B-2 Test Stand.

The hot fire got underway at around 4:40 p.m. EDT with all four RS-25 engines ignited successfully and produced 1.6 million pounds of thrust, as they will to launch the Artemis I mission to the Moon. During the test the engines consumed more than 700,000 gallons of liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellant. The test was conducted with the core stage that will launch that first Artemis mission. Engineers collect data on how the stage behaved during critical operations, such as throttling the engines up and down and moving the engines dynamically in a variety of patterns. In coming days, engineers will scrutinize the data and determine if the stage is ready to be delivered to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where it will be integrated with the twin solid rocket boosters already stacked in the Vehicle Assembly Building.

The core stage Green Run was a series of eight tests - all checked. — The core stage Green Run was a series of eight tests to checkout and validate operations with the largest rocket stage NASA has ever built. The flight hardware for the Artemis I mission was used for the test.

To learn more, tune in to NASA TV for a post-test briefing in about 2 hours.

Green Run Update: Engines Igniting as Hot Fire Gets Underway

The hot fire is underway for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket core stage at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

Engine ignition began at approximately six tenths of a second before T-0, beginning with Engine 1, then Engines 3, 4, and 2 ignited in sequence a few hundredths of a second apart. The test is expected to last about 8 minutes and will include three different power levels for the engines, as well as engine gimballing, or pivoting, movements to simulate flight steering commands. Depending on the rate propellant is burned, the time is estimated to range from 485 to 493 seconds to simulate launch.

core stage RS-25 engines — All four of the Artemis I core stage RS-25 missions served on numerous space shuttle missions. Now they will launch the Artemis I mission to the Moon. Aerojet Rocketdyne is the prime contractor for the engines.

Learn more about Green Run, and check back at this blog for updates on the SLS core stage hot fire test.

Green Run Update: Terminal Countdown Sequence Started

The test conductor polled the team and has approved the decision to proceed with the terminal countdown that includes the final 10 minutes before the hot fire. During the terminal countdown, the team is executing the autonomous launch sequence that simulates the countdown for the Artemis I launch. The test transitions from ground control to on-board software control of the core stage and so the test is fully automated starting at T-30 seconds.

Key milestones during the final count include starting the core stage auxiliary power units (CAPUs) for each engine to provide power for the thrust vector control systems that gimbal, or move, the engines during the test, purging the engines with nitrogen gas to ensure they are completely clean before flowing propellant, moving the engines into position for engine start, and switching the core stage from external test stand power to internal battery power. The engines begin to power up 6 seconds before T-0.

Propellant barges docked near the B-2 Test Stand

Below are the key milestones in the terminal countdown:

T-4 minutes: Core Stage Auxiliary Power Unit CAPU Start
T-3 minutes: Engine Purge Sequence Start
T-2 minutes, 30 seconds: Pre-Ignition Gimbal Sequence Started
T-1 minute, 30 seconds: Core Stage to Internal Power
T-33 seconds: Automated Launch Sequence (ALS) Start
T-6 seconds: Engine Start Commands

The B-2 test stand flame deflector cooling water also will begin flowing to protect the deflector from superheated engine exhaust about a minute and a half before firing up the engines, and test stand acoustic suppression water flow will begin about 65 seconds before hot fire.

Hear the test conductor in the final minutes before the countdown during live coverage underway on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

Learn more about Green Run, and check back at this blog for updates on the SLS core stage hot fire test.

Green Run Update: NASA TV Coverage Underway for Hot Fire Test

Countdown is continuing for the hot fire test of the core stage for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The test is expected to start soon and last about 8 minutes to simulate launch and ascent of the SLS to orbit.

NASA Television coverage has begun. Watch live: http://www.nasa.gov/live

Teams powered up the core stage’s avionics systems Tuesday, Mar. 16, and began the countdown for the hot fire test earlier today. The team is continuing to closely monitor core stage and facility performance before proceeding into the final phase of the test: the terminal countdown leading to the hot fire.

During this test, the team has repeated many of the major milestones marked during the wet dress rehearsal and the first hot fire test, including chilling the main propulsion system and completely filling both propellant tanks. Coming up at 10 minutes before the test, the test conductor will poll the team who will give the final “go/no go” to proceed with the hot fire test.

Learn more about Green Run, and check back at this blog for updates on the SLS core stage hot fire test.

NASA Television Will Begin at 3:45 P.M. EDT

NASA Television coverage of the Space Launch System “Green Run” hot-fire engine test will begin at 3:45 p.m. EDT.

Green Run Update: Tanking Complete for Rocket Hot Fire Test

Engineers have completed tanking for the hot fire test of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket core stage at the agency’s Stennis Space Center, and the countdown is proceeding normally.

The liquid hydrogen tank holds 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen, cooled to minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit. The liquid oxygen tank holds 196,000 gallons of liquid oxygen, cooled to minus 297 degrees Fahrenheit. After tanking is complete, the team will continue chilling down the liquid oxygen propellant to condition it before the hot fire. While they are conditioning the liquid oxygen, they replenish the liquid hydrogen as it boils off due to temperature fluctuations as the propellant is loaded. The tanks can be loaded up to 22 times for testing and launches.

This image shows the core stage liquid hydrogen tank at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where it and the rest of the core stage where built and assembled. The flight core stage for the Artemis I mission is being tested today. Boeing, the prime contractor for the core stage, has already manufactured liquid hydrogen tanks for the Artemis II and Artemis III lunar missions.

This part of the test timeline is also important as it pertains to simulating launch. During a launch, many activities will be happening on the pad at this time, such as loading the crew. The hot fire test provides an opportunity to demonstrate that the core stage can remain in a stable configuration and be replenished as needed before engine firing to launch the rocket.

Learn more about Green Run, and check back at this blog for updates on the SLS core stage hot fire test.

Green Run Update: Test Teams Gives “Go” to Proceed with Tanking

The test team conducted a pre-test briefing in the Test Control Center at the B test complex at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, and gave a “go” to proceed with testing and to fill the propellant tanks.

Over the next several hours, the teams will monitor the systems and load more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic, or supercooled, liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen that will be fed to the four RS-25 engines during the hot fire test later today.

The hot fire will last up to 8 minutes and is scheduled to take place during a two-hour window that begins at 3 p.m. EDT. Live coverage will begin 30 minutes before the test on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

Learn more about Green Run, and check back at this blog for updates on the SLS core stage hot fire test.