Tag: SLS

Green Run Update: SLS Team Prepares Core Stage for Second Hot Fire Test

The core stage Green Run test team has completed refurbishment activities and is preparing the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s core stage and its four RS-25 engines for a second hot fire test.

After the first SLS core stage hot fire test on Jan. 16 at NASA Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, the team put the stand and core stage in a configuration so that the stage and stand could be refurbished. This involved installing platforms on the test stand so that technicians could inspect, access, and perform procedures on the hardware.

The team has now completed this refurbishment work and conducted a review referred to as “the break of configuration review” to transition the core stage hardware to the test configuration for the second hot fire test. During refurbishment, the team thoroughly inspected the stage, dried the four RS-25 engines, and made minor repairs to the engines and thermal protection system.

The team is also modifying and testing the Green Run software for the flight computers based on data from the first hot fire. The team adjusted parameters used by the software logic, which operating on the flight computers automatically monitors a variety of parameters and controls the test during the terminal countdown and after engine ignition. The updated Green Run software was tested in the systems integration test facility at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, which has avionics and flight computers identical to the ones in the core stage.

Now, the team is preparing the core stage, the B-2 Test Stand, and the Stennis Test Control Centers for the upcoming hot fire test targeted for the week of Feb. 21. A target date for the test will be announced next week. The core stage is flight hardware that will be used for the Artemis I mission.

This video, the Brains of NASA’s SLS Rocket explains how the SLS avionics system and flight software will work to control the rocket on the Artemis missions. The Green Run test is providing valuable data on how the Green Run test software, which is like the flight software, works with the core stage flight computers to control the rocket.

For updates, please check this blog or the Green Run web site: https://www.nasa.gov/artemisprogram/greenrun

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 two 30-second 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.

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

Green Run Update: Hot Fire Test Targeted for within an Hour

The teams are now targeting a hot fire test for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket core stage within an hour. The team has completed a successful pressurization demonstration and is evaluating the data to ensure they are ready to proceed.

Live coverage is underway on NASA Television and the agency’s website.

Teams began the countdown for the hot fire test earlier today. This is the eighth and final test in the Green Run testing series for the rocket’s core stage that will launch NASA’s Artemis I mission around the Moon. 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 Team 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.

The hot fire will last up to 8 minutes and is scheduled to take place during a two-hour window that begins at 5 p.m. EST. Live coverage will begin at 4:20 p.m. EST 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.

SLS core stageThis infographic provides information on the core stage including its two large propellant tanks.

SLS Team Completes Propellant Loading of Core Stage During Green Run Test

NASA and Boeing engineers successfully completed propellant loading during the seventh core stage Green Run test, wet dress rehearsal Sunday, Dec. 20. The massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s tanks were loaded with more than 700,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.

Engineers working in the Test Control Center monitored all core stage systems during the test as propellant flowed from six barges into the core stage in the B-2 Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. First looks at the data indicate the stage performed well during the propellant loading and replenish process. Part of the test was to simulate the countdown with the tanks loaded, leading up to 33 seconds prior to the engines firing. However, the test ended a few minutes short of the planned countdown duration.

The core stage and the B-2 test stand are in excellent condition, and it does not appear to be an issue with the hardware. The team is evaluating data to pinpoint the exact cause of the early shutdown. Then they will decide if they are ready to move forward with the final test, a hot fire when all four engines will be fired simultaneously.

For more updates, visit this blog or the Green Run web site: https://www.nasa.gov/artemisprogram/greenrun

SLS Green Run Team Powers Up Core Stage for Wet Dress Rehearsal

NASA and Boeing engineers have powered up the Space Launch System rocket core stage to continue with the seventh test, wet dress rehearsal at the agency’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The NASA and Boeing team plan to fully load the stage’s liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen tanks this week. This test demonstrates the ability to load the core stage with cryogenic propellant.

 

Following a partial loading of the tanks earlier this month, the team is now resuming the seventh of the eight tests in the Green Run series being completed with the Artemis I core stage. Upon completion of the wet dress rehearsal, the team will spend a few days analyzing data to determine if NASA is ready to proceed with the final Green Run test: the hot fire when all four engines will ignite simulating the countdown and launch of the Artemis I mission.

 

NASA will set a date for the hot fire after the wet dress rehearsal is complete. For an update at the conclusion of wet dress rehearsal, check back at this blog or visit the Green Run web site: https://www.nasa.gov/artemisprogram/greenrun