A test version of the booster for NASA's new rocket, the Space
Launch System, will fire up for the second of two qualification ground tests
June 28 at prime contractor Orbital ATK's test
facility in Promontory, Utah. The test will provide NASA with critical data
to support booster qualification for flight. When completed, two five-segment
boosters and four RS-25 main engines will power the world's most powerful
rocket, with the Orion spacecraft atop, to achieve human exploration to
deep-space destinations, including our journey to Mars.
Credits: Orbital ATK
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Media and social media followers are invited to watch as NASA
tests the largest, most powerful booster in the world for the agency's new deep
space rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS), on June 28 at Orbital ATK
Aerospace System's test facility in Promontory, Utah. SLS and NASA’s Orion
spacecraft will launch astronauts on missions to explore multiple destinations
on the journey to Mars.
A test version of the booster
for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, will fire up for the second
of two qualification ground tests June 28 at prime contractor Orbital ATK's
test facility in Promontory, Utah. The test will provide NASA with critical
data to support booster qualification for flight. When completed, two
five-segment boosters and four RS-25 main engines will power the world's most
powerful rocket, with the Orion spacecraft atop, to achieve human exploration
to deep-space destinations, including our journey to Mars.
Credits: Orbital
ATK
|
NASA social media followers can apply for credentials to attend
the booster test firing as part of a NASA Social event. A maximum of 45
participants will be selected to attend events on June 27, which include tours
of the Orbital ATK facilities and opportunities for interviews with NASA and
Orbital ATK officials. Participants also will have the opportunity to view, and
feel, the powerful test firing on June 28.
Social media followers can apply to attend the event at:
Registration is for U.S. citizens only and closes Monday, May 23.
All social media accreditation applications will be considered on a
case-by-case basis. Details and rules for social media accreditation also are
listed on the website.
Members of the U.S. media interested in covering the June 27
events and June 28 test can request credentials by contacting Orbital ATK's Kay
Anderson at 435-230-2787 or kay.anderson@orbitalatk.com.
This is the second two-minute, full-duration qualification test
for the booster, and will provide NASA with critical data to support booster
qualification for flight. It also will be the last time the booster is fired in
a test environment before the first flight of SLS and Orion in 2018.
During the test, 82 qualification test objectives will be measured
through more than 530 instrumentation channels on the booster at a target
initial temperature of 40 degrees Fahrenheit – the colder end of its accepted
propellant temperature range.
The first, full-scale booster qualification test was
successfully completed in March 2015 and demonstrated acceptable
performance of the booster design at 90 degrees Fahrenheit -- the highest end
of the booster’s accepted propellant temperature range. Testing at the thermal
extremes experienced by the booster on the launch pad is important to
understanding the effects of temperature on the performance of the propellant.
Two five-segment solid
rocket boosters and four RS-25 main engines will power the SLS. Solid
rocket boosters operate in parallel with the main engines for the first two
minutes of flight, providing more than 75 percent of the thrust needed for the
rocket to overcome Earth’s gravitational pull.
The SLS Block I configuration will have a minimum 70-metric-ton (77-ton)
lift capability and be powered by twin boosters and four RS-25 engines. The
next planned upgrade of SLS, Block 1B, would use a more powerful exploration
upper stage for more ambitious missions with a 105-metric-ton (115-ton) lift
capacity. Block 2 will add a pair of more powerful boosters to provide a
130-metric-ton (143-ton) lift capacity. In each configuration, SLS will
continue to use the same core stage and four RS-25 engines.
For more information about SLS, visit: