NASA completes a ‘wet dress rehearsal’ of its space launch system

Engineers from NASA and Boeing have added cryogenic propellants to the main stage of the Space Launch System (SLS), a major goal in the development of this advanced rocket.

It’s seven down, one going.

NASA is in the midst of its SLS Core Stage Green Run test, a series of tests to prepare the rocket for the long-awaited actual launch. The latest test, conducted Sunday at NASA’s Stanislaus Space Center in Mississippi, was called a “wet dress rehearsal,” in which engineers loaded more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic propellants into a rocket tank. The propellant was then controlled and watered, “returning to the stage safely,” According to In a NASA statement.

With the completion of this seventh green run test, NASA can now look forward to the eighth and final test, in which all four RS-25 engines will be put up for eight minutes. This test will set the stage for certification and the beginning of the Artemis era. NASA hopes to launch SLS, Sense Crew in November 2021.

The 212-foot-tall SLS rocket, with its huge four-engine core stage, is an essential part of the Artemis program. The current plan to send astronauts to the lunar surface in 2024 could be disrupted if the SLS program fails to deliver on time.

Propellants for SLS contain liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. Also, this propellant acts as a fuel and as an ox oxidizing agent needed to burn the fuel. The chemicals are cooled to ultra-low temperatures to keep the propellant in a compact liquid form. Six stripes delivered the required propellant for testing, a feat thanks to the waterway network In this region. The fuel was fueled by the SLS core rocket section being stabilized by the B-2 test stand of the facility.

NASA and Boeing engineers carefully monitored all core stage systems during the test. According to NASA, the initial appearance of the data indicates that “the stage performed well during the propellant loading and refilling process.”

But the test was not perfect. Originally planned to mimic the actual countdown with propellant, but when the clock reached T-35 seconds the test ended abruptly, For reasons that are not yet known. “The core stage and B-2 test stand are in excellent condition, and that doesn’t seem to be an issue in hardware,” NASA explained, adding that “the team is evaluating the data to pinpoint the exact cause of the initial shutdown.” ”

Despite this obvious-difficulty problem, NASA will now proceed with the eighth green run test, which should be more exciting than propellant loading. Indeed, even if we are to stay on the ground, we are scratching to see that this monster is all fired up. At least for now.