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NASA’s next-generation rocket for the Artemis mission to the moon, the Space Launch System (SLS), has been by its share of troubles. But progress continues on the mission, and NASA has introduced that it has reached a milestone in progress towards firing the engines within the first “hot fire” test.
The SLS rocket core stage is at present undergoing a series of assessments referred to as Green Run, through which the entire {hardware} that makes up the stage is examined. This consists of testing the flight computer systems, propellant tanks, propulsion systems, and more.
In whole, Green Run consists of eight tests together with the propellant tanks being loaded for the first time, checking the feed systems which carry propellant to the tanks, firing all 4 of the stage’s engines for the first time, and recreating the environment of the launch when it comes to vibrations and temperature to test the {hardware} stands up to the trials of launch.
Now, the primary 4 of those eight assessments have been accomplished. The most up-to-date take a look at was the checking of the propulsion system elements which hook up with the engines, to make sure that nothing is leaking and that every part works as supposed. Instead of utilizing actual rocket fuel for this check, NASA engineers used nitrogen and helium gases, pushing them by the system over a period of three weeks to search for leaks.
“With test gases flowing through this many parts of a complex rocket stage, we expected the test team to encounter some issues,” Jonathan Looser, who manages the SLS core stage main propulsion system, stated in a statement.
“Historically, there’s never been a NASA human-rated launch vehicle flown without one or more full-up tests before the flight, and they have all encountered first-time issues. As expected, we found a few with valves and seals and addressed them, and now we’re ready to complete the next four Green Run tests.”
The assessments are carried out at NASA’s Stennis Space Center close to Bay St Louis, Mississippi, where the staff is getting ready for the subsequent set of assessments culminating in a full firing of the 4 engines within the “hot fire” test before the stage is distributed to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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