Space Launch System test: NASA prepares to fire engines at ‘the most powerful rocket ever built’ that can reach 17,500 mph and will one day take astronauts to Mars
- The $ 18 billion Space Launch System is the largest rocket engine ever built
- The SLS will fly astronauts to the Moon and Mars as part of the Artemis mission
- The hot fire test will take place sometime on or after January 17th
- If this goes to plan, the first unmanned launch will occur later in 2021 and SLS will launch the Orion spacecraft to the moon and back.
NASA’s massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will one day take astronauts to the Moon and Mars will undergo its final ‘hot fire’ engine test later this month.
The space agency confirmed that the four massive engines will be bolted to the ground during firing – the final test for an unmanned test flight later this year.
The missile has already undergone a number of static engine tests, and the next test – the hot fire test – will take place sometime from January 17.
SLS was designed as the backbone of the Artemis program – with the first woman landing on the moon in 2024 and humans on Mars in the 2030s.
The space agency confirmed that the four massive engines will be bolted to the ground during firing – the final test for an unmanned test flight later this year
The January 17 hot fire test marks the culmination of the year-long Green Run – a series of pre-launch checks of the massive SLS’s flight readiness.
The $ 18 billion rocket was first announced in 2011 and will be able to reach speeds of 17,500 mph as it takes humans and technology deeper into space.
NASA held a “ wet dress rehearsal ” for the hot fire test on December 20 at the Stennis Space Center near St Louis, Mississippi – during which liquid propellant was fully loaded into the SLS core stage and then drained.
The hot fire test on January 17 marks the culmination of the year-long Green Run – a series of pre-launch checks of the massive SLS’s flight readiness.
The hot fire test replicates the normal launch process by charging the propellants and flowing them through the system while the four engines fire
“During our wet dress rehearsal, the Green Run test, core stage, stage controller, and Green Run software all performed flawlessly,” said NASA’s Julie Bassier.
Space Launch System is the largest rocket ever created and will be the backbone of deeper space missions for NASA for decades to come
The core phase – the backbone of SLS – will fly astronauts to the Moon in 2024 and on to Mars in the next decade
Adding that ‘there were no leaks when the tanks were fully loaded and refilled for about two hours’.
The hot fire test will show that the engines, tanks, fuel lines, valves, pressure maintenance system and software are performing together as needed for launch day.
The core phase of the SLS will fly on the Artemis 1 mission – the first full test flight of the giant missile and Orion crew capsule.
As part of that space flight, the SLS will launch Orion into space, where it will fly to the Moon and back without astronauts on board – scheduled for launch in late 2021.
The hot fire test will show that the engines, tanks, fuel lines, valves, pressure maintenance system and software are performing together as needed for launch day. Artist impression of SLS
The missile has already undergone a number of static engine tests, and the next test – the hot fire test – will take place sometime from January 17.
Artemis 2 is scheduled for release in August 2023 – the SLS will launch the Orion capsule to the moon with a crew of astronauts – the first manned spacecraft to go out of orbit since 1972.
This will be followed a year later by Artemis 3 which will land the first woman and the next man on the moon in October 2024 – relaunched by the SLS.
NASA hopes to use SLS to launch parts of the Lunar Gateway space station – which will orbit the moon for the next few years and become operational by 2030.
The system will also help send equipment to the Moon for the development of a permanent base on the Moon in the coming decades.
NASA’S SPACE LAUNCHING SYSTEM ROCKET IS THE LARGEST EVER MADE AND WILL INTRODUCE HUMANS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Space Launch System, or SLS, is a launch vehicle that NASA hopes will take its astronauts back to the moon and beyond.
The missile will have an initial lift configuration, due to be launched in mid-2020, followed by an improved ‘evolved lift capability’ capable of carrying heavier payloads. Nasa has yet to set a timeline for the second iteration of SLS.
Initial lift capacity of the Space Launch System
– First flight: mid-2020
– Height: 311 feet (98 meters)
– Lifting capacity: 70 tons
– Weight: 2.5 million kilograms (5.5 million lbs)
Space Launch System Evolved Lift Capacity
– First flight: unknown
– Height: 384 feet (117 meters)
– Lift lift: 130 tons
– Weight: 2.9 million kilograms (6.5 million lbs)
NASA’s Space Launch System will have an initial elevator configuration (second from right), which will be launched in the mid-2020s, followed by improved ‘evolved lift capacity’ (far right) that can carry heavier payloads