Tag Archives: SLS

NASA has certified the computer system that would process the data of an upcoming uncrewed lunar flyby, which will serve as a prerequisite to future astronaut missions. The spacecraft command and control system (SCCS) is designed to address the information capacity and speed requirements of NASA's Artemis I mission, the space agency said Thursday.

NASA held the second round of hot firing in a new test series for the RS-25 engine, a component of the Space Launch System rocket that would eventually send astronauts to the Moon. The space agency said Wednesday it performed the test on Tuesday at Mississippi-based Stennis Space Center. The engine fired for a total of  over eight minutes during the test.

The office of the inspector general at NASA has issued a report saying it estimates the costs of facility closures, delays and other challenges facing the space agency as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic to reach nearly $3 billion. OIG said Wednesday 30 major programs and projects accounted for about $1.6 billion of the estimated total cost impact.

NASA will perform a second hotfire test of the core stage of the Space Launch System at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi no earlier than the last week of February. The second static fire test of four RS-25 engines of the SLS core stage is the final step in the Green Run test campaign that kicked off a year ago. 

NASA, at Stennis Space Center, concluded green run tests of four RS-25 engines that would ignite for the Artemis program's first lunar mission. The space agency said Sunday it test-fired the engines of the Space Launch System on Saturday for the first mission under Artemis, a NASA-led effort to revive crewed space exploration.

NASA intends to hold the final green run test for the core stage of the Space Launch System (SLS) on Jan. 16th. The agency seeks to thoroughly evaluate the SLS rocket's core stage prior to the first Artemis mission through the green run tests. NASA wrapped up seven of the eight tests under the green run effort.

NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility has commenced the production of the rocket core stages for both the second and third Artemis missions. These stages bring propellant tanks, RS-25 engines and avionics wiring to the Space Launch System (SLS)that serves as the launch vehicle for both of the upcoming missions. 

NASA is set to stack eight rocket motor segments into a rocket built to support the agency's Artemis I mission. NASA's exploration ground systems team moved the segments to a vehicle assembly building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida after the completion of the processing phase. The team will deploy a crane to lift the boosters and incorporate them into SLS.

NASA has formed plans that would guide activities composing Artemis, an effort to revive manned space exploration. The space agency said Tuesday its updated Artemis plans lay down current progress, key missions and partnerships essential to the program.

NASA has completed the first four green run tests of its Space Launch System rocket's core stage in preparation for four more tests in the series. The effort's assigned team ran the fourth test with gaseous nitrogen and helium as a more efficient alternative to the liquid hydrogen and oxygen propellants intended for the conclusive hot-fire test.