Tag Archives: SLS

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.

Douglas Loverro, associate administrator of NASA’s human exploration and operations mission directorate, said the agency is confident that the Space Launch System’s first flight will push through in November 2021, Spaceflight Now reported Friday.

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has issued an audit stating that NASA’s acquisition management procedures are under the former's "high risk" list due to potential program delays and cost increases for the third consecutive year.

NASA Associate Administrator Steve Jurczyk said he expects the Space Launch System's initial flight to occur in mid-2021 or late 2021, SpaceNews reported Monday.

The Government Accountability Office has recommended that NASA come up a document stating its rationale for how it selected its lunar architecture and lunar programs and develop a cost estimate for the moon landing mission in 2024.