NASA test fires engines on moon rocket but shuts it down early
- by Jake Bell
- in Research
- — Jan 17, 2021
This test is the last hurdle in an eight-step validation process before the Core Stage can be mated with its Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) and sent on its maiden voyage around the Moon (Artemis I) - which is now scheduled to happen sometime in November of 2021.
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In a blog on NASA's website, the agency said, 'All four RS-25 engines ignited successfully, but the test was stopped early after about a minute.
The final rocket, called Space Launch System, is created to eventually stand 365 feet (111 meters) and ferry astronauts to the moon sometime in the mid- to late-2020s.
More news: Ethan Hawke Tapped as Main Villain in Disney+’s Moon Knight Series!SLS experienced delays While developing it, it is still at the center of NASA's ambitious plans to return humans to the moon by 2024 through the Artemis program.
NASA expects to hot-fire the 212-foot (65-meter) core stage of SLS - the system's largest piece and its structural backbone - at Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, around 4 p.m. EST on Saturday.
It's the eighth and final test in the series of Green Run tests for the core stage since arriving to Stennis.
When it does launch on Artemis I, SLS will boost an uncrewed Orion capsule toward the moon for a weeks-long test flight, setting the stage for future Artemis missions with astronauts on board. In these latter configurations, the SLS will be the most powerful rocket NASA has built since the Apollo Era and the retiring of the venerable Saturn V rocket. Steps four and five involve testing the various engine elements, like the propulsion system components, the thrust vector controls, and their system of hydraulics.
More news: Godzilla Vs Kong: Warner Bros To Release The Monster Film EarlyNASA gave a "go" on Saturday morning to fuel the core stage with 733,000 gallons of cryogenically chilled propellant.
The SLS Green Run test will take place at Stennis Space Center in MS, and it comes after NASA worked to solve an unexpected problem in a previous test, a wet dress rehearsal that marks the first time that cryogenic or supercooled liquid fuels have been used.
The SLS was supposed to light its engines for about eight minutes, the length of time the engines will have to fire to propel the rocket on its orbital missions. Two of the solid-fuel boosters will strap to the core stage and provide about 75% of the force required to heave SLS off its launch pad and toward space during the first two minutes of flight.
The launch later this year will be the start of many of Artemis' missions to the moon. NASA's SLS programme manager John Honeycutt, cautioning the data review from the test is ongoing, told reporters the turnaround time for another hot fire test could be roughly one month. The objective of the mission is to certify the spacecraft, ground systems, and rocket for human spaceflight, clearing the way for the crewed circumlunar Artemis II mission.
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