ICPS for EM-1 arriving in the SSPF soon:https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/07/sls-upper-stage-residency-former-home-iss-modules/
Quote from: Chris Bergin on 07/11/2017 06:27 pmICPS for EM-1 arriving in the SSPF soon:https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/07/sls-upper-stage-residency-former-home-iss-modules/ULA's ICPS for SLS EM-1 is on a road trip this morning! Cape, via LC-39 complex and KSC’s Industrial Area, to the SSPF. The first integrated piece of SLS hardware to arrive at KSC.
Service Platforms Arrive for Space Launch System Booster EnginesPosted on August 4, 2017 at 11:05 am by Linda Herridge.New service platforms for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) booster engines arrived at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The platforms were transported on two flatbed trucks from fabricator Met-Con Inc. in Cocoa, Florida. They were offloaded and stored inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).The platforms will be used for processing and checkout of the engines for the SLS’ twin five-segment solid rocket boosters for Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1). The boosters, in combination with the rocket’s four RS-25 engines, will produce more than 8 million pounds of thrust at liftoff.The first SLS mission, EM-1, will launch an uncrewed Orion spacecraft to a stable orbit beyond the Moon and bring it back to Earth for a splashdown in the Pacific Ocean. The mission will demonstrate the integrated system performance of the rocket, Orion spacecraft and ground support teams prior to a crewed flight.
A flatbed truck carrying one of two new service platforms for NASA’s Space Launch System booster engines arrives at the Vehicle Assembly Building at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 31, 2017. Photo credit: NASA/Bill White
NASA also reported on a mishap with the LOX dome. The qualification dome was dropped and its sides were “dimpled” by its holding fixture. At first, this was thought to be a catastrophic failure, but when the team pulled the dome out of the fixture, the dimples popped out. After considerable analysis by NASA and the prime contractor, the LOX dome was deemed suitable for qualification testing. It will be attached to the qualification tank and that assembly will go to Stennis Space Center for structural testing.
The overall launch schedule for EM-1 has slipped—it is moving out and a new date will be established in the near future. There are a number of schedule threats within the three program-critical paths. The principal one migrates through the core stage (the rocket). A number of actions must come together: the fabrication and test of qualification and flight test hardware, fabrication and testing of structural test articles, and the integration of sensors and avionics. There are schedule threats of several months in terms of delivery of hardware to testing. This remains a difficult task to traverse without delay.
ICPS on the move in the Vertical Transport System
NASA's Marshall CenterPublished on Aug 29, 2017Animation depicting NASA’s Space Launch System, the world's most powerful rocket for a new era of human exploration in deep space. Black-and-white checkerboard targets on the exterior of the SLS heavy-lift rocket will enable photogrammetrists to measure critical distances during spaceflight, including booster separation from the core stage. With its unprecedented capabilities, SLS will launch astronauts in the agency’s Orion spacecraft on missions to explore multiple, deep-space destinations, including Mars.
And on the pathfinder, Philip was at the event and interviewed people/took photos https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/09/sls-core-stage-pathfinder-barge-maf/
Quote from: Welsh Dragon on 09/05/2017 04:33 pmGreat article, but lacking proper metric units. Don't want to alienate the rest of the world!Isn't SLS being built using Imperial units? If so, the most precise numbers will be in those units. - Ed Kyle
Great article, but lacking proper metric units. Don't want to alienate the rest of the world!
.@NASA_SLS Booster Update: Five of 10 segments are now in storage & awaiting shipment to @NASAKennedy where they will be prepped for launch