Qualifying the life saver - LAS set for two more tests ahead of EM-2

[Chris Bergin]

Feature article by Philip Sloss who was there at the event for NSF:
https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/06/qualifying-life-saver-las-two-tests-em-2/

[Lars-J]

I know they think two more tests before EM-2 sounds impressive. But EM-2 is currently scheduled for 2023, right? So two tests in 6 years? Seems like a pretty hectic testing pace.

[woods170]

I know they think two more tests before EM-2 sounds impressive. But EM-2 is currently scheduled for 2023, right? So two tests in 6 years? Seems like a pretty hectic testing pace.

Quite.
Boeing and SpaceX have tested their life savers LAS engines numeroes times without all this public hubbub. For some reason either NASA or it's contractors (or both) find it necessary to turn SLS-related tests into major public events.

[A_M_Swallow]

To keep the money flowing NASA needs to show Congress and the general public that it is producing results. Publicly test firing the LAS is a very spectacular way of demonstrating progress.

[woods170]

To keep the money flowing NASA needs to show Congress and the general public that it is producing results. Publicly test firing the LAS is a very spectacular way of demonstrating progress.

That is a poor argument IMO. SLS/Orion has many of these public events. CCP has few of these public events. But both need (and in fact receive) a continuing stream of funding from US Congress.

[Lars-J]

I know they think two more tests before EM-2 sounds impressive. But EM-2 is currently scheduled for 2023, right? So two tests in 6 years? Seems like a pretty hectic testing pace.

Quite.
Boeing and SpaceX have tested their life savers LAS engines numeroes times without all this public hubbub. For some reason either NASA or it's contractors (or both) find it necessary to turn SLS-related tests into major public events.

Yep. Two possibilities for these tests:
A) Pure PR events (but really, two-three tests are sufficient??)
B) These tests are so expensive they can only afford to run them once every few years (and if your tests are that expensive, that might be a clue that your system is going to be too expensive)

But hey, we get to see Apollo redux!

[okan170]

Dear lord, I thought we were mad at NASA for not doing enough PR events!  No right way to do them I suppose.

[whitelancer64]

I know they think two more tests before EM-2 sounds impressive. But EM-2 is currently scheduled for 2023, right? So two tests in 6 years? Seems like a pretty hectic testing pace.

Quite.
Boeing and SpaceX have tested their life savers LAS engines numeroes times without all this public hubbub. For some reason either NASA or it's contractors (or both) find it necessary to turn SLS-related tests into major public events.

Yep. Two possibilities for these tests:
A) Pure PR events (but really, two-three tests are sufficient??)
B) These tests are so expensive they can only afford to run them once every few years (and if your tests are that expensive, that might be a clue that your system is going to be too expensive)

But hey, we get to see Apollo redux!

C. They changed the fuel grain of the LAS rocket so it produces less thrust, and that needs to be tested and qualified. Also these are temperature qualification tests, so they need to be held at different times of the year so they can be fired when the ambient temperature is hot / cold so the temperature conditioning of the rocket doesn't degrade. They also measured the acoustic levels produced by the blast of the rocket, as well as the flight avionics.

Also, all the test fires for the LAS (which also includes the QM fires for the attitude and jettison motors) need to be completed prior to the Ascent Abort test, which is scheduled for late 2019, but that may be moved up to early 2019.

[Lars-J]

Dear lord, I thought we were mad at NASA for not doing enough PR events!  No right way to do them I suppose.

PR events are fine. But they should highlight real progress, where something new is done for the first time. But this... Is just incremental tweaks. Good on them for doing them, they should be doing a lot more of these tests if astronaut safety is so important.

[woods170]

I know they think two more tests before EM-2 sounds impressive. But EM-2 is currently scheduled for 2023, right? So two tests in 6 years? Seems like a pretty hectic testing pace.

Quite.
Boeing and SpaceX have tested their life savers LAS engines numeroes times without all this public hubbub. For some reason either NASA or it's contractors (or both) find it necessary to turn SLS-related tests into major public events.

Yep. Two possibilities for these tests:
A) Pure PR events (but really, two-three tests are sufficient??)
B) These tests are so expensive they can only afford to run them once every few years (and if your tests are that expensive, that might be a clue that your system is going to be too expensive)

But hey, we get to see Apollo redux!

My beef is not with the tests but with the fact that they are turned into expensive major public events while they are really just tests. When was the last time SpaceX / Boeing invited a couple of hundred folks and the press corps to witness the firing of SuperDracos / RS-88?

[A_M_Swallow]

To keep the money flowing NASA needs to show Congress and the general public that it is producing results. Publicly test firing the LAS is a very spectacular way of demonstrating progress.

That is a poor argument IMO. SLS/Orion has many of these public events. CCP has few of these public events. But both need (and in fact receive) a continuing stream of funding from US Congress.

COTS and CCP have to achieve near monthly milestones they report to NASA. It is one of the ironies of life that only towards the end of a project is there anything worth showing to the public.