The @NASA_SLS Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) has been stacked. It joined the launch vehicle stage adapter, core stage, and boosters on the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at @NASAKennedy for the upcoming launch of @NASAArtemis I.
The @NASA_SLS Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) being stacked June 5th. It joined the launch vehicle stage adapter, core stage, and boosters on the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building at @NASAKennedy for the upcoming launch of @NASAArtemis I.
The ICPS is a liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen-based system that will fire its RL 10 engine to give the Orion spacecraft the big in-space push needed to fly tens of thousands of miles beyond the Moon.
We can't get enough of @NASA_SLS stacking photos! Here's another one, showing the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) on top. It recently joined the launch vehicle stage adapter, core stage, and boosters on the mobile launcher in High Bay 3 of the Vehicle Assembly Building.
NASA's Near-Earth Asteroid Scout is tucked away safely inside the agency's powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The solar sailing CubeSat is one of several secondary payloads hitching a ride on Artemis I, the first integrated flight of the agency's SLS and the Orion spacecraft.NEA Scout, a small spacecraft roughly the size of a large shoebox, has been packaged into a dispenser and attached to the adapter ring that connects the SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft. The Artemis I mission will be an uncrewed flight test. It also offers deep space transportation for several CubeSats, enabling opportunities for small spacecraft like NEA Scout to reach the Moon and beyond as part of the Artemis program.
NASA's Near-Earth Asteroid Scout is tucked away safely inside the agency's powerful Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
In preparation for the #Artemis I mission, the secondary payloads Lunar IceCube and Near-Earth Asteroid (NEA) Scout have been integrated with their dispensers and installed in the @NASA_Orion stage adapter at @NASAKennedy. Learn more: go.nasa.gov/3BpTNUV
Time lapse video of the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS) being stacked atop the already assembled parts of the @NASA_SLS rocket in the Vehicle Assembly Building at @NASAKennedy for @NASAArtemis I.
Two additional secondary payloads that will travel to deep space on Artemis I, the first flight of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft, are ready for launch.The Team Miles and EQUilibriUm Lunar-Earth point 6U Spacecraft (EQUULEUS) CubeSats are tucked into dispensers and installed in the Orion stage adapter – the ring that connects Orion to the SLS rocket. They are joining five other secondary payloads that were recently installed. These small satellites, known as CubeSats, will conduct a variety of science experiments and technology demonstrations. The CubeSats will deploy after the Orion spacecraft separates from SLS.
Aug 9, 2021NASA Moon Rocket Flight Software Readied for Artemis I LaunchAs crews at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida assemble the Moon rocket for the Artemis I mission, teams have installed the flight software that will help steer, fly, track, and guide the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket during launch and ascent to space. Engineers loaded the flight software onto the rocket on Aug. 6 after powering up the core stage that contains the flight computers for the first time since stacking began.With the software installed, the engineers that developed the flight software at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, are supporting final checkouts and completing tests to certify the software for the mission.“NASA’s Space Launch System is on the path to the pad, and the SLS flight computer application software is complete and ready to perform the mission,” said David Beaman, SLS systems engineering and integration manager. “The mission certification and performance certification tests are the next step for the rocket’s software on the path to launch and flight ahead of Artemis I.”The software is loaded on three flight computers, along with the avionics systems inside the SLS rocket’s core stage. On the day of launch, the SLS’s twin solid rocket boosters and four RS-25 engines fire together to produce more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Orion spacecraft to the Moon. The software and avionics operate with the rocket’s three flight computers to harness the power of the rocket through ascent and communicate with avionics systems inside the engines and the boosters. That same software is monitored in real time by NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems team at the agency’s launch complex at Kennedy and SLS Program engineers at the SLS Engineering Support Center at Marshall. Once the rocket and Orion are fully stacked and assembled on the mobile launcher, they will undergo several additional tests and checkouts leading up to launch. The software is designed to be tested and certified for each launch window so that ascent performance parameters can be updated right up until launch to enhance mission success.“It is important to test and certify the SLS flight software for each launch opportunity to account for day of launch weather and other factors,” said Dan Mitchell, lead SLS integrated avionics and software engineer. “Those tests also ensure that all the software elements and systems on the rocket, Orion, and the ground work together seamlessly for prelaunch checks and preparations, liftoff, and ascent.”NASA conducts integrated end-to-end testing for the software, hardware, avionics, and integrated systems needed to fly Artemis missions. In addition to testing with each hardware element before delivery to Kennedy, testing in the agency’s sophisticated software development laboratories use actual SLS, Orion, and Exploration Ground Systems flight hardware and software, as well as emulators—versions of the software that each team employs to test how their code works with the integrated system— to support both system-level interface testing and integrated mission testing to ensure software and avionics systems work together.Earlier this year, the flight software and avionics systems completed a series of checkouts and tests as part of the comprehensive, eight-part SLS core stage Green Run test series at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Key tests and checkouts included powering on the stage, simulating the launch countdown, and operating the flight computers and avionics systems during the eight-minute hot fire test on March 18. During Green Run, the core stage flight computers, software, and avionics systems performed as expected as test teams monitored and operated the flight software just like they would in a launch environment for the first time. Those data findings were then used to inform the mission certification testing for the Artemis I flight software.The flight computer application software for Artemis I also completed extensive testing in Marshall’s System Integration Lab. Inside, software engineers create real-time launch simulations to further test the flight software under normal and unplanned mission scenarios.“The flight software test campaign for the Artemis I mission involves more than 300,000 different mission scenarios to satisfy all flight software requirements,” said Shaun Phillips, SLS flight software project team lead based at Marshall. “Each of these scenarios are focused on evaluating different interfaces and situations the vehicle may face during launch and flight.”NASA thoroughly tests and evaluates all software and hardware for every phase of the Artemis I mission to ensure that it meets safety requirements and is fully qualified for human spaceflight. With Artemis, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the Moon and establish a long-term presence while preparing for human missions to Mars. SLS and NASA’s Orion spacecraft, along with the commercial human landing system and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, are NASA’s backbone for deep space exploration. SLS is the only rocket that can send Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.For more on NASA’s SLS, visit:https://www.nasa.gov/slsTracy McMahanMarshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama256-682-5326[email protected]Ray OsorioMarshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Alabama256-715-9946[email protected]Last Updated: Aug 9, 2021Editor: Lee Mohon
Crews with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems and contractor Jacobs at the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida are assembling the Space Launch System rocket that will power NASA’s Artemis I mission to the Moon. The largest piece of SLS is the 212-foot orange core stage that forms the backbone of the rocket. At launch, the SLS rocket’s two solid rocket boosters, seen here mounted on the side of the core stage, and the core stage’s four RS-25 engines fire together to produce more than 8.8 million pounds of thrust. Inside the core stage are the flight computers and avionics systems that steer, fly, track, and guide the rocket during its launch and ascent to space. The core stage was powered up on Aug. 6, and the flight software for the Artemis I mission was loaded on the rocket’s computers.Credits: NASA/Kim Shiflett
☑ Teams at @NASAKennedy successfully stacked the Mass Simulator for Orion (MSO) on top of the Orion Stage Adapter (OSA) Structural Test Article (STA) on @NASA_SLS in the Vehicle Assembly Building on August 13, 2021.
Testing in the VAB is underway using the Orion Stage Adapter structural test article and the Mass Simulator for Orion to represent the mass and weight of the actual Orion stage adapter and @NASA_Orion spacecraft.
The upcoming launch of @NASAArtemis I will be an uncrewed test of the Orion spacecraft and SLS rocket as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon. 🌕
Driving down a bumpy gravel road, even an off-road vehicle experiences bumps and vibrations, partly because of the car’s natural frequency. An object's natural frequency is the frequency or rate that it vibrates naturally when struck. When forces like speed and the smoothness of the road are just right, the car will vibrate in tune with that same frequency.Rockets flying through the atmosphere to space, including NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), are no different. They have natural frequencies and experience dynamic forces during launch and ascent. Understanding those frequencies and what they look like is critical to steering SLS and the Orion spacecraft safely through the atmospheric “road” to space.To safely control the rocket’s flight, the flight software and navigation system must distinguish the rocket’s natural frequencies from the vibration frequencies experienced during flight. That’s why teams at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida are performing integrated modal testing to determine the different modes of vibration with the recently stacked, integrated SLS rocket before launch of the Artemis I mission.“We will use the modal testing data for multiple purposes,” said Dr. John Blevins, SLS chief engineer. “We will compare the physical results with what computer models predicted. The information will also be fed into the flight computers so when SLS is flying, the computers know which vibrations are natural to the rocket and which are caused by external forces. The computers will use that information to steer the rocket, ensuring it is placed in the right orbit and does not unnecessarily deplete its fuel by reacting to natural vibrations the rocket should ignore.”The Exploration Ground Systems (EGS) and Jacobs team at Kennedy along with the SLS team from NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, perform the tests on the mobile launcher and SLS stack in the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) with support from personnel at other NASA centers. In the VAB, the assembled rocket is comprised of the solid rocket boosters, core stage, Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), Orion stage adapter structural test article, and mass simulator for Orion. Engineers are using the mass simulator for Orion and the Orion stage adapter structural test article for the modal test series while the Orion spacecraft undergoes assembly of its launch abort system and the CubeSat payloads are loaded into the Orion stage adapter for flight. The test hardware has the same weight characteristics as their respective flight components, which is important for this test.“Approximately 300 sensors are attached to the rocket and mobile launcher to detect, record, and transmit the information,” said Cliff Lanham, senior vehicle operations manager for EGS at Kennedy. “Instrumentation is installed both internally and externally to the rocket including the boosters.”The motion pattern of a system vibrating at its natural frequency is called the normal mode. To identify the SLS’s natural frequencies, the team places hydraulic shakers in seven locations on the rocket. A small hammer will deliver calibrated taps near key parts of the navigation system to understand the dynamics local to those spots. A hammer on a dolly will move to different locations on the mobile launcher to impart further vibrations.For 10 hours a day, several days in a row, the team will conduct the test program. They will take advantage of the overnight shift in the VAB, when activity level is low. This quiet setting helps engineers verify the vibrations detected by the sensors are caused by the tests and not by other activities in the cavernous facility or on nearby roads. Some of the tests involve multiple vibration frequencies at the same time – like a guitar producing multiple notes at once – while other tests focus on a specific frequency. Following each round of tests, engineers will analyze the data and plan any adjustments needed for the next test.While the official test series will end after the multi-day program, the sensors will continue collecting data during rollout of the flight stack to Launch Complex 39B, which will include the flight version of the Orion stage adapter with CubeSat payloads and the Orion spacecraft. Sensors will also collect data during the wet dress rehearsal – a practice run of launch countdown, including filling the core stage and ICPS fuel tanks with super-cooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants.“We will use the data collected from the modal sensors to cross-check, update, and validate the integrated SLS structural dynamic math models, which then provides confirmation and confidence of the vehicle design for guidance, navigation, control and loads during launch,” said Liliana Villarreal, operations flow manager for the EGS. “Bottom line: This test will help ensure we are ready to fly and safely navigate the atmospheric road to the stars.”Teams are performing integrated modal testing in advance of the Artemis I mission – the first integrated flight of SLS and Orion. The mission will send the Orion spacecraft deeper into space than any spacecraft built for humans has ever flown.
Crews have powered on NASA's #Artemis I rocket for a critical systems test. Inside the @NASA_SLS core stage are flight computers and avionics systems that will guide the rocket during its launch and ascent to space. #SpaceSymposiumMore about SLS: https://www.boeing.com/space/space-launch-system/index.page
New view of the RS-25 engines on @NASA_SLS, as seen from the zero deck of the mobile launcher inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at @NASAKennedy. Four RS-25 engines will fire for over eight minutes at liftoff of the @NASAArtemis I mission.
Sep 3, 2021MEDIA ADVISORY M21-106NASA Invites Media to Kennedy for Artemis ActivitiesNASA is inviting a limited number of media to capture imagery of the fully stacked and integrated Artemis I mission Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Experts from NASA, industry partners, and contractors will be available for interviews at the media availability, which the agency anticipates will take place over two days in early fall.Media will see the rocket and spacecraft inside Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building, where teams from NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems currently are completing assembly. Attendees will have the opportunity to see Artemis II and III Orion spacecraft and other flight components as well.Through Artemis missions, NASA will land the first woman and the first person of color on the surface of the Moon, paving the way for a long-term lunar presence and serving as a steppingstone on the way to Mars.To mitigate the risk of COVID-19 transmission, only a limited number of media will be permitted to participate in this event. Credentialing deadlines are as follows:International media residing in the United States must apply by Friday, Sept 10.U.S. media must apply by Friday, Sept 24.All media accreditation requests should be submitted online at:https://media.ksc.nasa.govNASA’s COVID-19 policies are updated as necessary and to remain consistent with guidelines issued by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and White House Safer Federal Workforce Taskforce. COVID-19 safety protocols for this event will be communicated closer to the date of the event. The agency also will communicate any updates that may impact mission planning or media access as necessary.For questions about accreditation, please email [email protected].For other questions, please contact Kennedy’s newsroom at 321-867-2468.Para obtener información sobre cobertura en español en el Centro Espacial Kennedy o si desea solicitar entrevistas en español, comuníquese con Antonia Jaramillo 321-501-8425.Learn more about NASA’s Artemis I mission at:https://www.nasa.gov/artemis-1-end-
The core stage inter-tank umbilical – one of multiple connections on the mobile launcher that will provide power, communications, and pressurized gases to the rocket – is attached to the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage inside the Vehicle Assembly Building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on Aug. 12, 2021.Credits: NASA/Kim Shiflett
The earliest NASA’s first Space Launch System moon rocket could roll out from the Vehicle Assembly Building to its seaside launch complex in Florida is in late November, officials told Spaceflight Now, leaving little time to conduct a critical fueling test, roll the rocket back into the VAB for final closeouts, then return to the pad for liftoff before the end of the year.<snip>NASA engineers have not discovered any major problems during the SLS testing, but key milestones leading up to the Artemis 1 launch have been steadily sliding to the right in NASA’s processing schedule.Before NASA raised the Boeing-made SLS core stage onto its mobile launch platform inside High Bay 3 of the VAB in June, managers hoped to connect [t]he Orion spacecraft for the Artemis 1 mission on top of the rocket in August. That’s now expected this fall.The first rollout of the 322-foot-tall (98-meter) rocket from the VAB to launch pad 39B was scheduled no earlier than September. That’s now expected in late November, at the soonest, according to [Cliff] Lanham, [senior vehicle operations manager for NASA’s exploration ground systems program].The schedule slips, while not significant amid the history of SLS program delays, have put a major crunch on NASA’s ambition to launch the Artemis 1 mission this year. The agency is evaluating Artemis 1 launch opportunities in the second half of December, multiple sources said, but that would require NASA to cut in half the time it originally allotted between the SLS fueling test and the actual launch date.With opportunities eroding to launch the Artemis 1 mission before the end of the year, the SLS test flight is more likely to take off some time in the first half of 2022.
