NASA has finally begun testing the gigantic 200ft main tank of its huge Space Launch System rocket.
The huge liquid hydrogen tank will stores cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen that will feed the vehicle’s four RS-25 engines when they fire up.
SLS will produce 8.8 million lbs. of maximum thrust, 15 percent more thrust than the Saturn V rocket.
The huge tank is being stress tested at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
The huge tank is being stress tested at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. More than 200 feet tall with a diameter of 27.6 feet, the liquid hydrogen tank test article is structurally identical to the flight version of the tank that will comprise two-thirds of the core stage of the final SLS.
More than 200 feet tall with a diameter of 27.6 feet, the liquid hydrogen tank test article is structurally identical to the flight version of the tank that will comprise two-thirds of the core stage of the final SLS.
It will hold 537,000 gallons of supercooled liquid hydrogen at minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit.
Dozens of hydraulic cylinders in the 215-foot-tall test stand will push and pull the tank, subjecting it to the same stresses and loads it will endure during liftoff and flight.
NASA says there will be several versions of the SLS, although they all uses the core stage with four RS-25 engines.
The first SLS vehicle, called Block 1, can send more than 26 metric tons (t) or 57,000 pounds (lbs.) to orbits beyond the Moon.
The next planned evolution of the SLS, the Block 1B crew vehicle, will use a new, more powerful Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) to enable more ambitious missions and carry the Orion crew vehicle along with exploration systems like a deep space habitat module.
The huge tank being moved into place at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
The next SLS configuration, Block 2, will provide 11.9 million lbs. of thrust and will be the workhorse vehicle for sending cargo to the Moon, Mars and other deep space destinations.
SLS Block 2 will be designed to lift more than 45 t (99,000 lbs.) to deep space.
NASA recently released a jaw-dropping video of the moment its deluge system dumps thousands of gallons of water onto Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center.
The first test launch of the Space Launch System rocket, which is supposed to send humans to the moon and ultimately allow deep space exploration, was most recently slated for mid-2020
The space agency is prepping for the maiden voyage of the $8.9 billion Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which will require roughly 450,000 gallons of water during ignition and liftoff to counteract the extreme heat and acoustics.
In the incredible footage from this month’s wet flow test, a torrential stream of water can be seen spewing straight up into the air and washing over the complex before dwindling to a trickle in just a matter of seconds.
The SLS rocket will lift off with 8.4 million pounds of thrust, thanks to its four RS-25 engines and two solid rocket boosters.
NASA will use the deluge system to help protect the rocket and everything accompanying it, including the Orion spacecraft, the Mobile Launcher, and the launch pad itself.
The fast-moving water will be sent pouring out onto the launch pad to ‘reduce extreme heat and energy generated by a rocket launch,’ NASA explains.
The space agency is prepping for the maiden voyage of the $8.9 billion Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, which will require roughly 450,000 gallons of water during ignition and liftoff to counteract the extreme heat and acoustics. An artist’s impression of the SLS rocket blasting off is shown
The latest wet flow test was conducted on October 15 at the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39B.
In less than two minutes from start to finish, the system spews hundreds of thousands of gallons of water into the sky, with the stream climbing to roughly 100 feet into the air like a massive geyser.
NASA has released a jaw-dropping video of the moment its deluge system dumps thousands of gallons of water onto Launch Pad 39B at the Kennedy Space Center
In the incredible footage from this month’s wet flow test, a torrential stream of water can be seen spewing straight up into the air and washing over the complex before dwindling to a trickle in just a matter of seconds
These tests are critical preparations for the SLS launch for the safety of Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) and future missions.
NASA conducted a similar test earlier this year, allowing them to identify any necessary issues and make modifications to improve its performance.
Once it’s finally time for liftoff and all components are put into place though, things will look somewhat different.
‘A geyser occured because the mobile launcher was not present at the pad,’ explained Nick Moss, pad deputy project manager, following the previous test.
‘When the mobile launcher is sitting on its pad surface mount mechanisms, the rest of the IOP/SS system is connected to the pad supply headers and the water will flow through supply piping and exit through the nozzles.’
EM-1 is slated to take off in late 2019 or early 2020 in an uncrewed mission that will test critical systems ahead of future missions with astronauts on board.
‘This is a mission that truly will do what hasn’t been done and learn what isn’t known,’ said Mike Sarafin, EM-1 mission manager at NASA Headquarters in Washington.
‘It will blaze a trail that people will follow on the next Orion flight, pushing the edges of the envelope to prepare for that mission.’