SLS - space launch system (3-я попытка)

Автор Salo, 16.02.2012 10:25:55

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tnt22

http://spacenews.com/nasa-adding-more-sls-block-1-launches-to-manifest/
ЦитироватьNASA adding more SLS Block 1 launches to manifest
by Jeff Foust — July 10, 2018


Two more SLS Block 1 launches, including the first crewed Orion mission and possibly Europa Clipper, are now being planned for the early 2020s. Credit: NASA

CINCINNATI — With two more launches of the Block 1 version of the Space Launch System now planned, NASA is starting work to procure and human-rate additional upper stages.
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NASA originally expected to fly the Block 1 version of the SLS only once before moving to the more powerful Block 1B version of the rocket. The Block 1 uses an upper stage known as the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), based on the Delta 4 upper stage. The Block 1B will replace the ICPS with the Exploration Upper Stage, a larger upper stage under development.

However, with funding fr om Congress provided in the fiscal year 2018 omnibus appropriations bill to build a second mobile launch platform, NASA now expects to use the Block 1 version more than once. Those additional launches can take place using the existing mobile launch platform while the new one, designed for Block 1B, is built. That move is designed to reduce concerns about a long gap between SLS missions had NASA gone through with original plans to modify the mobile launch platform after the first SLS mission so it could be used for the Block 1B.

"It allows us to decouple the launch of the Block 1, which requires a different platform fr om the Block 1B," said Ben Donahue of Boeing during a July 10 talk at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' Propulsion and Energy Forum here. "This is really a win for the SLS program."
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NASA schedules now call for three flights of the SLS Block 1, starting with Exploration Mission (EM) 1. That will be followed by EM-2, the first crewed mission, in 2021, and a "cargo" mission in 2022. That cargo mission could be used for the launch of the Europa Clipper spacecraft, which is required by past appropriations bills to fly on an SLS no later than 2022, although NASA's fiscal year 2019 budget request proposed launching it in 2025 on a commercially procured vehicle.
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"The first three missions will be of the Block 1 configuration, which includes the ICPS," said Chris Cianciola, deputy program manager of the SLS program at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, in a July 9 panel discussion. The order of EM-2 and the cargo mission could be reversed, he added.

Adding the two Block 1 missions means NASA will need to buy additional ICPS stages from Boeing. "We'll go through acquisition strategies and those kinds of discussions," Cianciola said in an interview after the panel. "The government teams are huddling up right now to see how we want to do that."

One of the new stages will require modifications to meet NASA human-rating requirements in order to launch a crewed Orion spacecraft on EM-2. One addition to that ICPS, he said, will be an emergency detection system that can warn the Orion of a problem that would require an abort. That system would likely be based on one developed by United Launch Alliance for Atlas 5 commercial crew launches.

Another widely discussed issue with the SLS Block 1 is the launch date for its first mission, EM-1. "That's currently scheduled for December of next year," said Cianciola. However, in other presentations at the conference, both NASA and industry officials hinted that a more accurate launch date is the middle of 2020.

Cianciola said later that the first SLS, on current timelines, won't be ready to support a December 2019 launch. "We know that we've got somewh ere between four and six months of risk," he said, meaning that, without changes, the vehicle would miss that target date by four to six months.

"But that doesn't mean that's wh ere we're going to end up," he added. "We're doing things to pull it back in." Boeing, the prime contractor for the core stage, is taking a number of steps to recover some of that schedule by rearranging the flow of activities. However, he warned there's also the possibility of "unknown unknowns" that could add new delays to the vehicle's schedule.

The critical path for SLS, he said, is completing the engine section, mating it to the rest of the core stage and performing tests, including a "green run" static fire test of the core stage's four RS-25 engine planned for next year at the Stennis Space Center.

One of the reasons for past SLS delays, he noted during the panel, was problems with welding elements of the core stage. Shuttle tanks were welded in the horizontal position, he explained, but NASA developed a vertical welding system for SLS, believing it would be more efficient. "It turned out to be a lot more challenging that we thought," he said during the panel. "The team worked through it, but it just took a little longer than we anticipated."
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tnt22

ЦитироватьChris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 15 мин. назад

FEATURE ARTICLE: RS-25 program gearing up for production restart, next test series -

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/07/rs-25-program-production-restart-test-series/ ...

- By Philip Sloss

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Чебурашка

Кислородный бак с теплозащитным покрытием...

SLS так и будет такого поносного цвета или  ещё будут красить?


tnt22

https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/harsh-temperatures-require-extreme-protection-for-deep-space-rocket
ЦитироватьJuly 12, 2018

Harsh Temperatures Require Extreme Protection for Deep Space Rocket



Rocket tanks experience extreme temperatures from cold propellants and friction created as NASA's deep space rocket, the Space Launch System, soars through Earth's atmosphere to space. An innovative robotic system sprayed thermal protection foam on the tank, shown here, that will hold the cryogenic liquid oxygen propellant for Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1), the first integrated flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft. Now that its thermal protection system application is complete, engineers recently moved the tank to install sensors and prepare it to be vertically stacked with the intertank and forward skirt. Once stacked, these three pieces will form half of the 212-foot-tall rocket core stage, which has four RS-25 engines that produce two million pounds of thrust.
Image Credit: NASA/Jude Guidry

Last Updated: July 12, 2018
Editor: William Bryan

tnt22

ЦитироватьChris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 7 мин. назад

ARTICLE: Boeing finishes SLS LOX tank foam work, recovering from tube contamination issues -

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/07/boeing-sls-lox-tank-foam-work-recovering-contamination-issues/ ...

by Philip Sloss.

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tnt22

https://blogs.nasa.gov/groundsystems/2018/07/19/first-tail-service-mast-umbilical-installed-on-mobile-launcher-for-exploration-mission-1/
ЦитироватьFirst Tail Service Mast Umbilical Installed on Mobile Launcher for Exploration Mission-1

Linda Herridge
Posted Jul 19, 2018 at 11:20 am



The first of two 35-foot-tall Tail Service Mast Umbilicals (TSMU) was lifted up and installed on the 0-level deck of the mobile launcher at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The installation brings the Exploration Ground Systems Program one step closer to supporting prelaunch operations for the agency's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft on Exploration Mission-1.

The TSMUs will connect to the SLS rocket core stage aft section and provide liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen fluid lines and electrical cable connections to the core stage engine section to support propellant handling during prelaunch operations. This TSMU will provide the liquid oxygen.

Before launch, the TSMUs will tilt back to ensure a safe disconnect and retraction of all umbilical hardware away from the rocket during liftoff.

Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

Чебурашка

Static Test Article межбакового отсека на стенде для испытаний. Красота


Чебурашка

Вслед за кислородныйм баком, загрунтовали водородный



Что, интересно.
Изготоволение лётных изделий идёт впереди статических испытаний.
Что они будут делать, если ненароком один из статических макетов треснет на испытаниях и потребует усиления конструкции... :D

ZOOR

ЦитироватьЧебурашка пишет:
Что они будут делать, если ненароком один из статических макетов треснет на испытаниях и потребует усиления конструкции...  :D
Обмотают скотчем, вестимо.
Я зуб даю за то что в первом пуске Ангары с Восточного полетит ГВМ Пингвина. © Старый
Если болит сердце за народные деньги - можно пойти в депутаты. © Neru - Старому

Чебурашка

Трубопроводы вроде закончили чистить.
Не терпится увидеть Core Stage полностью собранным ;)

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1022532538101846019

ЦитироватьNield: work to address SLS core stage engine section tubing contamination has been completed. Based on good work in that area, it's no longer the pacing item on the SLS engine section.

tnt22

https://www.nasa.gov/image-feature/rs-25-engine-installed-on-stennis-space-center-stand-for-new-test-series
ЦитироватьJuly 24, 2018

RS-25 Engine Installed On Stennis Space Center Stand For New Test Series



Aerojet Rocketdyne developmental RS-25 engine No. 0525 is readied for installation on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis Space Center on July 23 in preparation for another new hotfire series to support NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) Program. Stennis is testing all RS-25 engines that will help power the SLS rocket, which is being built for missions beyond low-Earth orbit, carrying crew and cargo to the Moon and beyond. Four RS-25 engines, working in conjunction with a pair of solid rocket boosters, will power the SLS rocket at launch. The initial RS-25 engines are former space shuttle main engines, modified to provide the additional thrust needed for the larger, heavier SLS rocket.
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Originally designed more than 40 years ago to provide a specific power level categorized as 100 percent thrust, the RS-25 version of the space shuttle main engine has been upgraded to operate at 111 percent of its original power. NASA has been testing RS-25 modifications and flight engines at Stennis since January 2015 in preparation for the Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) and Exploration Mission-2 (EM-2) flights of SLS. EM-1 will test the capabilities of the new rocket and will carry an uncrewed Orion spacecraft into space beyond the moon. EM-2 will be the first flight to carry humans aboard the Orion spacecraft, returning astronauts to deep space for the first time in more than 40 years.
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The next series of tests at Stennis is scheduled to begin mid-August. For the test, a new flight controller component will be installed on the RS-25 developmental engine and fired just as during an actual launch. The new flight controller is a major part of the RS-25 modifications, operating as the "brain" of the engine to help it communicate with the SLS rocket and to provide precision control of engine operation and internal health diagnostics. A total of 10 hot fires are scheduled for the test series, seven by the end of 2018 and three in the early part of 2019. Each will feature a flight controller that will be used on an actual SLS mission.
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Each RS-25 test moves the agency closer and closer to its return to deep space exploration, to such destinations as the Moon and Mars. In addition to testing RS-25 engines and components for SLS flights, Stennis is preparing to test the actual core stage that will be used on the EM-1 mission. NASA has been modifying the B-2 Test Stand at Stennis for the core stage testing. The testing will involve installing the flight stage on the B-2 Test Stand and firing all four of its RS-25 engines simultaneously, as during a launch.

RS-25 tests at Stennis are conducted by a team of NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne and Syncom Space Services engineers and operators. Aerojet Rocketdyne is the RS-25 prime contractor. Syncom Space Services is the prime contractor for Stennis facilities and operations.

Image Credit: NASA
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Last Updated: July 27, 2018
Editor: LaToya Dean

tnt22

ЦитироватьNASA's Exploration Ground Systems‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASAGroundSys 37 мин. назад

Umbilical testing is now complete here at @NASAKennedy! The umbilicals will support the @NASA_SLS rocket and future deep space missions by providing a direct interface between the massive SLS and the Mobile Launcher. THANK YOU to our Engineering team! #EM1 @nasa @NASA_Orion


tnt22

ЦитироватьChris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 53 мин. назад

FEATURE ARTICLE: Aerojet Rocketdyne progressing towards six-engine RS-25 production run -

https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2018/07/aerojet-rocketdyne-six-engine-rs-25-run/ ...

- By Philip Sloss

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tnt22

https://blogs.nasa.gov/groundsystems/2018/08/01/engineers-mark-completion-of-umbilical-testing-at-launch-equipment-test-facility/
(https://blogs.nasa.gov/kennedy/2018/08/01/engineers-mark-completion-of-umbilical-testing-at-launch-equipment-test-facility/)
ЦитироватьEngineers Mark Completion of Umbilical Testing at Launch Equipment Test Facility

Linda Herridge
Posted Aug 1, 2018 at 11:01 am


A banner signing event was held at the Launch Equipment Test Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida to mark completion of umbilical testing. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The team that tested the umbilical lines and launch accessories that will connect from the mobile launcher (ML) to NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1 celebrated their achievement during a banner signing at the Launch Equipment Test Facility (LETF) at the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
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Engineers and technicians in the Engineering Directorate and the Exploration Ground Systems Program, along with contractor support, began the tests at the LETF about 2.5 years ago. The first to be tested was one of two aft skirt electrical umbilicals. Testing of the final umbilical, the second of two tail service mast umbilicals, was completed on June 27.

"The team of NASA test engineers and test managers, and contractor engineers and technicians, worked tirelessly six days a week, 10 hours a day, in order to meet the highly aggressive schedule and deliver the hardware to the mobile launcher for installation," said Jeff Crisafulli, Test and Design branch chief in the Engineering Directorate.

In all, 21 umbilicals and launch accessories were tested on various simulators at the LETF that mimicked conditions during launch to ensure they are functioning properly and ready for installation on the ML. Most have been delivered and installed on the ML tower. These include the Orion service module umbilical, interim cryogenic propulsion stage umbilical, core stage forward skirt umbilical and core stage inter-tank umbilical. Two aft skirt electrical umbilicals, two aft skirt purge umbilicals, a vehicle stabilizer system, eight vehicle support posts and two tail service mast umbilicals were installed on the 0-level deck of the ML.

Before launch, the umbilical lines will provide power, communications, coolant and fuel to the rocket and spacecraft. Additional accessories will provide access and stabilization. During launch, each umbilical and accessory will release from its connection point, allowing the SLS and Orion to lift off safely from the launch pad.

"Design, fabrication and testing of the new mobile launcher's umbilicals and launch accessories is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I am proud to have been part of," Crisafulli said.
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tnt22

https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/first-sls-core-stage-flight-hardware-complete-ready-for-joining
ЦитироватьJuly 31, 2018

First SLS Core Stage Flight Hardware Complete, Ready for Joining

The first major piece of core stage hardware for NASA's Space Launch System rocket has been assembled and is ready to be joined with other hardware for Exploration Mission-1, the first integrated flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft. SLS will enable a new era of exploration beyond low-Earth orbit, launching crew and cargo on deep space exploration missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond.
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The first major piece of core stage hardware for NASA's Space Launch System rocket has been assembled and is ready to be joined with other hardware for Exploration Mission-1. The forward skirt will connect the upper part of the rocket to the core stage and house many of the flight computers, or avionics.
Credits: NASA/Eric Bordelon
View Image Feature

The backbone of the world's most powerful rocket, the 212-foot-tall core stage, will contain the SLS rocket's four RS-25 rocket engines, propellant tanks, flight computers and much more. Though the smallest part of the core stage, the forward skirt will serve two critical roles. It will connect the upper part of the rocket to the core stage and house many of the flight computers, or avionics.

"Completion of the core stage forward skirt is a major step in NASA's progress to the launch pad," said Deborah Bagdigian, lead manager for the forward skirt at the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. "We're putting into practice the steps and processes needed to assemble the largest rocket stage ever built. With the forward skirt, we are improving and refining how we'll conduct final assembly of the rest of the rocket."

On July 24, forward skirt assembly was wrapped up with the installation of all its parts. As part of forward skirt testing, the flight computers came to life for the first time as NASA engineers tested critical avionic systems that will control the rocket's flight. The construction, assembly and avionics testing occurred at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.


Located throughout the core stage, the avionics are the rocket's "brains," controlling navigation and communication during launch and flight. The forward skirt test series was the first of many that will verify the rocket's avionics will work as expected during launch.
Credits: NASA/Eric Bordelon[
View Image Feature

Located throughout the core stage, the avionics are the rocket's "brains," controlling navigation and communication during launch and flight. It is critical that each of the avionics units is installed correctly, work as expected and communicate with each other and other components, including the Orion spacecraft and ground support systems.

"It was amazing to see the computers come to life for the first time" said Lisa Espy, lead test engineer for SLS core stage avionics. "These are the computers that will control the rocket as it soars off the pad for Exploration Mission-1."

The forward skirt test series was the first of many that will verify the rocket's avionics will work as expected during launch. The tests show the forward skirt was built correctly, and that all components and wiring on the inside have been put together and connected properly and are sending data over the lines as expected.

The avionic computers ran "built-in tests" that Espy compares to the internal diagnostic tests performed by an automobile when first started. All of the health and data status reports came back as expected. The tests were a success and did not return any error codes. Such error codes would be similar to a check engine light on a car.

The successful tests give the team the confidence needed to move forward with avionics installations in the core stage intertank and engine section. With more hardware and more interfaces, the installation in the intertank will be more complex, and the complexity will ramp up even more as the team moves to the engine section, introducing hydraulics and other hardware needed for the rocket's engines.

"Each piece of hardware and each test builds to the next," Espy said. "That's why we're excited about the successful forward skirt tests. They lay a solid foundation as we continue to build more and more complex components and get the rocket ready for its first launch."

The forward skirt is now ready to be joined with the rest of the rocket's core stage. Integration of the massive core stage will take place in two joins, the forward join -- including the forward skirt, liquid oxygen tank and intertank -- and the aft join -- including the liquid hydrogen tank and the engine section.

Engineers will perform standalone tests on each component as they are completed. Once the forward and aft joins are integrated, they will perform a final integrated function test, testing all the core stage's avionics together.

The fully integrated core stage and its four RS-25 engines will then be fired up during a final test before launch. At NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the core stage will be stacked with the upper part of the rocket, including Orion, and joined to the rocket's twin solid rocket boosters, in preparation for EM-1.
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Last Updated: Aug. 1, 2018
Editor: Jennifer Harbaugh

tnt22

ЦитироватьMatt Haskell‏ @mhaskell24 5 ч. назад

Work on the new Mobile Launcher appears to be nearing its end, as the lower umbilicals have been added and look great! @NASASpaceflight



tnt22

ЦитироватьMatt Haskell‏ @mhaskell24 4 ч. назад

NASA was out taking the crawler out for a spin, but this time with an old Shuttle Mobile Launcher Platform! Naturally, I just had to head out there and shoot a few photos.

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tnt22

https://blogs.nasa.gov/groundsystems/2018/08/06/mobile-launchers-crew-access-arm-successfully-tested/
(https://blogs.nasa.gov/kennedy/2018/08/06/mobile-launchers-crew-access-arm-successfully-tested/)
ЦитироватьMobile Launcher's Crew Access Arm Successfully Tested

Bob Granath
Posted Aug 6, 2018 at 4:50 pm


Technicians and engineers in Exploration Ground Systems at the NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida recently tested the Crew Access Arm (CAA) that was added on the mobile launcher being prepared to support the agency's Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket.
Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett


As astronauts prepare for trips to destinations beyond low-Earth orbit, their last steps before boarding an Orion spacecraft will be across the Crew Access Arm (CAA) on the mobile launcher.
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Earlier this year, the CAA was added to the mobile launcher being prepared to support NASA's Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the largest in the world. Technicians and engineers in Exploration Ground Systems at the agency's Kennedy Space Center recently tested the crucial arm, confirming it worked as designed.

The test was designed to determine the functionality and integrity of the CAA and supporting mobile launcher systems.

"This was the first functional swing testing for the Crew Access Arm," said Cliff Lanham, Mobile Launcher Project Manager at Kennedy. "Prior to testing, we checked the mechanical attachment, hydraulics and cabling to make sure we had confidence it would work properly."

The CAA is designed to rotate from its retracted position and line up with Orion's crew hatch. The arm will provide entry and emergency egress for astronauts and technicians into and out of the Orion spacecraft.

In advance of those missions, the Exploration Ground Systems team at Kennedy has been overseeing testing of umbilicals and other launch accessories on the 380-foot-tall mobile launcher in preparation for stacking the first launch of the SLS rocket with Orion.

During the test, there were several moves of the arm controlled by systems on the mobile launcher. The test also was important because of the upcoming move of the mobile launcher from its park site to the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB).

"The CAA will be extended when it goes inside the VAB," Lanham said. "We cannot rotate the arm once in the VAB due to space constraints."

Testing inside the VAB is designed to ensure all systems work properly in connection with the building prior to stacking the first SLS and Orion for Exploration Mission-1. EM-1 will be the first unpiloted flight of the new NASA spacecraft traveling 280,000 miles from Earth well beyond the Moon.
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tnt22

ЦитироватьStep Inside NASA's Rocket Factory: The Michoud Assembly Facility

NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center

Опубликовано: 7 авг. 2018 г.

Take a tour of NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where NASA is building the world's most powerful rocket, the Space Launch System, designed to send astronauts to the Moon and beyond. To make big rockets, you need a big space. The Michoud rocket factory could hold 31 football fields. Inside the factory, engineers use modern robotic welding tools to manufacture the 212-foot-tall core stage structure, which will soon be assembled for the first integrated flight of SLS and Orion: Exploration Mission-1. SLS and Orion flight hardware as well as critical test articles have been built at Michoud. Some large pieces of hardware are transported for testing and launch on NASA's barge Pegasus, which had to be modified to carry the largest rocket stage being build today.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcnLIicUoW8https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcnLIicUoW8 (2:56)

tnt22