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Space launch system test: NASA prepares to launch engines on “the most powerful rocket ever built”, which can reach 17,500 mph and will one day transport astronauts to Mars
- The $ 18 billion space launch system is the largest rocket engine ever built
- SLS will fly astronauts to the Moon and Mars as part of the Artemis mission
- The hot fire test is set to take place sometime on or after January 17th
- If this is planned, the first unmanned launch will take place later in 2021 and will see SLS launch the Orion spacecraft to the Moon and back.
NASA’s massive space launch system (SLS), which will one day take astronauts to the moon, and Mars will be subjected to its last “hot fire” engine test later this month.
The space agency has confirmed that the four massive engines will be screwed to the ground during the shooting – the last test before an unmanned test flight later this year.
The rocket has already undergone a series of static engine tests, and the next process – the hot fire test – will take place at some point on January 17th.
SLS is designed to be the backbone of the Artemis program – which will see the first woman land on the moon in 2024 and humans land on Mars in the 2030s.
The space agency has confirmed that the four massive engines will be screwed to the ground during the shooting – the final test before an unmanned test flight later this year
The January 17 hot fire test marks the culmination of a year’s Green Run – a series of checks on the availability of the SLS mass flight before launch
The $ 18 billion rocket was first announced in 2011 and will be able to reach speeds of 17,500 mph, as it will take people and technology deeper into space.
NASA held a “wet dress rehearsal” for the December 20 hot fire test at the Stennis Space Center near St. Louis, Mississippi – this involved fully refilling the liquid fuel in the central SLS stage and then emptying it.
The January 17 hot fire test marks the culmination of a year’s Green Run – a series of checks on the availability of the SLS mass flight before launch.
The hot fire test replicates the normal launch process by loading fuels and allowing them to flow throughout the system while the four engines fire.
“During our Green Run wet dress rehearsal, the center stage, stage controller and Green Run software worked flawlessly,” said Julie Bassier of NASA.
Space Launch System is the largest rocket ever built and will be the backbone of deeper space missions for NASA in the coming decades
The central stage – the backbone of SLS – will fly astronauts to the Moon in 2024 and Mars in the next decade
He added that “there were no leaks when the tanks were fully loaded and fed for about two hours.”
The hot fire test will demonstrate that the engines, tanks, fuel lines, valves, pressurization system and software work together as required for launch day.
The basic stage of the SLS will fly in the Artemis 1 mission – the first complete test flight of the huge missile and the Orion crew capsule.
As part of the space flight, SLS will launch Orion into space, where it will fly to the moon and return without astronauts on board – scheduled to be launched in late 2021.
The hot fire test will demonstrate that the engines, tanks, fuel lines, valves, pressurization system and software work together as required for launch day. The artist’s impression of SLS
The rocket has already undergone a series of static engine tests, and the next process – the hot fire test – will take place at some point on January 17.
Artemis 2 is scheduled for August 2023 – SLS will launch the Orion capsule to the moon with a crew of astronauts – the first manned spacecraft to exceed Earth’s orbit in 1972.
This will be followed a year later by Artemis 3, which will land the first woman and the next man on the moon in October 2024 – launched again by SLS.
NASA hopes to use SLS to launch parts of the Lunar Gateway space station – which will orbit the Moon in the coming years, becoming operational by 2030.
The system will also help send equipment to the moon to develop a permanent base on the moon in the coming decades.
NASA’S SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM ROCKET IS THE BIGGEST MADE AND LET YOU EXPLORE THE SOLAR SYSTEM
Space Launch System, or SLS, is a launch vehicle that NASA hopes will take astronauts back to the moon and beyond.
The rocket will have an initial lifting configuration, which will be launched in mid-2020, followed by an improved “advanced lifting capacity”, which can carry larger payloads. NASA has not yet set a timeline for the second iteration of SLS.
Initial lifting capacity of the space launch system
– Initial flight: mid-2020
– Height: 311 feet (98 meters)
– Elevator: 70 metric tons
– Weight: 2.5 million kilograms (5.5 million lbs)
Lifting capacity of the space launch system
– Initial flight: unknown
– Height: 384 feet (117 meters)
– Elevator: 130 metric tons
– Weight: 2.9 million kilograms (6.5 million lbs)
NASA’s space launch system will have an initial lifting configuration (second from the right), set to be launched in mid-2020, followed by an “advanced lifting capacity” (far right), which can carry larger payloads .
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