NASA is thinking about future versions of its mega moon rocket even though the Space Launch System hasn't yet been launched. You can watch the test of the upgraded SLS rocket booster live right here. The flight support booster test will be conducted at the test facility in Utah. A full-scale static fire is being done to evaluate the upgraded system, both in terms of the materials and processes involved and to use the findings to further improve the booster.
The current booster uses technology from the Space Shuttle. Once the first phase of Artemis ends later this decade, NASA will be better equipped to plan more daring Artemis missions. The rocket that will take astronauts to the Moon and NASA's upcoming lunar space station is called SLS. The first crewed mission to Mars could be achieved with the help of the rocket.
The NASA Marshall Space Flight Center is showing a live stream of the test on its website. The SLS rocket is broadcasting the test on Facebook. The #AskNASA campaign encourages viewers to submit questions on social media. These questions will be answered by experts from Marshall Space Flight Center.
The SLS is already in need of an upgrade. NASA's chosen strategy ofUpgrading pre-existing technologies, ongoing delays, and budgetary constraints are some of the factors that contributed to this. The current SLS boosters for the first eight Artemis missions are using a robust mix of new avionics and legacy hardware from the Space Shuttle Program. The data from this test will improve our booster design for future missions that take us farther into deep space than ever before.
The upgraded Flight Support Booster won't be upright but will be placed on a test stand. The booster will blast for the same amount of time and power as the actual liftoff of an SLS rocket, but will be fired for two minutes.
An exact flight configuration won't be mimicked by FSB-2. There are two solid rocket boosters attached to each side of the giant booster. The SLS has three-quarters of its total thrust provided by the side boosters.
The SLS booster has segments filled with fuel. The booster was the same as the Space Shuttle. The most powerful boosters ever built for flight are the SLS solid rocket boosters. NASASpaceflight.com has some information on the booster.
These boosters were designed and built at the former Thiokol facility in Promontory. Via several name changes, splits, and merges, Northrop Grumman now owns the SRB [solid rocket booster] system. Thiokol won the contract to build the Space Shuttle’s solid rocket boosters on November 20, 1973, and the Promontory facility has been designing, building, and testing some version of the SRB design ever since.
During the Space Shuttle program, Thiokol and its successors routinely conducted static test firings of its solid rockets to test manufacturing process quality, changes, and booster modifications. This was part of ensuring the continued safety of flight for the Shuttles. Overall, 52 full-scale static firings of the Shuttle solid rocket boosters took place between July 1977 and February 2010.
According to NASASpaceflight.com, the qualification tests of the five-segment booster were conducted by the company.
The flight support booster-1 test will be added in September 2020. Today's test will demonstrate a newly qualified motor initiation system and a new ablative lining to protect the booster nozzle. The test will aid NASA in its plan to phase out the old SLS booster and provide for the Artemis 9 mission and beyond.
The first launch of SLS could take place as early as August 29th. On September 2 and September 5, Windows will be available.
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