The boosters will be the first piece of SLS to be stacked in the VAB at Kennedy.įor the 200-foot-tall core stage, which its large fuel tanks and RS-25 engines to be ready to fly, the engines and the stage itself must each undergo individual preparation, and then be integrated together. The results of those tests will pave the way for processing, fueling and completion of the flight boosters, using hardware already at Kennedy Space Center. Based on the results of that test, the actual flight articles of the upper stage and adapters will be completed and transported from Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., to Kennedy Space Center.įor the solid rocket boosters to be ready to fly, qualification motor tests will take place at Orbital ATK in Utah. These three test articles will be placed in a stand together, and subjected to stresses and strains to make sure they’re ready for launch. ![]() And each part has its own road to get there.įor the upper stage portion of the vehicle, which will push Orion out of Earth orbit and into deep space, to be ready to fly, test articles will be built of the adapters that connect the upper stage to the rest of the rocket and to Orion, along with a test article of the upper stage itself. With the design work all but done, the push toward the pad is well underway, and there’s a lot of work that entails.įor the rocket to roll out to the pad for launch, each element of the vehicle has to arrive at the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center to be stacked together with the Orion crew vehicle. A few years ago, it powered Atlantis’ longest mission, and a few years from now, it will loft SLS’ first crew into space. RS-25 Engine 2059 is currently in the stand for testing at Stennis Space Center. Building on the foundation of the Space Shuttle Program allowed us to move quickly into testing of the engines and boosters, and the design work on the core stage progressed rapidly enough to allow us to begin early manufacturing, and all of that was preparation for what would come when we completed the critical design review of the plans. To be sure, there was smoke and fire and bending metal as we tested boosters and engines and began building the barrels for the core stage of the rocket. ![]() The bulk of the first four years was focused on completing the design. ![]() The day this is a photograph instead of an artist’s concept will be a good day. It’s been only four years since the program officially began in September 2011, and we’re working toward being ready in less than three years for our first launch. Another year over, another year begun.įor the SLS program, it means we’re even further past the halfway point toward launch readiness.
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