SLS - space launch system (3-я попытка)

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NASA_SLS‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_SLS 5 мин. назад

A test article of the #NASASLS engine section is preparing to ship from Michoud to @NASA_Marshall. More in photos: https://go.nasa.gov/2q85EVP 

Фото на flickr.com (много):
https://www.flickr.com/photos/nasamarshallphotos/sets/72157680995844111/with/34241842936/

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John Casani‏ @CasaniJohn 6 ч. назад

#ICPS for @NASA_SLS EM-1 is on the move btwn @ulalaunch's Horizontal Integration Facility & Delta Operations Center

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NASA Marshall‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_Marshall 11 ч. назад

A structural test version of @NASA_SLS's engine section will soon be headed to #NASAMArshall! Learn more: http://go.nasa.gov/2piOFxi 

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NASA Kennedy / KSC‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASAKennedy 9 мин. назад

Transformation of Launch Pad 39B over 50 years! It's undergoing upgrades for the Space Launch System rocket (SLS) and commercial vehicles.

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U.S. GAO‏Подлинная учетная запись @USGAO 7 ч. назад

#TodaysReports NASA Human Space Exploration: Delay Likely for First Exploration Mission http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-414?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=tr ...

http://www.gao.gov/products/GAO-17-414

NASA Human Space Exploration:
Delay Likely for First Exploration Mission
GAO-17-414: Published: Apr 27, 2017. Publicly Released: Apr 27, 2017.

Fast Facts
 
NASA is working towards a November 2018 launch date for the first test flight of its three related human space exploration programs: the Orion crew vehicle, the Space Launch System, and the Exploration Ground Systems. However, we found that all three programs face challenges and have little time or money set aside to address potential issues—likely delaying the launch date.

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We recommended that NASA report to Congress on whether the launch date is still achievable, and potentially propose a new date, to help ensure that Congress has current information to inform fiscal year 2018 budget and funding decisions.

How SLS and Orion Exploration Systems Would Appear Once Configured for a Future Launch



Highlights

 What GAO Found

With less than 2 years until the planned November 2018 launch date for its first exploration mission (EM-1), the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) three human exploration programs—Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (Orion), Space Launch System (SLS), and Exploration Ground Systems (EGS)—are making progress on their respective systems, but the EM-1 launch date is likely unachievable as technical challenges continue to cause schedule delays. All three programs face unique challenges in completing development, and each has little to no schedule reserve remaining between now and the EM-1 date, meaning they will have to complete all remaining work with little margin for error for unexpected challenges that may arise. The table below lists the remaining schedule reserve for each of the programs.

Schedule Reserve to Exploration Mission 1 for Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, Space Launch System, and Exploration Ground Systems Programs[TH]

Program

[/TH][TH]

Schedule reserve to Exploration Mission-1 (in days)

[/TH][/TR][TR][TD]

Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle

[/TD][TD]

0

[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]

Space Launch System

[/TD][TD]

80

[/TD][/TR][TR][TD]

Exploration Ground Systems

[/TD][TD]

28

[/TD][/TR][/TABLE]Source: GAO Analysis of NASA data | GAO-17-414

The programs all face challenges that may impact their remaining schedule reserve. For instance

[/li]
• the Orion program's European Service Module is late and is currently driving the program schedule;
• the SLS program had to stop welding on the core stage—which functions as the SLS's fuel tank and structural backbone—for months after identifying low weld strengths. Program officials stated that welding resumed in April 2017 following the establishment of a corrective action plan;
• the EGS program is considering performing concurrent hardware installation and testing, which officials acknowledge would increase complexity; and
• each program must integrate its own hardware and software individually, after which EGS is responsible for integrating all three programs' components into one effort at Kennedy Space Center.
  

Low cost reserves further intensify the schedule pressure. Senior NASA officials said they are analyzing the launch schedule and expect that the EM-1 date will have to slip, but they have yet to make a decision on the feasibility of the current date or report on their findings. With budget discussions currently ongoing for fiscal year 2018, the last year prior to launch, Congress does not yet have insight into the feasibility of the EM-1 launch date, or the repercussions that any cost increase or delays could have in terms of cost and schedule impacts for NASA's entire portfolio. Unless NASA provides Congress with up-to-date information on whether the current EM-1 date is still achievable, as of the time the agency submits its 2018 budget request, both NASA and Congress will continue to be at risk of making decisions based on less than the entire picture and on likely unachievable schedules.

Why GAO Did This Study

NASA is undertaking a trio of closely related programs to continue human space exploration beyond low-Earth orbit: the SLS vehicle; the Orion capsule, which will launch atop the SLS and carry astronauts; and EGS, the supporting ground systems. NASA's current exploration efforts are estimated to cost almost $24 billion—to include two Orion flights and one each for SLS and EGS—and constitute more than half of NASA's current portfolio development cost baseline. All three programs are necessary for EM-1 and are working toward a launch readiness date of November 2018. In a large body of work on this issue, including two separate July 2016 reports, GAO has found that these programs have a history of working to aggressive schedules.

The House Committee on Appropriations report accompanying H.R. 2578 included a provision for GAO to assess the acquisition progress of the Orion, SLS, and EGS, programs. This report assesses the extent to which these programs have risks that affect their progress toward meeting their commitments for EM-1. To do this work, GAO assessed documentation on schedule and program risks and interviewed program and NASA officials.

What GAO Recommends

NASA should confirm whether the current EM-1 date is still achievable no later than as part of its fiscal year 2018 budget submission, and propose a new, realistic EM-1 launch readiness date, if warranted, and report its findings to Congress. NASA concurred with both recommendations and agreed that EM-1 will be delayed.

For more information, contact Cristina Chaplain at (202) 512-4841 or chaplainc@gao.gov.

Recommendations

Recommendations for Executive Action

• Recommendation: In order to ensure that the Congress is able to make informed resource decisions regarding a viable EM-1 launch readiness date, the NASA Administrator or Acting Administrator should direct the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate to confirm whether the EM-1 launch readiness date of November 2018 is achievable, as soon as practicable but no later than as part of its fiscal year 2018 budget submission process.
  
  Agency Affected: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• Recommendation: In order to ensure that the Congress is able to make informed resource decisions regarding a viable EM-1 launch readiness date, the NASA Administrator or Acting Administrator should direct the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate to propose a new, more realistic EM-1 date if warranted and report to Congress on the results of its EM-1 schedule analysis.
  
  Agency Affected: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
  

View Report (PDF, 25 pages)
 
 Additional Materials:

[/li]
• Highlights Page:
•  (PDF, 1 page)
  

[/li][li]Full Report:

[/li]
•  (PDF, 25 pages)
  

[/li][/LIST] Contact:    
     Cristina Chaplain
(202) 512-4841
chaplainc@gao.gov
 
         Office of Public Affairs
     (202) 512-4800
     youngc1@gao.gov

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http://spacenews.com/nasa-plans-to-delay-first-slsorion-mission-to-2019/

NASA plans to delay first SLS/Orion mission to 2019
by Jeff Foust — April 27, 2017

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NASA now expects the first Space Launch System flight, Exploration Mission 1, to slip to some time in 2019 regardless of whether or not it carries a crew. Credit: NASA

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WASHINGTON — NASA now expects the first launch of the Space Launch System to slip to 2019, regardless of any decision to put a crew on that mission, given ongoing issues with development of the launch vehicle and the Orion spacecraft.

Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA associate administration for human exploration and operations, acknowledged the delay in a letter included in a U.S. Government Accountability Office report released April 27 that concluded that Exploration Mission 1 (EM-1) would not meet its current November 2018 launch date.

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"We agree with the GAO that maintaining a November 2018 launch readiness date is not in the best interest in the program, and we are in the process of establishing a new target in 2019," Gerstenmaier wrote in the letter, dated April 12 and included as an appendix in the GAO report.

Gerstenmaier said, in response to one recommendation in the GAO report, that NASA would develop a new launch readiness date by the end of September. "NASA is assessing the EM-1 schedule in light of a number of ongoing activities," he said, which include the tornado that damaged the Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans in February, disrupting work on the core stage of the SLS, and the ongoing development of the administration's fiscal year 2018 budget request.

The GAO, in its examination of progress NASA was making on EM-1 requested by Congress in the report accompanying the fiscal year 2016 appropriations bill, had already concluded that the mission would not be ready for launch in late 2018 as planned. "With little to no schedule or cost reserves remaining as the programs finalize production and enter integration and testing activities, the EM-1 launch readiness date is in a precarious position," the report stated.

The GAO noted in the report progress made in the development of SLS, Orion and ground systems, but added that all faced serious challenges with little margin. "The magnitude of the schedule delays that the programs have experienced amid this progress, however, foreshadows a likely schedule slip for the November 2018 EM-1 launch readiness date," the report concluded.

One example is the delivery of the European-built service module for Orion, which is on the critical path for EM-1. Once scheduled for delivery in January, it has been delayed until at least August. Once delivered, the program requires 12 months of work to integrate it with the crew capsule and perform testing before delivering it to the Kennedy Space Center for final launch preparations.

"NASA officials stated that they would not be able to maintain a launch readiness date of November 2018 if Kennedy Space Center receives the Orion spacecraft after July 2018," the report noted. "As a result, the November 2018 launch readiness date is likely unachievable unless NASA identifies further mitigation steps to accommodate delays." The conclusion of the report added that the service module is now expected to be delivered in September, with the possibility of an additional two-month delay.

The report is the second in two weeks to conclude that delays in the SLS/Orion program were all but certain. An April 13 report by NASA's Office of Inspector General concluded that both EM-1 and EM-2, the first launch to carry a crew, faced schedule slips. "NASA's first exploration missions – EM-1 and EM-2 – face multiple technical challenges that will likely delay their launch," that report stated.

Delays in the EM-1 schedule don't take into account the possibility of placing a crew on that flight. NASA announced in February it was studying adding a crew to that mission. That report has been completed and briefed to both NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot and White House officials. The agency has not announced a decision, although one is expected by the time the White House releases its detailed fiscal year 2018 budget proposal, expected by mid-May.

One condition on that study, Gerstenmaier said in February, was that adding crew not delay EM-1 past the end of 2019. "I didn't want to go much beyond 2019," he said in a Feb. 24 briefing. "I felt that if we went much beyond 2019, then we might as well fly EM-2 and actually do the plan we're on."

That study had its origins in expected delays in EM-1. Chris Shank, who led the NASA transition team for the incoming Trump administration, said during a panel session at the Goddard Memorial Symposium March 8 that the study had its origins at a meeting where Gerstenmaier said the delivery of the Orion service module would likely be delayed.

"We asked, if given more time, if there are some additional things that you could do with the mission," he recalled. "This is genuinely a study on how to get the best bang for the buck."

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https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2017/04/pegasus-trip-marshall-sls-engine-section-sta/

Pegasus trip to Marshall for SLS engine section STA
April 28, 2017 by Philip Sloss



As the facility continues repairs of tornado damaged infrastructure and looks to find workspace for displaced tenants, NASA, Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage prime contractor Boeing, and facility operations and maintenance contractor Syncom Space Services are ready to ship the first SLS hardware element fr om the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans, Louisiana to start structural testing.

SLS Engine Section:

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Assembly of the qualification or structural test article (STA) for the Core Stage engine section element was completed last week and it was moved onto NASA's Pegasus barge on Thursday in preparation for a one to two-week trip to the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.



The engine section is the bottom-most element of the Core Stage where four RS-25 engines are located on the flight article.

The STA is a version of the engine section outfitted just for structural testing.

It includes the primary structural elements of the flight article – the barrel, a welded ring at the forward end, and a thrust structure where the engines attach.

The ring was welded to the top of the barrel in the Vertical Assembly Center in March of last year and then the article was given a coat of primer to protect against corrosion. It was then joined with the thrust structure in a structural assembly jig where about 2500 bolts were used to attach all of the structural elements.

Test instrumentation and wiring runs were also added to help measure how the article responds to being pushed, pulled, and twisted in the test stand at Marshall.  The STA was moved into Cell A in Building 110 at MAF at the end of March for stacking with a simulator.

"What would normally be on top of the engine section would be the liquid hydrogen tank," Tim Flores, integration manager for the SLS Stages Element Office, said during a media event this week.

...



While in Cell A, 360 bolts were used around the circumference of the engine section ring to bolt it to the simulator.  A non-flight spray-on foam insulation called Versa-Foam was also sprayed in the area of that bolted interface to help simulate the environmental conditions seen during flight.

"We've got foam on the inside and the outside and the reason that we do that is because, in the structural test, it has to see some of the environments that we will actually have," Mr. Flores explained.

"So we will run liquid nitrogen through that interface, just as if it were a liquid hydrogen tank, but we use liquid nitrogen. There's tubes that go in and out of the foam on the inside, where the liquid nitrogen flows through."



Stacking operations were completed on April 20 and the mated article was moved fr om Cell A to the nearby final assembly area in Building 103, Area 47-48.  Originally, the engine section STA was planned to be moved while oriented horizontally and using self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs); however, the SPMTs are waiting for other hardware.

...

The engine section STA also includes structural elements for one of the two liquid oxygen feedlines (also called "downcomers") that run along the outside of the Core Stage before entering the engine section. Steve Doering, manager of the SLS Stages Element Office, explained that only one was necessary.



"We added the downcomer testing on that engine section a while ago and it's symmetrical, so we're doing the loads test on one side," Mr. Doering said. "There's no sense spending all that money to build another one on the other side just to get the same data. From a structural standpoint you just need to do the one side."

The approximately one-mile tow for the STA on its transporter from Building 103 to the dock at MAF wh ere the Pegasus barge was waiting took less than an hour; loading took longer, due to tight tolerances of the vertically oriented assembly with Pegasus.

...



It was 260 feet long at the end of the Shuttle era, but SLS Core Stages are almost 60 feet longer than Shuttle tanks and much heavier, so a 115-foot section of the barge was removed and replaced with a 165 foot section designed to handle the higher cargo weight, bringing the overall length to 310 feet.

The route for the trip from MAF to Marshall is approximately 1240 miles, which is expected to take about 10-12 days.

Pegasus will be taken by tugboat on a route first up the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway to the Mississippi River, then the Ohio River, then the Tennessee River.

"In inland waters, we have one tug towing and one pushing," Pegasus Captain Terry Fitzgerald explained, "just because of the size and the visibility issues with the operators of the tugs. So we have one towing, which is basically propelling us through the water and we have an aft tug that is controlling the barge."



Fitzgerald, who is with Syncom Space Services, will lead a crew of six NASA and contractor personnel that will stay on the barge during the trip.

"We have a lot of conditions that we have to look at – we're constantly monitoring vertical clearances, river heights, it's an effort from both the tug crews and the on-board crews," he said. "We will be standing watches – they'll be doing watches 24 hours while we're on-board."

...



At the Marshall harbor, the STA will be taken off the barge and towed about six miles to the space center wh ere the engine section test stand is set up in Building 4619.

...

"We'll connect up all the instrumentation – we've got about 3000 channels of different types of instrumentation that we're going to be monitoring."

...

The test program itself will be about four months. "We should be starting in the late Fall, that puts it in the October time-frame and that should take us into early next year," Mr. Flores added.



Keith Hefner was in his second day on the job as the new director of MAF when the tornado hit the facility on February 7. During the media event, he provided an update on the impact of the tornado and overall recovery efforts.

Current estimates are that the tornado caused damages of approximately $300 million, with the largest impact to one of MAF's largest tenants, the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Finance Center (NFC).

The NFC was in Building 350 across the street from the NASA SLS factory and assembly areas; although fortunately no one was seriously injured, the tornado displaced the 1300 workers in Building 350, which is now uninhabitable. MAF is working to find office space for all the NFC workers.



"We've got a hundred of those 1300 employees back in Building 101 – we had some vacant office space there," Mr. Hefner noted. "We'll have office space in that same building to accommodate about 500-550 more. So about half of the 1300 employees we'll have in Building 101 within the next six to...eight weeks on the outside [of the estimate]."

...

Repairs to the facility continue, and even as the engine section STA was rolled out of Building 103 on Thursday workers were busy repairing sections of the roof nearby.

(Images: NASA and Philip Sloss via L2 which includes, presentations, videos, graphics and internal – interactive with actual SLS engineers – updates on the SLS and HLV, available on no other site. SLS render by L2 Artist Nathan Koga. The full gallery of Nathan's (SpaceX Dragon to MCT, SLS, Commercial Crew and more) L2 images can be *found here*))

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[tnt22]

NASA_SLS‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_SLS 23 мин. назад

A test article of the #NASASLS engine section is loaded on the barge Pegasus to ship to @NASA_Marshall for testing: https://go.nasa.gov/2oTKZBe 

https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/multimedia/engine-section-test-article-loaded-on-barge-pegasus

April 28, 2017
 
SLS Engine Section Test Article Loaded on Barge Pegasus

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< Back to Gallery

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An engine section structural qualification test article for NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, is loaded onto the barge Pegasus at the agency's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The test article now will make its way from Michoud to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for structural loads testing. For the test series, hydraulic cylinders will be electronically controlled to push, pull, twist and bend the test article with millions of pounds of force to ensure the hardware can withstand the extreme forces of launch and ascent. The engine section, located at the bottom of the rocket's core stage, will house the four RS-25 engines and be an attachment point for the two solid rocket boosters. The engine section test article is the first of four core stage test articles manufactured at Michoud and is designed to the same specifications as the engine section that will fly on the first SLS mission with the Orion spacecraft.

View more test article images on Flickr

Image Credit: NASA/MSFC Michoud image: Jude Guidry
 
Last Updated: April 28, 2017
Editor: Jennifer Harbaugh

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NASA_SLS‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_SLS 13 ч. назад

Bon Voyage! #SLS engine section test article is aboard barge Pegasus and on its way to @NASA_Marshall for testing. https://go.nasa.gov/2opxZE2 

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Webb Telescope Passes Important Optical Test on This Week @NASA – May 5, 2017


NASA

Опубликовано: 5 мая 2017 г.

NASA's James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) has successfully passed the center of curvature test at Goddard Space Flight Center, in Greenbelt, Md. This important optical measurement of Webb's fully assembled primary mirror was the final test held at Goddard before the telescope is shipped off for end-to-end cryogenic testing at Johnson Space Center in Houston. When that's complete, the world's most advanced observatory goes to Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems in Redondo Beach, California, for final assembly and testing. Webb is targeted for launch in 2018 on a mission to help unravel some of the greatest mysteries of the universe. Also, Cassini Update, NASA Visits Midwest Company Helping Build Orion, Orion's Launch Abort System Motor Tested, Wind Tunnel Tests Continue with SLS, and Community College Aerospace Scholars!

(3:44)

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SpaceFlight Insider‏ @SpaceflightIns 4 ч. назад

Space Launch System (SLS) upper stage testing begins http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/missions/human-spaceflight/space-launch-system-sls-upper-stage-testing-begins/ ...

http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/missions/human-spaceflight/space-launch-system-sls-upper-stage-testing-begins/

Space Launch System (SLS) upper stage testing begins
May 8th, 2017  |  by Scott Johnson

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Mike Roberts, NASA / MSFC Structural Test Branch team lead, explains Space Launch System (SLS) ISPE testing. Photo Credit: Scott Johnson / SpaceFlight Insider.

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HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — A series of structural qualification tests on the Space Launch System (SLS) Integrated Spacecraft and Payload Element (ISPE) – a test version of the SLS upper / "in-space" section – is underway at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The tests began on Feb. 22 and are expected to be completed by mid-May.

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Graphic depicting SLS ISPE testing. (Click to enlarge) Image Credit: NASA / MSFC
 
The ISPE is composed of an SLS core stage simulator, a launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA), a test version of the interim cryogenic propulsion stage (ICPS), the structural portion of a frangible joint assembly, the Orion stage adapter, and the Orion spacecraft simulator.

Last month, on April 19, SpaceFlight Insider was on hand for one of these tests as the ISPE was pushed, pulled, and twisted – hydraulically – subjecting it to loads expected during flight. The results of this test have not yet been made available.

Mike Roberts, NASA / MSFC Structural Test Branch team lead, explained, "When the SLS rocket flies, the thrust from the engine is pushing up and the atmosphere is pushing back, so all of those loads, associated with that flight, all that pressure, all that torque and tension and bending moment and shear, all of that we have to replicate here on the ground" in order to qualify it for flight.

For testing, the tanks of the ICPS portion of the ISPE are filled with inert liquid nitrogen (LN2) instead of the combustible liquid hydrogen (LH2) and liquid oxygen (LOX) with which they will be filled for flight.

The ISPE is located in Test Stand 4699. However, the testing is monitored from about a mile away in Building 4583 – a 1950s heritage facility that is now the location of a new control room – the Test and Data Recording Facility.

The 4699 / 4583 complex is capable of applying up to 24 simultaneous loads on the ISPE, with several hundred thousand pounds of force, and recording test results on approximately 1,900 data channels.

SLS is NASA's new super-heavy-lift launch vehicle, which, among other missions, will be capable of carrying astronauts to orbit in the agency's new capsule, Orion, for deep-space missions to Mars and beyond. Its first flight, Exploration Mission One (EM-1), an uncrewed flight around the Moon, is expected to take place in 2019.

For more SpaceFlight Insider photos from the April 19 test, click here.
And here's NASA / MSFC video of ISPE stacking / testing:
 
 Video Player

"Здесь видео"

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Прямая ссылка на видео из статьи

 - 566.5 MB, 2:29, 1920 x 1080 px, 48 kHz stereo

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SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM HIGHLIGHTS - Апрель 2017, 2815699 B, 7 стр.

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NASA Kennedy / KSC‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASAKennedy 4 мин. назад

The final flame resistant brick was installed in the Flame Trench at Launch Pad 39B in support of the #SLS rocket.

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NASA_Langley‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_Langley 3 ч. назад

Just wrapped up @NASA_SLS wind tunnel testing in our 14x22-Foot Subsonic Wind Tunnel! Check it out: https://go.nasa.gov/2q3lwbB 

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/langley/testing-prepares-nasa-s-space-launch-system-for-liftoff

 
May 9, 2017

Testing Prepares NASA's Space Launch System for Liftoff
 
The world's most powerful rocket – NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) – may experience ground wind gusts of up to 70 mph as it sits on the launch pad before and during lift off for future missions. Understanding how environmental factors affect the rocket will help NASA maintain a safe and reliable distance away fr om the launch tower during launch.

SLS model testing in NASA Langley Research Center's 14x22-Foot Subsonic Wind Tunnel in Hampton, Virginia, is designed to simulate wind conditions. According to Langley research aerospace engineer Dave Chan, wind tunnel tests are a cost effective and efficient way to simulate situations where cross winds and ground winds affect different parts of the rocket. The guidance, navigation, and control team uses the test data as part of their simulations to identify the safety distance between the rocket and the launch tower.

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SLS is designed to evolve as NASA moves crew and cargo farther into the solar system than we have ever been before. The Langley team tested the second more powerful version of the SLS rocket, known as the Block 1B, in both the crew and cargo configuration. Take a behind-the-scenes look of the hard work being done at Langley to support safe explorations to deep-space.
 

Chan simulates ground winds on the rocket during liftoff by using what's called smoke flow visualization. This technique allows engineers to see how the wind flow behaves as it hits the surface of the launch tower model.
Credits: NASA / Les Yeh


The 6-foot model of the SLS rocket undergoes 140 mph wind speeds in Langley's 14x22-Foot Subsonic Wind Tunnel. Engineers are simulating ground winds impacting the rocket as it leaves the launch pad.
Credits: NASA / David C. Bowman


The cargo version of the rocket is positioned at a 0-degree angle to simulate the transition from liftoff to ascent as the rocket begins accelerating through the atmosphere.
Credits: NASA / David C. Bowman


Chan and test engineer Les Yeh create a scenario wh ere the rocket has lifted off 100 feet in the air past the top of the launch tower. At this point in the mission, SLS is moving at speeds of about 100 mph.
Credits: NASA / David C. Bowman


Engineers at Langley collect data throughout the test which is used by the rocket developers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, to analyze and incorporate into SLS's design.
Credits: NASA / David C. Bowman 

Sasha Ellis

NASA Langley Research Center

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Last Updated: May 10, 2017
Editor: Eric Vitug

[vogel]

SLS LOX Dome Dropped And Damaged Beyond Repair
By Keith Cowing on May 10, 2017 1:31 PM.

Keith's note: Sources report that a LOX dome for the SLS under construction was dropped and is damaged beyond repair. The accident also damaged some tooling. There are reportedly enough parts to build a new LOX dome but that is going to affect a lot of schedules. David Beaman is heading up an investigation team. More to follow.

http://nasawatch.com/archives/2017/05/sls-lox-dome-dr.html NASA Watch в качестве надёжного источника - такое себе, но частично подтвердил Джефф:

Jeff Foust‏

NASA Marshall confirms that an SLS LOX qualification tank dome was damaged in an incident last week at Michoud. Investigations underway.

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/862385089065496576

Интересно, насколько всё плохо.

[triage]

Картинка для привлечения внимания
 http://nasawatch.com/archives/2017/05/sls-lox-dome-dr.html
 https://twitter.com/NASAWatch/status/862360726752690180


Картинка не позднее декабря 2013 года https://www.nasa.gov/centers/marshall/about/star/star131218.html

[Salo]

http://spacenews.com/nasa-investigating-damaged-sls-tank-section/

NASA investigating damaged SLS tank section
by Jeff Foust — May 10, 2017
 
A Space Launch System liquid oxygen tank confidence article in the Vertical Assembly Center at the Michoud Assembly Facility in 2016. Part of a qualification model of an SLS liquid oxygen tank was damaged in a mishap there May 3. Credit: NASA/Michoud/Steven Seipel  
 
WASHINGTON — NASA and Boeing are investigating a recent mishap at the Michoud Assembly Facility that damaged a portion of a liquid oxygen tank being developed for the Space Launch System.
Kim Henry, a spokesperson for NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, said May 10 that NASA and Boeing, the prime contractor for the SLS core stage, have established independent investigation teams to review an incident at Michoud one week earlier involving the rear dome of a liquid oxygen qualification tank. The mishap was first reported by NASA Watch.
The agency didn't provide additional details about the incident, which took place in the Vertical Assembly Center at Michoud, used to weld large components of the SLS. The Vertical Assembly Center was shut down when the incident took place, Henry said. "NASA is evaluating next steps to safely resume operations."
The damage was limited to the one dome section of the tank, which was not yet welded to the rest of the tank. "Assessments are ongoing to determine the extent of the damage," she said.
Henry said that the incident was classified as a "Type B" mishap. Such a mishap, according to NASA documents, covers incidents that cause between $500,000 and $2 million in damage. No one was injured, she said.
The liquid oxygen tank involved in the incident was a qualification model, intended for testing, and not flight hardware. Henry said it wasn't immediately clear how long the investigation would take.
The accident comes as other factors, some outside of NASA's control, have threatened to delay development of the SLS. A tornado struck Michoud in February, damaging some buildings used for SLS and Orion work there. Agency officials estimated in March the repairs would delay work by two to three months.
Last month, NASA acknowledged that SLS, along with the Orion spacecraft and accompanying ground systems, would not be ready for launch in November 2018 as previously planned. In a response to a U.S. Government Accountability Office report, NASA said was now considering 2019 dates for the first SLS launch, known as Exploration Mission (EM) 1.
The schedule for that launch may also depend on a decision to put a crew on EM-1, which is currently planned to fly without astronauts on board. NASA officials said last month that a report studying the feasibility of placing a crew on EM-1 has been completed and briefed to agency leadership and the White House, but no decision has been announced yet.

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NASA_SLS‏Подлинная учетная запись @NASA_SLS 1 ч. назад

Manufacturing & testing continues on #NASASLS at #NASAMichoud & @NASA_Marshall. More: https://go.nasa.gov/2qdz8iB 

https://www.nasa.gov/exploration/systems/sls/nasa-continues-testing-manufacturing-worlds-most-powerful-rocket

May 12, 2017

NASA Continues Testing, Manufacturing World's Most Powerful Rocket


Manufacturing is complete on the liquid hydrogen tank structural qualification test article, shown here. It is being prepared for shipping to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama for testing later in 2017. NASA is using new equipment to move parts of the largest rocket stage ever built.
Credits: NASA/MSFC Michoud image: Judy Guidry
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NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket will launch crew and massive amounts of cargo to deep space including missions to Mars. Before launching the world's most powerful rocket the first time, each part of SLS must undergo numerous tests to ensure the rocket and its components have been designed, manufactured and integrated to withstand the stresses of launch.

Спойлер

This image made earlier of another liquid oxygen tank being manufactured for weld confidence testing shows how domes are added to make tanks in the Vertical Assembly Center at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. A dome is positioned in a feeder, left, and is added to the barrel at the bottom of the assembly Center, right. Two domes, two rings, and two barrels are joined to make a liquid oxygen fuel tank for the Space Launch System.
Credits: NASA/MSFC Michoud image: Steven Seipel
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The heavy-lift rocket for the first integrated flight with the agency's Orion spacecraft is a foundation for all future SLS configurations. NASA recently completed a major test series on hardware for the upper part of the rocket. A test article of the rocket's core stage engine section is on its way by barge to NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, for a qualification test series. The engine section is the first of four core stage test articles manufactured and is designed to the specifications needed for launch.

"Completing these SLS structural tests puts NASA one step closer to the launch pad," said John Honeycutt, the SLS Program manager at Marshall. "Our upcoming core stage testing will continue the largest testing campaign for a NASA rocket since the space shuttle."


 The intertank to be flown on the first integrated flight of the Space Launch System and Orion is nearly finished and will soon undergo application of thermal protection systems at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. The intertank is located between the core stage liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen tanks. It is the only piece of the core stage that is made by bolting pieces together, rather than by welding. It is the thickest core stage structure because it has to be strong to withstand the forces of the solid rocket boosters attached to it.
Credits: NASA/MSFC Michoud image: Judy Guidry
View Image Feature

Building new hardware
In addition to shipping the completed engine structural test article this month, the liquid hydrogen tank structural test article manufacturing is also complete. It is being equipped before heading to Marshall for testing later this year. Finally, the flight intertank structural assembly is also nearly finished and will soon undergo application of thermal protection systems.

While NASA is making significant progress overall with SLS to prepare for deep space exploration, the agency is overcoming production delays at Michoud due to tornado damage and the learning curve for first time operations. As schedules are adjusted to account for tornado recovery, the processes for friction stir welding are also under evaluation to validate performance of the weld process over time. This assessment will help engineers to duplicate their process for long-term production, and will ensure flight hardware made-to-date is consistent with requirements.

During recent manufacturing of the liquid oxygen tank test article in Michoud's Vertical Assembly Center, the rear or aft dome was inadvertently damaged during pre-weld preparations. This occurred before the dome was welded to the rest of the test article. NASA and Boeing formed independent mishap investigation teams to evaluate the incident. No personnel were injured, and assessments are ongoing to ensure this doesn't happen again.

"Small things from the tiniest screws to each weld matter," said Honeycutt. "Our engineers are learning as we work with Boeing to tackle challenges from aligning robotic weld machines off by as little as the width of a paperclip to addressing the fact that tiny threads on welding pins affect weld strength. We're working together to ensure critical flight hardware is handled safely in the factory and as it is moved thousands of miles by ships, trains, and planes."

New tools and techniques
Making a world-class evolvable rocket for the first time is challenging, Honeycutt added. The 212-foot-tall core stage uses four RS-25 engines to power SLS, and is the largest rocket stage NASA has ever manufactured and it will power all SLS rocket configurations. The agency is using innovative tools and new techniques and processes not only to build SLS, but also to transport it inside and outside the factory at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans.

"We are advancing U.S. leadership in manufacturing while building and testing a powerful rocket that meets the quality and safety criteria needed to take humans farther in space than we've ever traveled before," said Honeycutt.

NASA and Boeing, the agency's prime contractor for SLS, have done extensive work to develop weld parameters and processes for making the first-of-their-kind large fuel tanks.

"Production of the fuel tank pushes the state-of-the-art for self-reacting friction stir welding of thicker materials," said Steve Doering, the SLS stages manager at Marshall. "This is the first time robotic self-reacting friction stir weld technology has built such large rocket parts with thicker joints. We've learned a lot as we work through processes to get weld parameters for the large fuel tanks adjusted to produce high-quality welds that can withstand the extreme forces of launch and spaceflight."

By establishing repeatable manufacturing processes now, NASA will evolve SLS to meet a variety of mission needs as America moves deeper into the solar system. All the work done across the country now will support for the agency's series of planned missions beyond the moon in the future.

[свернуть]

Last Updated: May 12, 2017
Editor: Jennifer Harbaugh

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Chris B - NSF‏ @NASASpaceflight 40 мин. назад

RIP SLS STA LOX Dome. Gerst calling it a class B mishap

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William Harwood‏ @cbs_spacenews 48 мин. назад

SLS/Orion/EM1: NASA acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot says it is feasible to put a crew on first flight of SLS...

48 мин. назад

SLS/Orion/EM1: ...but not the best way to proceed; no crew on EM-1 test flight; launch will slip into 2019, but exact date TBD