www.nasa.gov

DECEMBER 2017

SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM

National Aeronautics andSpace Administration

SLSLOOKS TO

THE FUTURE

December 2017 Highlights Space Launch System (SLS) 2

3-D PRINTED ROCKET PART TO REDUCE FUTURE ENGINE COSTS

Engineers successfully hot-fire tested an RS-25 rocket engine with a large 3-D printed part for the first time on Dec. 13, making a key step toward reducing costs for future engines that power NASA’s new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System. During flight, a rocket may experience powerful up-and-down vibrations mainly due to the engines and propellant in the feed lines. This is called the pogo effect and is similar to the up-and-down motion of bouncing on a pogo stick. The 3-D printed part tested, called the pogo accumulator, is a beachball-sized piece of hardware that acts as a shock absorber by regulating liquid oxygen movement in the engine to prevent the vibrations that can destabilize a rocket’s flight.

Read the full story: bit.ly/2DguxSM

SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS AVIONICS COMPLETE KEY TESTING

The booster avionics system for SLS completed system-level qualification testing in October. Engineers simulated the booster avionics operations in a systems integration lab at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, where all the avionics boxes and electronics were tested. The tests verified the fidelity of the system.

Read the full story: bit.ly/2mJ7KrA

December 2017 Highlights Space Launch System (SLS) 3

NASA’S SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM, FACEBOOK, DEC. 25

WHAT’S NEW IN SLS SOCIAL MEDIA

Holiday fun fact: Standing at 322 feet tall, the #NASASLS rocket is equal to about four Rockefeller Center trees! #HappyHolidays from the SLS family to yours!

December 2017 Highlights Space Launch System (SLS) 4

TEN EXCITING SLS MILESTONES TO WATCH FOR IN 2018 1. THE INTERTANK TEST ARTICLE WILL ARRIVE AT MARSHALL FOR STRUCTURAL TESTING

The Intertank structural test article will arrive at Marshall Space Flight Center on the barge Pegasus. It will be the second major structural article of the core stage to undergo testing at Marshall. Structural testing on actual hardware will validate engineers’ computer models of the forces the vehicle endures during launch and flight.

2. EM-1 ORION STAGE ADAPTER WILL SHIP TO KENNEDY SPACE CENTER

The Orion stage adapter (OSA) was built and has been fully outfitted for flight at Marshall Space Flight Center and will ship to Kennedy Space Center aboard NASA’s Super Guppy wide-bodied turboprop aircraft. The OSA will be the second major integrated element of SLS to be finished and delivered to Kennedy.

4. FUEL TANKS WILL BE INTEGRATED INTO THE EM-1 CORE STAGE

3. EM-1 ENGINES WILL SHIP TO MICHOUD ASSEMBLY FACILITY TO BE INSTALLED ON THE CORE STAGE

The four RS-25 engines are complete and will soon be on their way to Michoud Assembly Facility to connect to the core stage. The completed EM-1 core stage will then ship to Stennis Space Center for testing. This will be the only time all four engines will be tested simultaneously for flight.

The liquid oxygen tank pictured here is one of the five major components of the EM-1 core stage that are all structurally complete. The liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen tanks, engine section, intertank, and forward skirt are undergoing mechanical installation with piping, wiring, brackets, and more in preparation for integration later this year.

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December 2017 Highlights Space Launch System (SLS) 4

December 2017 Highlights Space Launch System (SLS) 5

5. CORE STAGE PATHFINDER WILL BE ON THE MOVE FOR PRACTICE MANEUVERS

To reduce the risk of first-time operations with one-of-a-kind spaceflight hardware, the core stage pathfinder is helping SLS engineers and technicians to do something that’s never been done – testing new shipping and handling and equipment and procedures for the world’s largest core stage from the manufacturing site to the test site to the launch site. NASA’s barge Pegasus will carry the pathfinder from Michoud Assembly Facility to Stennis Space Center and later to Kennedy Space Center.

6. LIQUID HYDROGEN TANK TEST ARTICLE WILL ARRIVE AT MARSHALL

The liquid hydrogen tank test article will be the largest piece of SLS coming to Marshall Space Flight Center this year. It will align on the 221-foot-tall structural test stand where it will be pushed, pulled, and bent to ensure the tank can withstand the extreme forces of launch and ascent.

7. EM-1 IN-SPACE STAGE COMPONENTS WILL BE COMPLETED

The completed Orion stage adapter and the launch vehicle stage adapter will be delivered to Exploration Ground Systems at Kennedy Space Center in preparation for final stacking in Kennedy’s Vehicle Assembly Building. This milestone will mark the completed delivery of all components of the SLS in-space stage.

8. BOOSTER COMPONENTS TO BE OUTFITTED FOR FLIGHT IN 2018

Major components of the solid rocket boosters will undergo final outfitting for flight in 2018. The forward and aft assemblies, which contain the thrust vector control, or steering system, are scheduled to be completed at Kennedy Space Center. Motor segments for the first flight are well underway and will be readied for their journey by rail to Kennedy.

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December 2017 Highlights Space Launch System (SLS) 5

9. EM-1 CORE STAGE WILL BE COMPLETE

At Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans all five major structural pieces of the SLS core stage will be integrated together to form the 212-foot-tall stage. This is the last step before delivery to Stennis Space Center for testing.

10. EM-1 CORE STAGE TO BE ASSEMBLED AND READY FOR GREEN RUN TESTING AT STENNIS SPACE CENTER

Once assembled at Michoud Assembly Center, the EM-1 core stage will go up-river to Stennis Space Center for green run testing on the newly renovated B-2 test stand. This green run test will be the first time that four RS-25 engines will fire together and will also be the final test of the core stage and engines before flight.

Read more about how components for the Orion and SLS are coming together while teams at Kennedy Space Center prepare the ground systems infrastructure to support Exploration Mission-1 and subsequent missions: bit.ly/2Dof4nG

SPACEFLIGHT PARTNERS: Davis Strategic Innovations, Inc. (DSI)NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 30

LOCATION: Huntsville, Alabama

WHAT THEY DO FOR SLS: DSI has provided finite element analysis for theSLS launch vehicle stage adapter. Teledyne Brown Engineering is the primecontractor for the adapter.

FOLLOW THE PROGRESS OF NASA’S NEW LAUNCH VEHICLE FOR DEEP SPACE:Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Twitter.com/NASA_SLS

Facebook . . . . . . . . . . . Facebook.com/NASASLS

All about SLS’s thermal protection system

Final secondary payloads avionics testing

JANUARY