May 3, 2024

NASA’s SLS Moon Rocket: Early Production Success on Advanced Upper Stage

Professionals at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have actually completed a major part of a weld confidence post for the innovative upper stage of NASAs SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. The hardware was turned to a horizontal position and relocated to another part of the center on October 24. Credit: NASA/Michael DeMocker
Technicians at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility have finished an essential part of a weld self-confidence article for the sophisticated upper stage of the SLS rocket.
Service technicians at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have finished a significant part of a weld self-confidence article for the advanced upper stage of NASAs SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. The hardware was turned to a horizontal position and moved to another part of the center on October 24.
The weld confidence article kinds part of the liquid oxygen tank for the SLS rockets expedition upper phase (see infographic listed below) and is the fifth of seven weld confidence articles engineers are producing for the progressed SLS Block 1B configuration of the SLS rocket. Starting with Artemis IV, SLS will evolve to its more powerful Block 1B configuration with the advanced upper stage that offers the rocket the ability to introduce 40% more to the Moon together with Artemis astronauts inside NASAs Orion spacecraft.

Technicians at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans have actually finished a major part of a weld confidence post for the advanced upper phase of NASAs SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket delivers propulsion in stages to send NASAs Orion spacecraft and heavy freight to the Moon for the Artemis lunar objectives. While the rockets core stage style will remain the exact same for each of the Artemis objectives, the rockets upper phase is picked to fulfill different mission requirements and goals. The dome of the liquid oxygen tank weld self-confidence short article was first bonded to its structural ring at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, using friction stir welding tooling.

NASAs Space Launch System (SLS) rocket provides propulsion in phases to send out NASAs Orion spacecraft and heavy cargo to the Moon for the Artemis lunar missions. At liftoff, the core stage and twin solid rocket boosters fire to propel the rocket off the launch pad send it into orbit. While the rockets core phase style will stay the very same for each of the Artemis objectives, the rockets upper phase is chosen to meet different mission requirements and goals.
Teams utilize weld self-confidence posts to confirm welding procedures, user interfaces between the tooling and hardware, and structural integrity of the welds. The dome of the liquid oxygen tank weld confidence post was very first welded to its structural ring at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, utilizing friction stir welding tooling. The hardware was transported to Michoud, where Michoud crews in the Liquid Oxygen Tank Assembly Center (LTAC) finished welding the hardware. Marshall and Michoud engineers at the same time performed screening and analysis on the hardware to validate welding parameters.
This video demonstrates how professionals at NASAs Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans finished a significant portion of a weld self-confidence article for the sophisticated upper phase of NASAs SLS (Space Launch System) rocket. Credit: NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center
In tandem, NASA and Boeing, the SLS lead professional for the core stage and expedition upper phase, are producing structural test short articles and flight hardware structures for the upper stage at Marshall and Michoud.
NASA is working to land the first lady and very first individual of color on the Moon under Artemis. SLS becomes part of NASAs backbone for deep space expedition, together with Orion and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, and commercial human landing systems. SLS is the only rocket that can send out Orion, astronauts, and supplies to the Moon in a single mission.