During the September 30 hot fire, operators fired RS-25 developmental engine No. 0528, used for each of the 7 tests in the series, for more than 8 minutes (500 seconds), the very same time required throughout a real launch.
The test series offered valuable details to Aerojet Rocketdyne, lead specialist for the SLS engines, as it produces engines for usage after the Artemis IV objective to the Moon. Operators gathered hot fire data to demonstrate and validate numerous engine capabilities, and to assess brand-new engine components made with cutting-edge and cost-saving innovations and reduce functional risk.
Evaluated elements consisted of a 3D-printed pogo accumulator to dampen pressure oscillations that can cause flight instability and a main combustion chamber produced utilizing a hot isostatic pressure (HIP) bonding method. These elements are significant early turning points in NASAs and Aerojet Rocketdynes effort to optimize cutting edge production approaches to significantly decrease the cost and time required to construct brand-new RS-25 engines.
The September 30 test was delayed from its initial date due to impacts from Hurricane Ida, which struck the Gulf Coast area on August 29. The storm at first impacted propellant shipments to the center, requiring a delay as providers recuperated full abilities.
” I am happy to see how the test team and our propellant providers overcame the impacts of Hurricane Ida to get us back to checking the RS-25,” Stennis RS-25 Project Manager Chip Ellis stated. “With each test we discover more and more about the RS-25 engine and how it runs. And it is exciting to understand that what we are doing adds to the safety of the astronauts that will fly on SLS.”
4 RS-25 engines, together with a set of solid rocket boosters, will assist power SLS at launch. Firing simultaneously, the engines will generate a combined 1.6 million pounds of thrust at liftoff and 2 million pounds throughout ascent.
Previous RS-25 screening at Stennis started January 9, 2015, and concluded April 4, 2019. Throughout this period, NASA finished acceptance testing of previous space shuttle bus primary engines that will help power the very first 4 SLS missions, performed developmental and flightworthiness screening for all 16 new controllers (plus one extra) to be utilized on the heritage RS-25 engines, and demonstrated the ability of RS-25 engines to perform at the higher power level needed to release the super-heavy SLS rocket.
The first hot fire of the most present series was conducted on January 28, 2021. Throughout the seven-part test series, which accompanied Green Run testing of the SLS core stage at Stennis, developmental engine No. 0528 underwent 3,650 seconds of hot fire. The schedule included six full-duration, hot fire tests of more than eight minutes (500 seconds) and one hot fire of simply under 11 minutes (650 seconds). A full-duration test refers to the time the engine must fire during an actual launch in order to power SLS towards orbit. Longer period hot fires are conducted to test the limitations of engine efficiency.
The Retrofit-2 test series followed significant maintenance and upgrade projects on the A-1 Test Stand, including installation of a brand-new NASA-designed-and-manufactured thrust vector control system on the structure that permits operators to “gimbal” test RS-25 engines, moving them on a tight circular axis. Gimbaling is a critical capability that makes sure SLS can maintain a proper flight trajectory.
Operators are set up to begin a follow-up Retrofit-3 test series, using RS-25 developmental engine No. 0525, on the A-1 Test Stand later this fall. The new series will continue to collect data for brand-new engine production.
SLS and the Orion spacecraft, along with the commercial human landing system and the Gateway in orbit around the Moon, are NASAs backbone for deep space exploration. The company is working towards the launch of the Artemis I uncrewed flight test in upcoming months, which will pave the way for future missions.
RS-25 tests at Stennis are conducted by a combined team of NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne and Syncom Space Services operators. Syncom Space Services is the prime specialist for Stennis centers and operations.
NASA carries out a full-duration RS-25 hot fire test on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis Space Center on Sept. 30. The hot fire of more than 8 minutes marked the last test of a Retrofit-2 series to support development and production of brand-new engines for the companys Space Launch System. Credit: NASA/SSC
NASA marked a significant turning point on September 30, 2021, in its strategies for future objectives to the Moon and, eventually, Mars with completion of an RS-25 single-engine Retrofit-2 test series at Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
A full-duration hot fire of RS-25 developmental engine No. 0528 on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis culminated a seven-test series to support advancement and production of new engines for the firms Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on future objectives.
” This effective test series for the Space Launch System RS-25 engine puts us one action more detailed to producing the very first brand-new set of engines for future Artemis objectives to the Moon,” said Johnny Heflin, supervisor of the SLS liquid engines workplace at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “We are evaluating engine parts made with innovative production techniques that can minimize the expense of each engine by more than 30 percent yet still preserve the RS-25 engines reliability and high efficiency.”
NASA carries out a full-duration RS-25 hot fire test on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis Space Center on Sept. 30. The hot fire of more than 8 minutes marked the final test of a Retrofit-2 series to support development and production of new engines for the firms Space Launch System.” I am proud to see how the test group and our propellant suppliers got rid of the impacts of Hurricane Ida to get us back to checking the RS-25,” Stennis RS-25 Project Manager Chip Ellis said. “With each test we find out more and more about the RS-25 engine and how it operates. Over the course of the seven-part test series, which corresponded with Green Run testing of the SLS core stage at Stennis, developmental engine No. 0528 went through 3,650 seconds of hot fire.