Uzay Fırlatma Sistemi ([{” attribute=””>SLS) is NASA’s super heavy-lift expendable launch vehicle that has been in development since 2011. It will be capable of launching heavy payloads into orbit, as well as providing the foundation for human exploration beyond Earth’s orbit.
SLS is designed to be evolvable, so it can support a multitude of mission types in the future. These larger and more powerful versions of the SLS will require larger and more powerful boosters.
As part of this upgraded booster development, engineers successfully fired a 2-foot-diameter, subscale solid rocket booster on June 1, 2022, at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama.
The test, conducted in Marshall’s East Test Area, produced 92,000 pounds of thrust and was done as part of the booster obsolescence and life extension (BOLE) program, providing an upgraded booster design for the evolved configuration of the Space Launch System rocket for Artemis IX and beyond. The BOLE booster will be a larger and more powerful solid rocket motor to make the SLS rocket capable of sending heavier payloads to the Moon and beyond.
The test was the second in the series to evaluate the new motor design with an added half segment, a new propellant, a new aft dome design, and a new nozzle design. The first test was completed on December 2, 2021, and produced 76,400 pounds of thrust.
For this second test, lead booster contractor Northrop Grumman used a different propellant than in the first test to put the motor under the maximum expected operating pressure it could experience on launch day. Engineers will use data from the test to analyze how the motor performed under this pressure, which could be reached on a really hot day on the launch pad at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
NASA mühendisleri, 1 Haziran 2022’de NASA’nın Alabama, Huntsville’deki Marshall Uzay Uçuş Merkezinde bir alt ölçekli katı roket motoru testini başarıyla tamamladı. Alt ölçekli motor, sıcak ateş testi sırasında 92.000 pound itme üretti. Bu, Artemis VIII’den sonra Artemis misyonları için yeni bir motor tasarımı için geliştirme çabalarını destekleyen ikinci testti. Kredi bilgileri: NASA/Samuel Lott
Yeni tasarımın gelecek yıl yapılması planlanan üçüncü alt ölçekli testi, motor için hem meme hem de yalıtım için alternatif malzemeleri değerlendirecek. Alt ölçek motor testleri, BOLE motorunun tam ölçekte nasıl performans göstereceğini öğrenmede önemli bir adımdır. Ekip, 2024 baharında Northrop Grumman’ın Utah’daki test tesisinde tam ölçekli motorun testi için son tasarımı tamamlamak için çalışıyor.