NASA spent the last two weeks lifter Assisting in placing the 103 ton component in the simulator and preparing for its installation next lunar missions. Crews installed the interstage simulator component on the Thad Cochran Test Stand at Stennis Space Center near Mississippi Bay St. Louis. The connecting section mimics the same SLS (Space Launch System) The part that will help protect the upper stage of the rocket that will propel the Orion spacecraft on planned Artemis launches.
The Thad Cochran Test Stand is where NASA installs SLS components and conducts extensive testing to ensure they are safe and perform as intended in spaceflight versions. The new unit has been installed in position B-2 of the test center and is now equipped with all the necessary piping, piping and electrical systems for future tests.
The interstage compartment will protect the electrical and propulsion systems and support the SLS’s EUS (Exploration Upper Stage) in Block 1B, the latest design iteration of the rocket. It will replace the current Block 1 version and offer a 40 percent larger payload. The EUS will support 38 tons with crew or 42 tons without crew, compared to 27 tons of crew and cargo in the Block 1 iteration. (Progress!) Four RL10 engines built by contractor L3Harris will power the new EUS.
The interstage simulator unit, which NASA installed in mid-October, weighs 103 tons, is 31 feet in diameter, and 33 feet tall. The top of the section will absorb the hot EU fire shock and transfer it back to the test stand so that the test stand does not collapse under the pressure of more than 97,000 pounds of four engines.
Testing at NASA’s Stennis Space Center will prepare the SLS for testing Artemis IV missionwill send four astronauts to the ship Orion spacecraft to the Lunar Gateway space station to install a new module. After that, they will land on the surface of the Moon Starship HLS (Human Landing System) lunar lander.
Check out some of NASA’s weightlifting ideas in the video below:
