[NASA] NASA Stennis Achieves Milestone in Preparation for Future Artemis Testing

[SpaceMan 0]

4 min read

Preparations for Next Moonwalk Simulations Underway (and Underwater)

NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, achieved a key milestone this week for testing a new SLS (Space Launch System) rocket stage to fly on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

Over a two-week ******* beginning Oct. 10, crews completed a safe lift and installation of the interstage simulator component needed for future testing of NASA’s

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

(EUS) in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand. The component will function like the SLS interstage section that helps protect the upper stage during Artemis launches.

“NASA Stennis is at the front end of the critical path for future space exploration,” said Barry Robinson, project manager for exploration upper stage Green Run testing on the Thad Cochran Test Stand. “Installing the interstage simulator is a significant step in our preparation to ensure the new, more powerful upper stage is ready to safely fly on future Artemis missions.”

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center complete a safe lift and install of an interstage simulator unit needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand. The lift and install, completed over a two-week ******* that began Oct. 10, marks a milestone for testing the new SLS (Space Launch System) rocket stage that will fly on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. The EUS will undergo a series of Green Run tests of its integrated systems prior to its first flight. During testing, the interstage simulator component will function like the SLS interstage section that helps protect the upper stage during Artemis launches. NOTE: Right click on photo to open full image in new tab.

NASA/Danny Nowlin

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center complete a safe lift and install of an interstage simulator unit needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand. The lift and install, completed over a two-week ******* that began Oct. 10, marks a milestone for testing the new SLS (Space Launch System) rocket stage that will fly on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. The EUS will undergo a series of Green Run tests of its integrated systems prior to its first flight. During testing, the interstage simulator component will function like the SLS interstage section that helps protect the upper stage during Artemis launches. NOTE: Right click on photo to open full image in new tab.

NASA/Danny Nowlin

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center complete a safe lift and install of an interstage simulator unit needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand. The lift and install, completed over a two-week ******* that began Oct. 10, marks a milestone for testing the new SLS (Space Launch System) rocket stage that will fly on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. The EUS will undergo a series of Green Run tests of its integrated systems prior to its first flight. During testing, the interstage simulator component will function like the SLS interstage section that helps protect the upper stage during Artemis launches. NOTE: Right click on photo to open full image in new tab.

NASA/Danny Nowlin

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center complete a safe lift and install of an interstage simulator unit needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand. The lift and install, completed over a two-week ******* that began Oct. 10, marks a milestone for testing the new SLS (Space Launch System) rocket stage that will fly on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. The EUS will undergo a series of Green Run tests of its integrated systems prior to its first flight. During testing, the interstage simulator component will function like the SLS interstage section that helps protect the upper stage during Artemis launches. NOTE: Right click on photo to open full image in new tab.

NASA/Danny Nowlin

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center complete a safe lift and install of an interstage simulator unit needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand. The lift and install, completed over a two-week ******* that began Oct. 10, marks a milestone for testing the new SLS (Space Launch System) rocket stage that will fly on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. The EUS will undergo a series of Green Run tests of its integrated systems prior to its first flight. During testing, the interstage simulator component will function like the SLS interstage section that helps protect the upper stage during Artemis launches. NOTE: Right click on photo to open full image in new tab.

NASA/Danny Nowlin

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center complete a safe lift and install of an interstage simulator unit needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand. The lift and install, completed over a two-week ******* that began Oct. 10, marks a milestone for testing the new SLS (Space Launch System) rocket stage that will fly on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. The EUS will undergo a series of Green Run tests of its integrated systems prior to its first flight. During testing, the interstage simulator component will function like the SLS interstage section that helps protect the upper stage during Artemis launches. NOTE: Right click on photo to open full image in new tab.

NASA/Danny Nowlin

The EUS unit, built by Boeing at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, which will be the upper stage for the evolved Block 1B version of SLS and will enable NASA to launch its most ambitious deep space missions. The new stage will replace the current interim cryogenic propulsion stage on the Block 1 version of SLS, which features a single engine and is capable of lifting 27 tons of crew and cargo to lunar orbit.

The new exploration upper stage will be powered by four RL10 engines, manufactured by SLS engines contractor L3Harris. It will increase payload capacity by 40%, enabling NASA to send 38 tons of cargo with a crew to the Moon or 42 tons of cargo without a crew.

In the first two weeks of October 2024, crews at NASA’s Stennis Space Center completed a successful lift and installation of an interstage simulator unit on the B-2 side of the Thad Cochran test Stand. The interstage simulator is a key component for future testing of NASA’s new exploration upper stage that will fly on Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond.

Before the first flight of the exploration upper stage on the

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

mission, the stage will undergo a series of Green Run tests of its integrated systems at NASA Stennis. The test series will culminate with a hot ***** of the stage’s four RL10 engines, just as during an actual mission.

The simulator component installed on the Thad Cochran Test Stand (B-2) at NASA Stennis weighs 103 tons and measures 31 feet in diameter and 33 feet tall. It will function like the SLS interstage section to protect EUS electrical and propulsion systems during Green Run testing. The top portion of the simulator also will serve as a thrust takeout system to absorb the thrust of the EUS hot ***** and transfer it back to the test stand. The four-engine EUS provides more than 97,000 pounds of thrust.

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center complete a safe lift and install of an interstage simulator unit needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand. The lift and install, completed over a two-week ******* that began Oct. 10, marks a milestone for testing the new SLS (Space Launch System) rocket stage that will fly on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. The EUS will undergo a series of Green Run tests of its integrated systems prior to its first flight. During testing, the interstage simulator component will function like the SLS interstage section that helps protect the upper stage during Artemis launches. NOTE: Right click on photo to open full image in new tab.

NASA/Danny Nowlin

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center complete a safe lift and install of an interstage simulator unit needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand. The lift and install, completed over a two-week ******* that began Oct. 10, marks a milestone for testing the new SLS (Space Launch System) rocket stage that will fly on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. The EUS will undergo a series of Green Run tests of its integrated systems prior to its first flight. During testing, the interstage simulator component will function like the SLS interstage section that helps protect the upper stage during Artemis launches. NOTE: Right click on photo to open full image in new tab.

NASA/Danny Nowlin

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center complete a safe lift and install of an interstage simulator unit needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand. The lift and install, completed over a two-week ******* that began Oct. 10, marks a milestone for testing the new SLS (Space Launch System) rocket stage that will fly on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. The EUS will undergo a series of Green Run tests of its integrated systems prior to its first flight. During testing, the interstage simulator component will function like the SLS interstage section that helps protect the upper stage during Artemis launches. NOTE: Right click on photo to open full image in new tab.

NASA/Danny Nowlin

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center complete a safe lift and install of an interstage simulator unit needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand. The lift and install, completed over a two-week ******* that began Oct. 10, marks a milestone for testing the new SLS (Space Launch System) rocket stage that will fly on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. The EUS will undergo a series of Green Run tests of its integrated systems prior to its first flight. During testing, the interstage simulator component will function like the SLS interstage section that helps protect the upper stage during Artemis launches. NOTE: Right click on photo to open full image in new tab.

NASA/Danny Nowlin

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center complete a safe lift and install of an interstage simulator unit needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand. The lift and install, completed over a two-week ******* that began Oct. 10, marks a milestone for testing the new SLS (Space Launch System) rocket stage that will fly on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. The EUS will undergo a series of Green Run tests of its integrated systems prior to its first flight. During testing, the interstage simulator component will function like the SLS interstage section that helps protect the upper stage during Artemis launches. NOTE: Right click on photo to open full image in new tab.

NASA/Danny Nowlin

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center complete a safe lift and install of an interstage simulator unit needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand. The lift and install, completed over a two-week ******* that began Oct. 10, marks a milestone for testing the new SLS (Space Launch System) rocket stage that will fly on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. The EUS will undergo a series of Green Run tests of its integrated systems prior to its first flight. During testing, the interstage simulator component will function like the SLS interstage section that helps protect the upper stage during Artemis launches. NOTE: Right click on photo to open full image in new tab.

NASA/Danny Nowlin

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center complete a safe lift and install of an interstage simulator unit needed for future testing of NASA’s exploration upper stage (EUS) in the B-2 position of the Thad Cochran Test Stand. The lift and install, completed over a two-week ******* that began Oct. 10, marks a milestone for testing the new SLS (Space Launch System) rocket stage that will fly on future Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond. The EUS will undergo a series of Green Run tests of its integrated systems prior to its first flight. During testing, the interstage simulator component will function like the SLS interstage section that helps protect the upper stage during Artemis launches. NOTE: Right click on photo to open full image in new tab.

NASA/Danny Nowlin

NASA Stennis crews previously lifted the interstage simulator to measure and align it relative to the test stand. It is now outfitted with all piping, tubing, and electrical systems necessary to support future Green Run testing.

Installation onto the test stand enables NASA Stennis crews to begin fabricating the mechanical and electrical systems connecting the facility to the simulator. As fabrication of the systems are completed, crews will conduct activation flows to ensure the test stand can operate to meet test requirements.

Through Artemis, NASA will establish the foundation for long-term scientific exploration at the Moon; land the first woman, first person of ****** and first international partner astronaut on the lunar surface; and prepare for human expeditions to Mars for the benefit of all.

For information about NASA’s Stennis Space Center, visit:

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

Explore More

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

4 min read

Lagniappe for October 2024

Article 3 weeks ago

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

4 min read

NASA Stennis Completes Key Test Complex Water System Upgrade

Article 4 weeks ago

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

7 min read

Lagniappe for September 2024

Article 2 months ago

Share

Details

Last Updated

Oct 25, 2024

Editor

NASA Stennis Communications

Contact

C. Lacy Thompson

*****@*****.tld / (228) 688-3333

Location

Stennis Space Center

Related Terms

• This is the hidden content, please

  • Sign In
  • or
  • Sign Up
• This is the hidden content, please

  • Sign In
  • or
  • Sign Up

Keep Exploring

Discover More Topics From NASA Stennis

Multi-User Test Complex

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

Propulsion Test Engineering

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

NASA Stennis Front Door

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

NASA Stennis Media Resources

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up

/applications/core/interface/js/spacer.png">

This is the hidden content, please

• Sign In
• or
• Sign Up