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[NASA] NASA Simulations Improve Artemis II Launch Environment

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NASA Simulations Improve Artemis II Launch Environment

This simulation of the Artemis I launch shows how the Space Launch System rocket’s exhaust plumes interact with the air, water, and the launchpad. Colors on surfaces indicate pressure levels—red for high pressure and blue for low pressure. The teal contours illustrate where water is present.
Credits: NASA/Chris DeGrendele, Timothy Sandstrom

Airflow around rockets as they travel from Earth into space can have a dramatic impact on a mission, which is why NASA used advanced simulations to provide the best possible launch conditions for the Artemis II test flight around the Moon. 

To better understand the Artemis Space Launch System (SLS) rocket’s flight environment, engineers turned to a NASA-developed tool called the Launch, Ascent, and Vehicle Aerodynamics (LAVA) framework. The software addresses computational fluid dynamics, the flow behavior of gases and liquids. 

Using data from the 2022 Artemis I launch, researchers at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley used LAVA to simulate complex interactions between the rocket plume and a system that pumps water to suppress sound during launch. The system protects the rocket and other equipment from potentially damaging sound waves. 

Comparing simulations with and without the sound suppression system activated revealed that the water effectively reduces pressure waves from sound, but exhaust gases from the rocket could also redirect water, causing significant pressure increases in certain areas of the launchpad.   

The LAVA simulations improved NASA’s understanding of the plume interaction with the Artemis 

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 platform. Using this knowledge, aerospace engineers at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida refined the design plume pressures and adapted the launch platform to endure those pressures for 
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, NASA’s first mission with crew aboard the SLS and Orion spacecraft. 

NASA will release LAVA in the coming weeks to the aerospace community and accelerate innovation by enabling U.S. companies and researchers to run complex simulations and optimize designs for aircraft and rockets. NASA has hosted 

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 with more about the tool’s capabilities. 

The work on LAVA is supported through NASA’s

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project, which develops new computational capabilities to help predict aerospace vehicle performance. The project is part of NASA’s
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under the
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.  

NASA’s decades of aeronautics research expertise strengthens its space missions, using tools like wind tunnel testing, advanced software development, and other innovations to enhance safety and reliability. 

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Last Updated
Mar 19, 2026
Editor
Jim Banke
Contact
Robert Margetta

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