NASA tests new rocket booster for extended space missions

Virtually every aspect of space science has pushed forward since the shuttle days, engineers said as they spoke enthusiastically of going to Mars. The SLS, along with the Orion spacecraft, provides a flexible deep space exploration platform to take humans and cargo to multiple destinations across our solar system. It is the second rocket designed for deep space exploration.

Thousands of onlookers gawked as a column of flame exploded across the desert floor outside Promontory, Utah, today (June 28) during a test of the engine that will power NASA’s next-generation rocket. RT will carry it live on this page when it begins.

When the booster is relatively hot, it burns faster and the pressure is higher. General public will also know about these results through audio of the press conference. When it finally lifts off, over 75 per cent of the power that the SLS rocket needs to get out of our atmosphere will come from the boosters. That will be an unmanned mission around the moon.

For the EM-1 fight, an interim second stage engine and uncrewed Orion capsule also will be put through their paces.

The livestream programming around the SLS booster test is scheduled to start at 10:30 AM ET on Tuesday, June 28, 2016. It took weeks to cool the booster to the necessary temperature, and Orbital ATK took it past that to just 25 degrees F. The cooling will stop shortly before launch, allowing the temperature to come up to the desired 40 degrees.

NASA retired its space shuttle fleet in 2011 and has since focused its efforts on developing a long-distance craft for eventual human missions to Mars while encouraging the development of private spacecraft to service the International Space Station. Understanding how this affects the rocket’s performance is critical to ensuring a safe, effective launch for future missions. In other words, this is gonna be one hell of a fire.

Orbital ATK in partnership with NASA will be performing the test Tuesday.

Mounted horizontally on a massive concrete test stand at Orbital ATK’s Promontory, Utah, test facility, the 154-foot-long motor ignited with a torrent of fire 11:05 a.m. EDT (GMT-4), one hour late because of problems with a ground systems computer.