NASA to Assess 2nd Ground Qualification Test for SLS Rocket Booster Via Teleconference

NASA will subject the booster for a Boeing-built rocket to a second ground qualification test on June 28 at an Orbital ATK facility in Utah.

The space agency will broadcast Tuesday the live coverage of the two-minute booster test for the Space Launch System via NASA Television and then conduct a media teleconference to evaluate the live-fire test, NASA said Friday.

NASA aims to assess the booster’s performance at 40 degrees Fahrenheit – the colder or lowest end of the booster’s propellant temperature range – through the second ground qualification test.

Bill Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for human exploration and operations at NASA, will hold the teleconference with Charlie Precourt, vice president and general manager of Orbital ATK’s propulsion systems division, and Alex Priskos, manager of the SLS boosters office at NASA’s Marshall space flight center.

The Boeing-built SLS rocket is scheduled to launch the Lockheed Martin-made Orion spacecraft on its initial flight test, Exploration Mission-1, in 2018.

SLS, which has four RS-25 engines and has a payload capacity of up to 130 metric tons, is designed to transport crew and cargo to deep space destinations.

Lockheed’s Orion space vehicle is built to accommodate six astronauts and is designed to withstand speed of more than 20,000 miles per hour during re-entry missions.