Brenda Marie Rivers
Northrop Grumman has delivered the motor segments for the Space Launch System’s boosters to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida where Jacobs and NASA will perform integration work for the SLS core stage rocket.
Jacobs said Wednesday it will handle hardware integration and final checkout procedures for SLS components including the solid rocket boosters ahead of the Artemis I deep-space exploration mission scheduled for 2021.
The Jacobs team will install sensors into the SRB motor segments before lowering the SLS core stage between the boosters, which contain solid propellants designed to generate up to 3.6M pounds of thrust.
Steve Arnette, senior vice president for critical mission solutions at Jacobs, said the delivery of SRB components serves as a milestone for the team before stacking critical flight hardware at KSC’s Vehicle Assembly Building.
Northrop is slated to finish the assembly of additional SRB parts that will be delivered to Jacobs for integration.
The announcement comes after NASA selected Jacobs as the prime contractor for test and operations support last year.
