Engineers at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, performed a hot ignition of a solid rocket motor on the 14th. The test, conducted at Marshall’s East Test Area, was part of an ongoing series of development tests for an improved booster design for future configurations of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket.
Starting with Artemis IX, the SLS rocket in its Block 2 configuration will use the BOLE booster (obsolescence reinforcement and life extension). The more powerful solid rocket motor will give the SLS rocket the ability to send even heavier payloads to the Moon and other areas of deep space for future Artemis missions.
The test was the third in the series to evaluate alternative materials for possible use in nozzle and engine insulation and built on previous tests at Marshall in 2022 and 2021. Subscale engine testing is an essential part of learn how a large-scale BOLE works. The propeller will operate during flight.
For this last test, NASA and prime propellant contractor Northrop Grumman used different materials for both the nozzle and the insulation with the intention of improving the erosion resistance of the components. Engineers will use the test data to analyze the performance of the nozzle and insulation and compare it to the results of the second test.
SLS solid rocket boosters are the largest and most powerful boosters ever built for space flight. They produce more than 75% of the total thrust during the first two minutes of flight.
2023-09-20 07:00:12
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