The ground test motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) is secured on a work stand inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility on July 31, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It will be inspected and prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mechanical fit testing. This inert motor will not be used for flight, but will be used to certify flight hardware assembly in preparation for a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. During the test, the booster will launch from SLC 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and their contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch are performing the pathfinding exercises and flight operations for AA-2.

The ground test motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) is secured on a work stand inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility on July 31, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It will be inspected and prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mechanical fit testing. This inert motor will not be used for flight, but will be used to certify flight hardware assembly in preparation for a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. During the test, the booster will launch from SLC 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and their contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch are performing the pathfinding exercises and flight operations for AA-2.

The ground test motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) is secured on a work stand inside the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility on July 31, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It will be inspected and prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mechanical fit testing. This inert motor will not be used for flight, but will be used to certify flight hardware assembly in preparation for a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. During the test, the booster will launch from SLC 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and their contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch are performing the pathfinding exercises and flight operations for AA-2.

Secured on a flatbed transporter in its shipping container, the ground test motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) arrives at the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) on July 20, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the RPSF the motor will be inspected and prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mechanical fit testing. This inert motor will not be used for flight, but will be used to certify flight hardware assembly in preparation for a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. During the test, the booster will launch from SLC 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and their contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch SMC/LEXO, are performing the pathfinding exercises and flight operations for AA-2.

Secured on a flatbed transporter in its shipping container, the ground test motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) is moved to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) on July 20, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the RPSF the motor will be inspected and prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mechanical fit testing. This inert motor will not be used for flight, but will be used to certify flight hardware assembly in preparation for a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. During the test, the booster will launch from SLC 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and their contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch SMC/LEXO, are performing the pathfinding exercises and flight operations for AA-2.

Secured on a flatbed transporter in its shipping container, the ground test motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) will be moved from the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) on July 20, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the RPSF the motor will be inspected and prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mechanical fit testing. This inert motor will not be used for flight, but will be used to certify flight hardware assembly in preparation for a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. During the test, the booster will launch from SLC 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and their contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch SMC/LEXO, are performing the pathfinding exercises and flight operations for AA-2.

Secured on a flatbed transporter in its shipping container, the ground test motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) arrives at the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) on July 20, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the RPSF the motor will be inspected and prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mechanical fit testing. This inert motor will not be used for flight, but will be used to certify flight hardware assembly in preparation for a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. During the test, the booster will launch from SLC 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and their contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch SMC/LEXO, are performing the pathfinding exercises and flight operations for AA-2.

The ground test motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) arrives by flatbed truck in its shipping container in the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building on July 20, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It will be transferred to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility where it will be inspected and prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mechanical fit testing. This inert motor will not be used for flight, but will be used to certify flight hardware assembly in preparation for a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. During the test, the booster will launch from SLC 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and their contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch SMC/LEXO, are performing the pathfinding exercises and flight operations for AA-2.

In the transfer aisle inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane lowers the shipping container with the ground test motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) inside onto another transporter on July 20, 2018. The container will be moved to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility where it will be inspected and prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mechanical fit testing. This inert motor will not be used for flight, but will be used to certify flight hardware assembly in preparation for a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. During the test, the booster will launch from SLC 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and their contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch SMC/LEXO, are performing the pathfinding exercises and flight operations for AA-2.

The ground test motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) arrives by flatbed truck in its shipping container in the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building on July 20, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It will be transferred to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility where it will be inspected and prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mechanical fit testing. This inert motor will not be used for flight, but will be used to certify flight hardware assembly in preparation for a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. During the test, the booster will launch from SLC 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and their contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch are performing the pathfinding exercises and flight operations for AA-2.

The ground test motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) arrives by flatbed truck in its shipping container in the transfer aisle of the Vehicle Assembly Building on July 20, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. It will be transferred to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility where it will be inspected and prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mechanical fit testing. This inert motor will not be used for flight, but will be used to certify flight hardware assembly in preparation for a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. During the test, the booster will launch from SLC 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and their contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch SMC/LEXO, are performing the pathfinding exercises and flight operations for AA-2.

Secured on a flatbed transporter in its shipping container, the ground test motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) arrives at the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility (RPSF) on July 20, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. In the RPSF the motor will be inspected and prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mechanical fit testing. This inert motor will not be used for flight, but will be used to certify flight hardware assembly in preparation for a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. During the test, the booster will launch from SLC 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. Orion is being prepared for its first integrated uncrewed flight atop the SLS on Exploration Mission-1. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and their contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch SMC/LEXO, are performing the pathfinding exercises and flight operations for AA-2.

In the transfer aisle inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Jacob’s technicians on the Test Operations Support Contract attach a crane to a shipping container with the ground test motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) inside on July 20, 2018. The container will be lifted and transferred to another transporter and moved to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility where it will be inspected and prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mechanical fit testing. This inert motor will not be used for flight, but will be used to certify flight hardware assembly in preparation for a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. During the test, the booster will launch from SLC 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and their contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch SMC/LEXO, are performing the pathfinding exercises and flight operations for AA-2.

In the transfer aisle inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, Jacob’s technicians attach a crane to a shipping container with the ground test motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) inside on July 20, 2018. The container will be lifted and transferred to another transporter and moved to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility where it will be inspected and prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mechanical fit testing. This inert motor will not be used for flight, but will be used to certify flight hardware assembly in preparation for a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. During the test, the booster will launch from SLC 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and their contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch SMC/LEXO, are performing the pathfinding exercises and flight operations for AA-2.

In the transfer aisle inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane is used to lift up the shipping container with the ground test motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) inside on July 20, 2018. The container will be lowered onto another transporter and moved to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility where it will be inspected and prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mechanical fit testing. This inert motor will not be used for flight, but will be used to certify flight hardware assembly in preparation for a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. During the test, the booster will launch from SLC 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and their contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch SMC/LEXO, are performing the pathfinding exercises and flight operations for AA-2.

In the transfer aisle inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane is used to lift up a shipping container with the ground test motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) inside on July 20, 2018. The container will be lifted and transferred to another transporter and moved to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility where it will be inspected and prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mechanical fit testing. This inert motor will not be used for flight, but will be used to certify flight hardware assembly in preparation for a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. During the test, the booster will launch from SLC 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and their contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch SMC/LEXO, are performing the pathfinding exercises and flight operations for AA-2.

In the transfer aisle inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane operated by Jacob’s technicians lowers the shipping container with the ground test motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) inside onto another transporter on July 20, 2018. The container will be moved to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility where it will be inspected and prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mechanical fit testing. This inert motor will not be used for flight, but will be used to certify flight hardware assembly in preparation for a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. During the test, the booster will launch from SLC 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and their contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch SMC/LEXO, are performing the pathfinding exercises and flight operations for AA-2.

In the transfer aisle inside the Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB) at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, a crane is used to lift up the shipping container with the ground test motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) inside on July 20, 2018. The container will be lowered onto another transporter and moved to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility where it will be inspected and prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mechanical fit testing. This inert motor will not be used for flight, but will be used to certify flight hardware assembly in preparation for a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. During the test, the booster will launch from SLC 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and their contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch SMC/LEXO, are performing the pathfinding exercises and flight operations for AA-2.

AeroVironment ground crew check out the operation of the Pathfinder-Plus solar aircraft's electric motors during combined systems tests on Rogers Dry Lake.

Teams from NASA and Northrop Grumman fire a ground-based version of a booster for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket June 26. Secured horizontally in a test stand at Northrop Grumman’s test facility in Promontory, Utah, the single five-segment booster motor fired for more than two minutes and produced 3.9 million pounds of thrust. The booster for this test, known as Demonstration Motor-1 (DM-1), is the result of the Booster Obsolescence Life Extension (BOLE) project. This test was the first full-scale ground test of a new five-segment solid rocket motor. Teams from NASA and Northrop Grumman fire a ground-based version of a booster for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket June 26. Secured horizontally in a test stand at Northrop Grumman’s test facility in Promontory, Utah, the single five-segment booster motor fired for more than two minutes and produced 3.9 million pounds of thrust. The booster for this test, known as Demonstration Motor-1 (DM-1), is the result of the Booster Obsolescence Life Extension (BOLE) project. This test was the first full-scale ground test of a new five-segment solid rocket motor. During the test, there was an abnormal event approximately 15 seconds before the end of the motor firing. Despite this event, NASA achieved several of the test’s primary objectives and received valuable data on technical risks identified ahead of the test. Testing this evolved booster for the SLS will help evaluate improvements and new materials in the boosters. The BOLE effort was launched to transition to a more efficient, lower cost commercial solution for the boosters for the SLS rocket. Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars – for the benefit of all. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544-0034.

Teams from NASA and Northrop Grumman fire a ground-based version of a booster for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket June 26. Secured horizontally in a test stand at Northrop Grumman’s test facility in Promontory, Utah, the single five-segment booster motor fired for more than two minutes and produced 3.9 million pounds of thrust. The booster for this test, known as Demonstration Motor-1 (DM-1), is the result of the Booster Obsolescence Life Extension (BOLE) project. This test was the first full-scale ground test of a new five-segment solid rocket motor. During the test, there was an abnormal event approximately 15 seconds before the end of the motor firing. Despite this event, NASA achieved several of the test’s primary objectives and received valuable data on technical risks identified ahead of the test. Testing this evolved booster for the SLS will help evaluate improvements and new materials in the boosters. The BOLE effort was launched to transition to a more efficient, lower cost commercial solution for the boosters for the SLS rocket. Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars – for the benefit of all. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544-0034.

Teams from NASA and Northrop Grumman fire a ground-based version of a booster for the agency’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket June 26. Secured horizontally in a test stand at Northrop Grumman’s test facility in Promontory, Utah, the single five-segment booster motor fired for more than two minutes and produced 3.9 million pounds of thrust. The booster for this test, known as Demonstration Motor-1 (DM-1), is the result of the Booster Obsolescence Life Extension (BOLE) project. This test was the first full-scale ground test of a new five-segment solid rocket motor. During the test, there was an abnormal event approximately 15 seconds before the end of the motor firing. Despite this event, NASA achieved several of the test’s primary objectives and received valuable data on technical risks identified ahead of the test. Testing this evolved booster for the SLS will help evaluate improvements and new materials in the boosters. The BOLE effort was launched to transition to a more efficient, lower cost commercial solution for the boosters for the SLS rocket. Through the Artemis campaign, NASA will send astronauts to explore the Moon for scientific discovery, economic benefits, and to build the foundation for the first crewed missions to Mars – for the benefit of all. For more information, contact NASA Marshall’s Office of Communications at 256-544-0034.

NASA and Northrop Grumman completed a solid rocket booster motor ground test for future flights of the agency’s Space Launch System rocket at Northrop Grumman’s test facility in Promontory, Utah, July 21. The booster motor, called Flight Support Booster-2 (FSB-2), fired for a little over two minutes and produced more than 3.6 million pounds of thrust. Test data will be used to evaluate improvements and new materials in the boosters for missions after Artemis III. When SLS launches the Artemis missions to the Moon, its two five-segment solid rocket boosters produce more than 75% of the initial thrust. The SLS boosters are the largest, most powerful boosters ever built for flight. For more information about SLS, visit nasa.gov/sls

NASA and Northrop Grumman completed a solid rocket booster motor ground test for future flights of the agency’s Space Launch System rocket at Northrop Grumman’s test facility in Promontory, Utah, July 21. The booster motor, called Flight Support Booster-2 (FSB-2), fired for a little over two minutes and produced more than 3.6 million pounds of thrust. Test data will be used to evaluate improvements and new materials in the boosters for missions after Artemis III. When SLS launches the Artemis missions to the Moon, its two five-segment solid rocket boosters produce more than 75% of the initial thrust. The SLS boosters are the largest, most powerful boosters ever built for flight. For more information about SLS, visit nasa.gov/sls

NASA’s all-electric X-57 Maxwell prepares for ground vibration testing, or GVT, at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in California. Done in parallel with cruise motor controller testing, the GVT tested the vehicle at various vibration levels, helping engineers to examine and validate the integrity of the vehicle for flight conditions. A goal of X-57 is to help the Federal Aviation Administration set certification standards for emerging electric aircraft markets.

The 10 booster motor segments that will form the NASA Space Launch System rocket’s twin, five-segment solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Artemis II mission, arrive at Kennedy Space Center on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. Due to their weight, the booster motor segments traveled by rail across eight states in specialized transporters to the Florida spaceport. Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process each of the segments at Kennedy in preparation for launch. Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen will blast off from Kennedy, traveling around the Moon on the first crewed mission under Artemis that will test all of the Orion spacecraft’s systems.

The 10 booster motor segments that will form the NASA Space Launch System rocket’s twin, five-segment solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Artemis II mission, arrive at Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. Due to their weight, the booster motor segments traveled by rail across eight states in specialized transporters to the Florida spaceport. Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process each of the segments at Kennedy in preparation for launch. Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen will blast off from Kennedy, traveling around the Moon on the first crewed mission under Artemis that will test all of the Orion spacecraft’s systems.

The 10 booster motor segments that will form the NASA Space Launch System rocket’s twin, five-segment solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Artemis II mission, arrive at Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. Due to their weight, the booster motor segments traveled by rail across eight states in specialized transporters to the Florida spaceport. Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process each of the segments at Kennedy in preparation for launch. Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen will blast off from Kennedy, traveling around the Moon on the first crewed mission under Artemis that will test all of the Orion spacecraft’s systems.

The 10 booster motor segments that will form the NASA Space Launch System rocket’s twin, five-segment solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Artemis II mission, arrive at Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. Due to their weight, the booster motor segments traveled by rail across eight states in specialized transporters to the Florida spaceport. Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process each of the segments at Kennedy in preparation for launch. Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen will blast off from Kennedy, traveling around the Moon on the first crewed mission under Artemis that will test all of the Orion spacecraft’s systems.

The 10 booster motor segments that will form the NASA Space Launch System rocket’s twin, five-segment solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Artemis II mission, arrive at Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. Due to their weight, the booster motor segments traveled by rail across eight states in specialized transporters to the Florida spaceport. Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process each of the segments at Kennedy in preparation for launch. Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen will blast off from Kennedy, traveling around the Moon on the first crewed mission under Artemis that will test all of the Orion spacecraft’s systems.

The 10 booster motor segments that will form the NASA Space Launch System rocket’s twin, five-segment solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Artemis II mission, arrive at Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. Due to their weight, the booster motor segments traveled by rail across eight states in specialized transporters to the Florida spaceport. Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process each of the segments at Kennedy in preparation for launch. Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen will blast off from Kennedy, traveling around the Moon on the first crewed mission under Artemis that will test all of the Orion spacecraft’s systems.

The 10 booster motor segments that will form the NASA Space Launch System rocket’s twin, five-segment solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Artemis II mission, arrive at Kennedy Space Center on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. Due to their weight, the booster motor segments traveled by rail across eight states in specialized transporters to the Florida spaceport. Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process each of the segments at Kennedy in preparation for launch. Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen will blast off from Kennedy, traveling around the Moon on the first crewed mission under Artemis that will test all of the Orion spacecraft’s systems.

The 10 booster motor segments that will form the NASA Space Launch System rocket’s twin, five-segment solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Artemis II mission, arrive at Kennedy Space Center on Monday, Sept. 25, 2023. Due to their weight, the booster motor segments traveled by rail across eight states in specialized transporters to the Florida spaceport. Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process each of the segments at Kennedy in preparation for launch. Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen will blast off from Kennedy, traveling around the Moon on the first crewed mission under Artemis that will test all of the Orion spacecraft’s systems.

The 10 booster motor segments that will form the NASA Space Launch System rocket’s twin, five-segment solid rocket boosters for the agency’s Artemis II mission, arrive at Kennedy Space Center on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2023. Due to their weight, the booster motor segments traveled by rail across eight states in specialized transporters to the Florida spaceport. Teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process each of the segments at Kennedy in preparation for launch. Artemis II astronauts Reid Wiseman, Victor Glover, Christina Koch, and Jeremy Hansen will blast off from Kennedy, traveling around the Moon on the first crewed mission under Artemis that will test all of the Orion spacecraft’s systems.

Inside the Launch Abort System Facility (LASF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, workers are completing the integration of a test version of the Orion crew module with the Launch Abort System (LAS) on May 18, 2019. In view are the LAS attitude control motor, jettison motor and abort motor. The test vehicle and the LAS will be used for the Orion Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) Flight Test. AA-2 is a full-stress test of the LAS, planned for July 2. AA-2 will launch from Space Launch Complex 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety if an emergency occurs during ascent on the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs, contractors Jacob's, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch and the 45th Space Wing are performing flight operations for AA-2.

The abort motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) is secured on a work stand inside the Launch Abort System Facility on Aug. 28, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This motor will be used for flight during a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. The abort motor is what will activate to pull the Orion crew module away during the event of an emergency during ascent. AA-2 will launch from Space Launch Complex 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch are performing flight operations for AA-2.

The abort motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) is secured on a work stand inside the Launch Abort System Facility on Aug. 28, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This motor will be used for flight during a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. The abort motor is what will activate to pull the Orion crew module away during the event of an emergency during ascent. AA-2 will launch from Space Launch Complex 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch are performing flight operations for AA-2.

The abort motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) is secured on a work stand inside the Launch Abort System Facility on Aug. 28, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This motor will be used for flight during a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. The abort motor is what will activate to pull the Orion crew module away during the event of an emergency during ascent. AA-2 will launch from Space Launch Complex 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch are performing flight operations for AA-2.

The abort motor for Orion's Launch Abort System (LAS) is secured on a work stand inside the Launch Abort System Facility on Aug. 28, 2018, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This motor will be used for flight during a full-stress test of the LAS, called Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test, scheduled for April 2019. The abort motor is what will activate to pull the Orion crew module away during the event of an emergency during ascent. AA-2 will launch from Space Launch Complex 46, carrying a fully functional LAS and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 miles an hour. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA's Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and contractors from Jacob's and Northrup Grumman in conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center's Launch Operations branch are performing flight operations for AA-2.

This is a ground level view of Test Stand 300 at the east test area of the Marshall Space Flight Center. Test Stand 300 was constructed in 1964 as a gas generator and heat exchanger test facility to support the Saturn/Apollo Program. Deep-space simulation was provided by a 1960 modification that added a 20-ft thermal vacuum chamber and a 1981 modification that added a 12-ft vacuum chamber. The facility was again modified in 1989 when 3-ft and 15-ft diameter chambers were added to support Space Station and technology programs. This multiposition test stand is used to test a wide range of rocket engine components, systems, and subsystems. It has the capability to simulate launch thermal and pressure profiles. Test Stand 300 was designed for testing solid rocket booster (SRB) insulation panels and components, super-insulated tanks, external tank (ET) insulation panels and components, Space Shuttle components, solid rocket motor materials, and advanced solid rocket motor materials.

The train carrying the two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon arrives at the Jay Jay rail yard – the connecting link between Kennedy Space Center and the Florida East Coast railway – in Titusville, Florida, on June 12, 2020. The boosters, each comprised of five motor segments, traveled from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, to Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The train carrying the two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon arrives at the Jay Jay rail yard – the connecting link between Kennedy Space Center and the Florida East Coast railway – in Titusville, Florida, on June 12, 2020. The boosters, each comprised of five motor segments, traveled from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, to Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The train carrying the two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon arrives at the Jay Jay rail yard – the connecting link between Kennedy Space Center and the Florida East Coast railway – in Titusville, Florida, on June 12, 2020. The boosters, each comprised of five motor segments, traveled from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, to Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The train carrying the two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon arrives at the Jay Jay rail yard – the connecting link between Kennedy Space Center and the Florida East Coast railway – in Titusville, Florida, on June 12, 2020. The boosters, each comprised of five motor segments, traveled from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, to Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The train carrying the two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon arrives at the Jay Jay rail yard – the connecting link between Kennedy Space Center and the Florida East Coast railway – in Titusville, Florida, on June 12, 2020. The boosters, each comprised of five motor segments, traveled from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, to Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The train carrying the two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon arrives at the Jay Jay rail yard – the connecting link between Kennedy Space Center and the Florida East Coast railway – in Titusville, Florida, on June 12, 2020. The boosters, each comprised of five motor segments, traveled from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, to Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The train carrying the two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon arrives at the Jay Jay rail yard – the connecting link between Kennedy Space Center and the Florida East Coast railway – in Titusville, Florida, on June 12, 2020. The boosters, each comprised of five motor segments, traveled from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, to Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The train carrying the two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon arrives at the Jay Jay rail yard – the connecting link between Kennedy Space Center and the Florida East Coast railway – in Titusville, Florida, on June 12, 2020. The boosters, each comprised of five motor segments, traveled from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, to Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The train carrying the two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon arrives at the Jay Jay rail yard – the connecting link between Kennedy Space Center and the Florida East Coast railway – in Titusville, Florida, on June 12, 2020. The boosters, each comprised of five motor segments, traveled from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, to Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The train carrying the two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon arrives at the Jay Jay rail yard – the connecting link between Kennedy Space Center and the Florida East Coast railway – in Titusville, Florida, on June 12, 2020. The boosters, each comprised of five motor segments, traveled from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, to Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

Two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are being transported from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida by railcar. Departing on June 5, 2020, the boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The train carrying the two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon arrives at the Jay Jay rail yard – the connecting link between Kennedy Space Center and the Florida East Coast railway – in Titusville, Florida, on June 12, 2020. The boosters, each comprised of five motor segments, traveled from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, to Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The train carrying the two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon arrives at the Jay Jay rail yard – the connecting link between Kennedy Space Center and the Florida East Coast railway – in Titusville, Florida, on June 12, 2020. The boosters, each comprised of five motor segments, traveled from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, to Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The train carrying the two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon arrives at the Jay Jay rail yard – the connecting link between Kennedy Space Center and the Florida East Coast railway – in Titusville, Florida, on June 12, 2020. The boosters, each comprised of five motor segments, traveled from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, to Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

The two solid rocket boosters that will power NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) for Artemis missions to the Moon are on their way to the agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida after departing from a Northrop Grumman manufacturing facility in Promontory, Utah, on June 5, 2020. The boosters – each comprised of five motor segments – are scheduled to arrive at Kennedy’s Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility, where teams with NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems will process the segments before moving them to the Vehicle Assembly Building for stacking on the mobile launcher. Under the Artemis program, NASA will land the first woman and the next man on the Moon by 2024. The first in a series of increasingly complex missions, Artemis I will test the Orion spacecraft and SLS as an integrated system ahead of crewed flights to the Moon.

NASA's Curiosity Mars rover conducted a test on Oct. 17, 2017, as part of the rover team's development of a new way to use the rover's drill. This image from Curiosity's front Hazard Avoidance Camera (Hazcam) shows the drill's bit touching the ground during an assessment of measurements by a sensor on the rover's robotic arm. Curiosity used its drill to acquire sample material from Martian rocks 15 times from 2013 to 2016. In December 2016, the drill's feed mechanism stopped working reliably. During the test shown in this image, the rover touched the drill bit to the ground for the first time in 10 months. The image has been adjusted to brighten shaded areas so that the bit is more evident. The date was the 1,848th Martian day, or sol, of Curiosity's work on Mars In drill use prior to December 2016, two contact posts -- the stabilizers on either side of the bit -- were placed on the target rock while the bit was in a withdrawn position. Then the motorized feed mechanism within the drill extended the bit forward, and the bit's rotation and percussion actions penetrated the rock. A promising alternative now under development and testing -- called feed-extended drilling -- uses motion of the robotic arm to directly advance the extended bit into a rock. In this image, the bit is touching the ground but the stabilizers are not. In the Sol 1848 activity, Curiosity pressed the drill bit downward, and then applied smaller sideways forces while taking measurements with a force/torque sensor on the arm. The objective was to gain understanding about how readings from the sensor can be used during drilling to adjust for any sideways pressure that might risk the bit becoming stuck in a rock. While rover-team engineers are working on an alternative drilling method, the mission continues to examine sites on Mount Sharp, Mars, with other tools. https://photojournal.jpl.nasa.gov/catalog/PIA22063

Engineers and technicians manually deployed the secondary mirror support structure (SMSS) of the James Webb Space Telescope's Pathfinder backplane test model, outside of a giant space simulation chamber called Chamber A, at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. This historic test chamber was previously used in manned spaceflight missions and is being readied for a cryogenic test of a Webb telescope component. In the weightless environment of space, the SMSS is deployed by electric motors. On the ground, specially trained operators use a hand crank and a collection of mechanical ground support equipment to overcome the force of gravity. &quot;This structure needs to be in the deployed configuration during the cryogenic test to see how the structure will operate in the frigid temperatures of space,&quot; said Will Rowland, senior mechanical test engineer for Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems, Redondo Beach, California. &quot;The test also demonstrates that the system works and can be successfully deployed.&quot; After the deployment was completed, Chamber A's circular door was opened and the rails (seen in the background of the photo) were installed so that the Pathfinder unit could be lifted, installed and rolled into the chamber on a cart. The team completed a fit check for the Pathfinder. Afterwards they readied the chamber for the cryogenic test, which will simulate the frigid temperatures the Webb telescope will encounter in space. “The team has been doing a great job keeping everything on schedule to getting our first optical test results, &quot; said Lee Feinberg, NASA Optical Telescope Element Manager. The James Webb Space Telescope is the scientific successor to NASA's Hubble Space Telescope. It will be the most powerful space telescope ever built. Webb is an international project led by NASA with its partners, the European Space Agency and the Canadian Space Agency. Image credit: NASA/Desiree Stover Text credit: Laura Betz, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Maryland <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/audience/formedia/features/MP_Photo_Guidelines.html" rel="nofollow">NASA image use policy.</a></b> <b><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/home/index.html" rel="nofollow">NASA Goddard Space Flight Center</a></b> enables NASA’s mission through four scientific endeavors: Earth Science, Heliophysics, Solar System Exploration, and Astrophysics. Goddard plays a leading role in NASA’s accomplishments by contributing compelling scientific knowledge to advance the Agency’s mission. <b>Follow us on <a href="http://twitter.com/NASAGoddardPix" rel="nofollow">Twitter</a></b> <b>Like us on <a href="http://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenbelt-MD/NASA-Goddard/395013845897?ref=tsd" rel="nofollow">Facebook</a></b> <b>Find us on <a href="http://instagrid.me/nasagoddard/?vm=grid" rel="nofollow">Instagram</a></b>

KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FLA. -- On Launch Pad 17A at Cape Canaveral Air Station, Deep Space 1 is lowered toward the second stage of a Boeing Delta 7326 rocket. The adapter on the spacecraft can be seen surrounding the booster motor. Targeted for launch on Oct. 25, Deep Space 1 is the first flight in NASA's New Millennium Program, and is designed to validate 12 new technologies for scientific space missions of the next century, including the engine. Propelled by the gas xenon, the engine is being flight-tested for future deep space and Earth-orbiting missions. Deceptively powerful, the ion drive emits only an eerie blue glow as ionized atoms of xenon are pushed out of the engine. While slow to pick up speed, over the long haul it can deliver 10 times as much thrust per pound of fuel as liquid or solid fuel rockets. Other onboard experiments include software that tracks celestial bodies so the spacecraft can make its own navigation decisions without the intervention of ground controllers. Deep Space 1 will complete most of its mission objectives within the first two months, but will also do a flyby of a near-Earth asteroid, 1992 KD, in July 1999

A team of NASA researchers from Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) and Dryden Flight Research center have proven that beamed light can be used to power an aircraft, a first-in-the-world accomplishment to the best of their knowledge. Using an experimental custom built radio-controlled model aircraft, the team has demonstrated a system that beams enough light energy from the ground to power the propeller of an aircraft and sustain it in flight. Special photovoltaic arrays on the plane, similar to solar cells, receive the light energy and convert it to electric current to drive the propeller motor. In a series of indoor flights this week at MSFC, a lightweight custom built laser beam was aimed at the airplane `s solar panels. The laser tracks the plane, maintaining power on its cells until the end of the flight when the laser is turned off and the airplane glides to a landing. The laser source demonstration represents the capability to beam more power to a plane so that it can reach higher altitudes and have a greater flight range without having to carry fuel or batteries, enabling an indefinite flight time. The demonstration was a collaborative effort between the Dryden Center at Edward's, California, where the aircraft was designed and built, and MSFC, where integration and testing of the laser and photovoltaic cells was done. Laser power beaming is a promising technology for consideration in new aircraft design and operation, and supports NASA's goals in the development of revolutionary aerospace technologies. Photographed with their invention are (from left to right): David Bushman and Tony Frackowiak, both of Dryden; and MSFC's Robert Burdine.