On Wednesday, June 24, the team of engineers at NASA completed their tests on the liquid oxygen tank of the Space Launch System (SLS), the next-generation rocket designed to take astronauts to the Moon in 2024, called Artemis.
The fuel tank in the test is 21 meters tall, encased in a steel ring and located at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, USA. After being subjected to pressures of millions of pounds along the length of the tank, it ultimately exploded when it reached its breaking point. This is precisely what the engineers were expecting.
The destroyed test tank section is structurally identical to what will be formed in the core stage of the SLS. Earlier, in December 2019, this engineering team also conducted similar work.
This is, of course, because they are doing this for scientific purposes, and it has not happened just once.
Why does NASA keep repeating this costly and labor-intensive task?
Because it serves a purely scientific research purpose. The latest fuel tank explosion is a significant achievement, marking the end of a three-year campaign in testing the rocket’s fuel tanks. The data obtained will ensure that its real-world version, when put into operation, can withstand the intensity and pressure of the launch as it departs from Earth.
“This year is a pivotal year for core stage testing for the Artemis missions,” said Julie Bassler, SLS project manager. “We have successfully completed the critical structural tests for the core stage at the Marshall Space Flight Center.”
To refine the rocket’s design for the project, nearly 200 individual tests have been conducted. And after completing the structural testing, NASA can adjust the designs, optimize the rocket for flight, and begin targeting the Artemis I mission – the first integrated test of the SLS, which will launch the Orion spacecraft and all systems for launch at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. This mission was delayed earlier this year and is expected to take place around mid to late 2021.
Source: Cnet