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halfway through one of the most

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productive years in recent space history

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nasa's exploration systems development

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division is moving humans ever closer to

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the space launch system nasa's next

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generation deep space launch vehicle had

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an intense spring full of development

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testing on the avionics system

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responsible for controlling the space

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launch system's solid rocket boosters

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began in april

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the avionics system will ignite steer

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and jettison the two solid rocket

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boosters and will continue to undergo an

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extensive series of tests this summer

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in may structural tests on the sls

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booster forward skirt proved it could

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withstand millions of pounds of launch

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the sls core stage will be powered by

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four rs-25 engines that are now

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undergoing preparation for test firing

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at the stennis space center in

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mississippi

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following initial testing the engines

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will be integrated with the core stage

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and the entire assembly will be tested

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because the sls core stage is 50

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longer than the saturn moon rocket

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stages the mothballed b2 test stand and

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the main derrick crane are currently

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being modified and upgraded to

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accommodate this enormous structural

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production on the core stage structure

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and propellant tanks continues at the

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michoud assembly facility in louisiana

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34 primary structure components and 20

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rings have been welded to build the core

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stage propellant tanks including nine

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barrels and all the rings needed for

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sls's first flight

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a 5 scale model of the sls was ignited

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to test how both low and high frequency

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sound waves will affect the rocket as it

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fires in solid rocket boosters and main

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engines on the launch pad prior to

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liftoff

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these ongoing tests are collecting data

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from over 200 sensors to study the

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acoustic impact on the spacecraft and

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verify the design of its water-based

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a major milestone in the effort to

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transform kennedy space center into a

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multi-user spaceport was met when ground

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systems development and operations

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completed the initial design and

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technology phase of the preliminary

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gsdo is modifying the spaceport's

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infrastructure to support several

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different spacecraft and rocket launch

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needs

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firing room four at the launch control

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center at kennedy space center in

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florida is being renovated into four

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separate launch areas to serve nasa and

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commercial users needs

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designed to accommodate a multi-user

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spaceport the new adaptable rooms can

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open up to give more space as needed by

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a customer's launch room parameters

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upgrades to the mobile launcher at

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launch complex 39 are underway with

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significant progress toward advanced

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usability

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gsdo is systematically modernizing the

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launcher to meet the increased needs of

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the more substantial space launch system

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upgrades include structural work

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an improved sound suppression water

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system a redesigned exhaust opening

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new data connectivity to the launch

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control center and updates to the power

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after the exploration flight test 1

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mission is complete and the capsule

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lands in the pacific ocean the ground

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systems development and operations and

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orion programs and the u.s navy will

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retrieve the capsule and ship it back to

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florida for reuse

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the return process requires a series of

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pre-transportation operations which were

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successfully tested in may

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workers practiced assembling a

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transportation fixture that will be used

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to move future orion crew modules across

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the newly renovated flight control room

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at the johnson space center in houston

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played host to members of the media and

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top nasa officials in april

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the white flight control room will

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support the orion spacecraft during

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nasa's deep space exploration missions

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in may the room was used in a joint

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integration simulation along with a team

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at the kennedy space center in florida

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the two teams simulated the pre-launch

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and in orbit phases of orion's mission

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and solved real-time problems acting as

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the eyes and ears of the uncrewed

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spacecraft

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the rigorous testing on orion's

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parachute system continued in april and

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june proving the parachutes are capable

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of surviving potential failures during

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both re-entry and launch abort scenarios

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the first test simulated an abort

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scenario by dropping the capsule from a

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height of 13 000 feet and releasing the

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main parachutes before the drogue

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parachute could deploy or the vehicle

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could straighten itself out

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the second test pulled the capsule from

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the c-17 airplane at an altitude of 35

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000 feet with one of the main parachutes

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intentionally rigged to skip a crucial

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both tests demonstrated the parachute

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system can tolerate unexpected failures

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and still carry the capsule safely to

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after two years of intense production

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and testing orion's massive heat shield

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was successfully attached to the crew

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module in kennedy space center's

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operations and checkout facility

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the 16 and a half foot wide ablative

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shield will protect the capsule from

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re-entry temperatures of up to 4 000

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degrees fahrenheit

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a center of gravity test confirmed that

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all of the ballast was properly

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installed in the crew module

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the test validated the orion team's

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computer models used to calculate the

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amount and location of ballast needed to

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properly balance the crew module

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with the heat shield securely attached

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to the capsule the crew module was then

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stacked on top of the service module in

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june

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the stacked modules will undergo

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electrical avionic and radio frequency

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test to prepare for the exploration

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flight test 1 in december

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in may astronauts at the neutral

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buoyancy laboratory in houston trained

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underwater in newly modified spacesuits

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to work through simulated operations for

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nasa's asteroid retrieval mission

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a month later a naval team worked with

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orion recovery specialists to train for

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a set of procedures to safely retrieve

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the capsule and forward bay

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cover as exploration systems development

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closes in on december's launch of

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exploration flight test 1