NASA briefing on plans for a second Green Run static-fire test of the SLS is getting started. The test is scheduled for next Thursday, the 25th.
NASA’s Tom Whitmeyer says they are still on a path to launch Artemis-1 this year, but recognizes challenges ahead.
John Honeycutt, SLS program manager, says the core stage and RS-25 engines were in “excellent condition” after the first test; a “generational opportunity” to learn about the rocket while still in a test config.
Whitmeyer says a “deterministic” schedule would allow a launch of Artemis-1 as soon as October if everything goes well, but have to see how the stage comes out of the Green Run test and then provide an update.
Honeycutt: the four-minute mark is threshold we’ve looked at for a long time, but want to run for up to eight minutes.
Boeing’s John Shannon: we’re “threading the needle” on this test, want to stress the vehicle to learn things, but also want to protect the stage since it is a flight article.
Cold weather at Stennis has been a “difficult situation”, Shannon says, but still on track for the 25th. Had icicles form on the rocket engines, said Ryan McKibben of Stennnis.
Shannon: expect to take 30 days after the test to refurbish the core stage and load it on a barge to ship to KSC. A lesson from last month’s test is that not a lot of refurb work needed.
Timeline for the upcoming test will be similar to the one last month, with a T-0 around 4 pm CST, but could be moved up if the team works ahead of schedule.
Whitmeyer follows up on the Artemis 1 schedule: while the deterministic schedule supports an October launch realistically things will take a little longer. However, still a “reasonable chance” can launch this year.
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