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The lunar mobile launcher of NASA is about to send its first spacecraft to the moon.
The launcher is currently in the final test phase for Artemis 1 – a non-built test trip around the Orion spacecraft's moon planned for 2020 – after making its last solo trip to the launch base 39B of the Kennedy Space Center June 27. two months on the checkpoint before entering the VAB (Vehicle Assembly Building) to join the Orion capsule and its rocket, called Space Launch System (SLS).
One day, this same system could launch humans to the moon. The Trump administration recently asked NASA to land there by 2024, and is also considering creating a Gateway space station for future lunar missions. But first, the engineers submit the mobile launcher to a series of tests on the pad and in the VAB for these lunar milestones.
Related: Can NASA really put astronauts on the Moon in 2024?
"The mobile launcher has [already] Dan Florez, NASA's director of tests for Kennedy's ground exploration systems, said in a statement. "We performed umbilical arm rotation tests, environmental control system tests, hydraulic tests, helium tests and electrical tests to verify Launch Control Center controls. communicate properly with ground support equipment and umbilicals. "
Now that the launcher is on the platform, some of the upcoming tests include examining the flow of water designed to suppress sound waves from the SLS when it lifts; otherwise, these waves could damage the SLS, Orion and the launcher during ignition. Technicians will also examine the electrical and umbilical systems, as well as the propellant flow.
In addition, the team will swing three umbilical arms on the launcher at the same time to simulate what happens during the launch. These umbilicals carry the power and propulsion of the SLS, as well as air to purge the connection lines to the 111 meter rocket.
If the thrower is new, technological echoes have been evoked in the 1960s Apollo moon program that landed the first humans on the moon 50 years ago this month, in July 1969.
The SLS launcher made the slow 10-hour journey aboard the same tracked carrier that brought the mighty Saturn V rocket to its launch pad for its missions to the moon. Pad 39B, where the unit is being tested, was also the starting point for the Apollo 10 mission, which served as a rehearsal for the lunar landing. (The other Apollo missions to the moon were all launched from Pad 39A). And the VAB is the same place where lunar rockets were assembled five decades ago.
Follow Elizabeth Howell on Twitter @howellspace. Follow us on twitter @Spacedotcom and on Facebook.
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