NASA says a critical component needed for future testing in support of the Artemis missions to the Moon and beyond recently arrived at the agency’s Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi.
The interstage simulator special test equipment arrived at Stennis via barge from NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, where it was fabricated.
The simulator, 31 feet in diameter and 33 feet tall, will be used during Green Run testing of the new Exploration Upper Stage (EUS). EUS will fly on future Space Launch System (SLS) missions. EUS is being built at Michoud as a more powerful second stage to send the Orion spacecraft to deep space. It will replace the propulsion stage being used on initial Artemis flights and enable NASA to send astronauts and large payloads to the Moon on a single mission.
The new upper stage will be powered by four RL10 engines, generating a combined 97,360 pounds of thrust, compared to the single engine used on the interim stage. That will allow NASA to send 40% more payload to the Moon, 38 metric tons compared to 27 metric tons on initial missions.
EUS is expected to fly on the Artemis IV mission. Prior to that time, it will undergo Green Run testing on the B-2 Test Stand at Stennis, where the SLS core stage also was tested. During Green Run, NASA will conduct a series of tests on the EUS integrated systems to demonstrate it is ready to fly. The interstage simulator recently delivered to Stennis is essential to enable the series of tests.
The Green Run effort will culminate with a hot fire of the four RL10 engines, just as during an actual mission.
For information about Stennis Space Center, visit: www.nasa.gov/centers/stennis/.
