Successful Orbital ATK SLS Booster Test Paves Way for EM-1 in 2018

Orbital ATK successfully conducted the second of two qualification tests for the motor for solid rocket boosters (SRBs) that will be part of the NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS).  The 2-minute test today at the company’s Promontory, Utah test site was delayed by one hour because of a computer issue, but appeared flawless when it took place at 11:05 am Eastern Daylight Time (EDT).  The next time the booster will be used in for the first SLS test launch in 2018 dubbed Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1).

Bill Gerstenmaier, NASA Associate Administrator for Human Exploration and Operations, excitedly told a media teleconference an hour later that the test proved “this design is ready to fly.”  Expressing “100 percent confidence in this team,” he cheerfully urged them to celebrate and then “get back to work” because 2018 is closer than it seems.

SLS is intended to eventually send humans to Mars.  An audience questioner said he was 49 years old and asked “will I see a man on Mars?”   Gerstenmaier replied “yes, but ‘man’ may be the wrong word.  You will see a human being” on Mars, to applause from people in the room.

Today’s Qualification Motor test 2 (QM-2) was designed to show how it operates in cold temperatures at about 40 degrees Farhenheit.  A 2015 test demonstrated its performance in high temperatures at approximately 90 degrees F.  The motor is 154 feet long and 12 feet in diameter, producing 3.6 million pounds of thrust. Although based on the SRBs for the space shuttle, they incorporate new technologies, materials and manufacturing processes.   For today’s test, it lay horizontally on a test stand with flames and smoke billowing out the back.

Orbital ATK QM-2 solid rocket motor test, Promontory, Utah, June 28, 2016.  Photo credit: NASA/Bill Ingalls.

Two five-segment SRBs are needed for each SLS launch, a total of 10 segments.  Charlie Precourt, a former astronaut and now Vice President and General Manager for Orbital ATK’s Propulsion Systems Division said seven more are needed for the EM-1 test in 2018.  He expects all of the segments to ship to Kennedy Space Center by late 2017.  With the successful completion of this test, the development phase is now over and the company will transition to manufacturing.  Noting that development and manufacturing are two different mindsets, he said the next challenge is to be sure “we can build this precisely each time.”

Gerstenmaier exclaimed that “today was an amazing day.”  Asked whether this type of visible milestone is helpful as the country readies for a presidential transition, he said it was not just milestones, but demonstrating on a continuing basis that NASA and its contractors can maintain schedule and budget.  But it also is important not to overreact to those pressures — ensure the design is solid because shortcuts may be costly in the long run. The U.S. human spaceflight program, including the International Space Station, is “robust,” he exuded.  It will keep the United States in the lead and is a program that “any country would be lucky to have and we are really blessed that we have this program in this country. Hopefully the political environment” will recognize that.

The launch date for EM-1 is currently targeted for September 2018, but Gerstenmaier said the schedule was “trending” toward October or November.  EM-1 will launch an uncrewed version of the Orion spacecraft.  The first crew will be launched on EM-2.  Officially, NASA has committed to launching EM-2 in 2023, but is working towards a 2021 launch date if funding permits.  Congress has been adding money above the President’s request for SLS and Orion for several years, including the FY2017 budget currently under consideration.  The Senate began debate on its version of the FY2017 Commerce-Justice-Science (CJS) appropriations bill, which includes NASA, last week.  It would provide $2.15 billion for SLS, compared to the President’s request of $1.31 billion.  The House Appropriations Committee approved $2 billion.