NASA to air Northrop Grumman FSB-1 test fire from Utah
Teams have installed the flight support booster (FSB) for later versions of the solid rocket boosters on NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket into the test stand in Promontory, Utah. NASA and Northrop Grumman, the SLS booster lead contractor, will conduct a two-minute, full-duration test with the booster on Sept. 2. Engineers will use data from the test to evaluate new materials and developments for SLS rockets that will power NASA’s Artemis lunar missions beyond Artemis III. Credit: Northrop Grumman
On Wednesday, September 2 at 2:45 p.m.. EDT, NASA will broadcast a full-duration test fire by Northrop Grumman of a Space Launch System (SLS) rocket booster. It will air on NASA television and will also be viewable online, via their website.
The test will be conducted at Northrop Grumman’s manufacturing and test facilities in Promontory, Utah – the same site which just two weeks ago hosted the first ground test of an extended length 63-inch-diameter Graphite Epoxy Motor (GEM 63XL) motor, designed to support ULA’s Vulcan rocket.
Tomorrow’s Flight Support Booster (FSB-1) test will help teams evaluate potential new materials, processes, and improvements for the boosters that will power deep space missions beyond Artemis III. The test also will provide another opportunity to evaluate motor manufacturing and performance.
NASA’s deep space exploration program includes the Orion spacecraft, Gateway, Human Landing System as well as the SLS rocket.
NASA continues to work towards landing the first woman and crew on the Moon by 2024.
Theresa Cross
Theresa Cross grew up on the Space Coast. It’s only natural that she would develop a passion for anything “Space” and its exploration. During these formative years, she also discovered that she possessed a talent and love for defining the unique quirks and intricacies that exist in mankind, nature, and machines. Hailing from a family of photographers—including her father and her son, Theresa herself started documenting her world through pictures at a very early age. As an adult, she now exhibits an innate photographic ability to combine what appeals to her heart and her love of technology to deliver a diversified approach to her work and artistic presentations. Theresa has a background in water chemistry, fluid dynamics, and industrial utility.
