NASA unveils massive main tank of rocket to Mars
- 5 years ago
HUNTSVILLE, ALABAMA — NASA has unveiled the massive main tank of a rocket that will be used to send humans to Mars.
Just last week Elon Musk revealed images of a Starship prototype, and now NASA has begun testing the main tank of a rocket bound for outer space.The hydrogen tank for NASA's Space Launch System rocket was loaded into a test stand at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama on Jan. 14.
According to a NASA report, hydraulic cylinders installed in the test stand will push and pull the tank, mimicking the pressure it would have to withstand during lift-off and flight. The SLS rocket tank is a 61-meter tall liquid hydrogen tank and is eight-meters in diameter. Its design allows it to hold over 2 million liters of supercooled liquid nitrogen.
The tank will feed the rocket's RS-25 engines with cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen producing almost nine million pounds of maximum thrust. The launch vehicle is designed to carry NASA's Orion spacecraft as well as other cargo into deep space for exploration.
Orion is one of NASA's next generation exploration spacecraft. It is able to carry four crew members within its crew module. NASA hopes to use it to on its first manned mission to the Red Planet.
In October of 2018, NASA tested its Ignition Overpressure Protection and Sound Suppression water deluge system as part of the preparation for launching the Space Launch System rocket.
The SLS rocket is one of the most powerful rockets designed by NASA. It will boost Orion at a speed of almost 40,000 kilometers per hour out of Earth's orbit. That's roughly, 11,000 kilometers per hour faster than the International Space Station travels around Earth.
Just last week Elon Musk revealed images of a Starship prototype, and now NASA has begun testing the main tank of a rocket bound for outer space.The hydrogen tank for NASA's Space Launch System rocket was loaded into a test stand at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama on Jan. 14.
According to a NASA report, hydraulic cylinders installed in the test stand will push and pull the tank, mimicking the pressure it would have to withstand during lift-off and flight. The SLS rocket tank is a 61-meter tall liquid hydrogen tank and is eight-meters in diameter. Its design allows it to hold over 2 million liters of supercooled liquid nitrogen.
The tank will feed the rocket's RS-25 engines with cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen producing almost nine million pounds of maximum thrust. The launch vehicle is designed to carry NASA's Orion spacecraft as well as other cargo into deep space for exploration.
Orion is one of NASA's next generation exploration spacecraft. It is able to carry four crew members within its crew module. NASA hopes to use it to on its first manned mission to the Red Planet.
In October of 2018, NASA tested its Ignition Overpressure Protection and Sound Suppression water deluge system as part of the preparation for launching the Space Launch System rocket.
The SLS rocket is one of the most powerful rockets designed by NASA. It will boost Orion at a speed of almost 40,000 kilometers per hour out of Earth's orbit. That's roughly, 11,000 kilometers per hour faster than the International Space Station travels around Earth.