Tag: CS-1
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Boeing, NASA look to finish first SLS Core Stage by end of year
NASA and prime contractor Boeing have reworked the final assembly plan for the first Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage to bring the scheduled completion date back to the end of 2019. With the engine section at the bottom of the rocket pacing the overall schedule into the middle of the year, changing the sequence…
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Boeing starts final assembly for NASA’s first SLS Core Stage, work picks up for the second
Over the past month Boeing assembled the top half of the first Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage in a vertical stacking cell at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans. The intertank, liquid oxygen (LOX) tank, and forward skirt were bolted together as the major part of the so-called “forward join” of the…
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Boeing, NASA managing SLS Core Stage hardware traffic ahead of first vehicle stacking
A traffic jam of NASA Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage hardware that needs to be assembled is building at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Building (MAF) in New Orleans. Completed subsections of the first vehicle and structural test articles (STA) are lining up to be put together at the same time as structures for the second…
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Boeing finishes SLS LOX tank foam work, recovering from tube contamination issues
Prime contractor Boeing recently completed Thermal Protection System (TPS) applications on the liquid oxygen (LOX) tank for Core Stage-1 (CS-1), the first NASA Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage. The cryogenic propellant tank was moved out of Cell N at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans on June 20, where spray-on foam insulation…
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Schedule for First SLS Core Stage Still Sliding
A recent assessment of the completion date for the first Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage now puts it at the end of May, 2019, close to the middle of next year. The date indicates that production and assembly schedules are still sliding and is reducing confidence in meeting the June, 2020 date that was…
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NASA, Boeing rewriting the book on building the SLS Core Stage
NASA and Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage prime contractor Boeing are making progress building their first vehicle, learning how to put it together and rewriting the assembly instructions on the fly. The major elements of Core Stage-1 (CS-1) and its companion structural test articles (STA) are being built up in work areas at the…
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MAF simulating SLS engine installation with RS-25 pathfinder
Engineers at the Michoud Assembly Facility (MAF) in New Orleans are using a pathfinder RS-25 engine to practice the installation of engines on the Core Stage of the Space Launch System (SLS). Each core will receive four RS-25s, which are currently undergoing test firings at the Stennis Space Center, ahead of a path that will see…