NASA is testing the solid rocket boosters that will be used on the Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket that will be taking astronauts into deep space.
The engines on the booster will be ignited for two minutes, according to Space.com, the exact amount of time it will fire during launch, and will generate 3.6 million pounds (1.6 million kilograms) of maximum thrust, just like the first test that took place in March 2015.
NASA officials assure everyone the giant booster won’t be going anyplace on Tuesday because it is constrained and in a horizontal position, but the fire and smoke is sure to make for quite a show. The test will commence at 10:05 a.m. EDT (1405 GMT), and can be watched live at Space.com, courtesy of NASA TV.
The solid rocket booster made by Orbital is designed to give NASA’s SLS an extra boost at launch. Two of the boosters will be strapped to either side of the main body of the rocket, remaining attached during the first two minutes of flight. We are talking about boosters that stand 17-stories high, with each booster able to burn 5.5 tons of propellant per second. That comes to 1,385,000 pounds of propellant in two minutes. According to Orbital, that’s more power than 14 four-engine Boeing 747s have at take off.
One big difference in tomorrow’s test will be the temperature of the propellant. In March 2015, the propellant was heated to 90 degrees Fahrenheit, the highest temperature the propellant can be with the engine still functioning properly. Tomorrow, the propellant will be at 40 degrees Fahrenheit, supposedly the coldest temperature the engine can handle and still work properly.
After tomorrow, we won’t see the SLS solid rocket booster light up until 2018, when the first test flight of the Exploration Mission-1 (EM-1) takes place. The rocket will launch an unmanned version of the Orion crew capsule. While no crew will be aboard, the EM-1 will launch a number of research satellites that includes a Lunar laser to map ice on the Moon’s South Pole and an “asteroid scout” that will map an asteroid orbiting near Earth.