![]() This seems a somewhat curious rationale, as NASA has already said the SLS core stage does not need to be subjected to further ground tests. Astronauts would be safer, too, if the SLS vehicle could be subjected to testing under more extreme conditions, he said. "Testing on the actual flight hardware is risky from a schedule perspective," the staffer said. So what exactly is a "main propulsion test article," and why does NASA need one? According to a Senate staffer, who spoke to Ars on background, this would essentially be an SLS core stage built not to fly but to undergo numerous tests at Stennis. The Stennis-specific provision says NASA should "initiate development of a main propulsion test article for the integrated core stage propulsion elements of the Space Launch System, consistent with cost and schedule constraints, particularly for long-lead propulsion hardware needed for flight." Wicker co-sponsored it and got his own language added to the bill. Advertisementīut there was more to the NASA amendment. (It does not expressly appropriate the funding, however, leaving NASA with a potential unfunded mandate.) Blue Origin is based in Cantwell's state of Washington. This provision was dubbed the Blue Origin "bailout" by some critics because it authorized the $10.03 billion that would allow NASA to fund a lander built by Blue Origin. Most notably, Cantwell told NASA it must select a second provider to build a Human Landing System for the Artemis Moon Program, alongside SpaceX. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington. It carried a number of amendments, including NASA "authorization" language sponsored by Sen. The US Senate passed the Endless Frontier Act this week to bolster US research and innovation. And Wicker clearly wanted more high-profile tests for the Mississippi center in order to keep the center's workforce engaged, so Stennis may well have more tests. Future SLS rockets would ship straight from the factory in Michoud, Louisiana, to the Florida launch site. During the 15-month test campaign, officials from NASA and the core stage contractor, Boeing, made it plain that they only needed to perform ground test firings of this vehicle one time. Further Reading Congress fires warning shot at NASA after SpaceX Moon lander awardīut even as he was celebrating the Stennis hot fire tests, Wicker must have been wondering what his center would do after the SLS rocket is gone.
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