NASA, Boeing complete first phase of testing on Space Launch System

Boeing/Contributed

NASA and Boeing tested the structural integrity of Space Launch System (SLS), according to a release from Boeing.

Simulating the pressure placed on SLS on its way to space, electric motors and impulse hammers shook and pounded the rocket’s core stage as part of the rigorous testing procedure.

Assessing how the rocket performs under the rigors of launch is one part of the overall test program called the Green Run.

Green Run will conclude with the “hot fire” test of all four engines simultaneously. The 8.5-minute test of the engines will replicate the 2 million pounds of thrust required at launch.

Alabama’s aerospace industry has led the effort to build the most powerful rocket ever built.

The SLS program is managed out of Marshall Space Flight Center. Developed by Boeing in Huntsville, and powered by four Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25 engines, SLS stands 212 feet high and 27.6 feet in diameter.

Watch the complex transport and installation of SLS:

Tim Howe is an owner of Yellowhammer Multimedia

Recent in News

Tuberville PSC

U.S. Senator and 2026 frontrunner to become the next Governor of Alabama, Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn), voiced his support Wednesday for the multi-bill utility reform package moving through the Alabama Legislature. In a weekly call with in-state reporters, Tuberville urged lawmakers to pass the legislative package, saying the current Public Service Commission members who fail to […]

The Alabama House and Senate Education Trust Fund budget committee chairmen addressed the Business Council of Alabama’s Tuesday morning briefing, and discussed budget priorities, their working relationship, and the future of education in Alabama. State Sen. Arthur Orr (R-Decatur) and State Rep. Danny Garrett (R-Trussville) agreed that managing expectations will be a key challenge this […]