Tag: Stennis

Rolls-Royce to complete initial F130 engine testing for B-52J by year end

September 7, 2023 / WIL BALDWIN

Rolls-Royce (OTC: RYCEY) today announced that it is on track to complete initial F130 engine testing for the United States Air Force B-52J Stratofortress by the end of the year. Continued Rapid Twin Pod Tests at NASA Stennis Space Center in Mississippi have accomplished all of Rolls-Royce’s initial goals and allowed for the gathering of unprecedented amounts of data early in the program, further de-risking the integration of the F130 engine onto the B-52J.

In September 2021, Rolls-Royce F130 engines were selected by the Air Force to replace the existing powerplants in the B-52 fleet, with over 600 new engine deliveries expected. The new engines will extend the life of the B-52 aircraft for 30 years and are so durable they are expected to remain on wing for the remainder of the aircraft life.

F130 engines will be manufactured, assembled and tested at Rolls-Royce facilities in Indianapolis, the company’s largest production facility in the U.S. The F130 is derived from the Rolls-Royce BR family of commercial engines, with over 30 million hours of operation and a high reliability rate. It’s a proven, dependable engine with a fuel-efficient design.

Boeing Rolls Out First Space Launch System Core Stage for Delivery to NASA

January 8, 2020 / WIL BALDWIN

Teams at Stennis Space Center prepare for core stage hot-fire testing ahead of Artemis I lunar mission

Boeing [NYSE: BA] today delivered the core stage of NASA’s first Space Launch System (SLS) deep space exploration rocket, moving it out of the NASA Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans to the agency’s Pegasus barge.

The event marks the first time a completed rocket stage has shipped out of Michoud since the end of the Apollo program. SLS Core Stage 1 is the largest single rocket stage ever built by NASA and its industry partners.

The rollout follows several weeks of final testing and check-outs after NASA’s declaration of “core stage complete” during a December 9 Artemis Day celebration at Michoud.

NASA will transport the SLS core stage to its Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, in the next few days for “Green Run” hot-fire engine tests later this year. After inspection and refurbishing for launch, the stage moves to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. At Kennedy, the core stage will be integrated with the Interim Cryogenic Upper Stage (ICPS) and NASA’s Orion spacecraft for the uncrewed Artemis I mission around the moon – the first launch of a human-rated spacecraft to the Moon since Apollo 17 in 1972.

“The Boeing SLS team has worked shoulder-to-shoulder with NASA and our supplier partners to face multiple challenges with ingenuity and perseverance, while keeping safety and quality at the forefront,” said John Shannon, Boeing SLS vice president and program manager.

SLS is the world’s most powerful rocket, evolvable and built to carry astronauts and cargo farther and faster than any rocket in history. Its unmatched capabilities will deliver human-rated spacecraft, habitats and science missions to the moon, Mars and beyond as part of NASA’s Artemis program.

“We are applying what we’ve learned from development of the first core stage to accelerate work on core stages 2 and 3, already in production at Michoud, as well as the Exploration Upper Stage that will power NASA’s most ambitious Artemis missions,” said Shannon.

Space Launch System Core stage 1 rollout from Michoud Assembly Facility to NASA’s Pegasus barge; for Green Run test. MSF20-0002 Series. Leanne Caret_President and CEO of Boeing Defense, Space & Security.

Rocket Testing Lifts Off at NASA Marshall

January 28, 2019 / WIL BALDWIN

NASA and Boeing teams lifted critical Space Launch System (SLS) test hardware into place at Marshall Space Flight Center.

“I wish all of America could be here to see this. It’s history in the making, and we’re honored to be part of it,” said Paul Wright, Boeing Test & Evaluation Senior Manager for SLS.

A test version of the largest section of core stage hardware, the Boeing-built liquid hydrogen tank (LH2), will undergo months of structural testing to validate design and manufacture of this SLS core stage element.

The 150,000 pound liquid hydrogen tank test article is structurally identical to the flight version of the tank that will comprise two-thirds of the core stage and hold 537,000 gallons of liquid hydrogen cooled to minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit. Dozens of hydraulic cylinders in the 225-foot-tall test stand will push and pull the tank, subjecting it to the same stresses and loads it will endure during liftoff and flight.

The flight version of the LH2 tank is undergoing final fitting at New Orleans’ Michoud Assembly Facility. The fitting prepares the article for stacking with the engine section, called aft join. The top half of the core stage, called forward join, will then be mated with the aft join in final assembly. Engines are then attached and the core stage will be shipped to NASA’s Stennis Space Flight Center for smoke and fire testing in the refurbished B2 test stand, where Apollo’s Saturn V stages were tested.

Story and image from http://www.boeing.com

Rolls-Royce to complete initial F130 engine testing for B-52J by year end

Boeing Rolls Out First Space Launch System Core Stage for Delivery to NASA

Rocket Testing Lifts Off at NASA Marshall

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