Tuesday, August 25, 2015

B-2 test stand tower finished

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. – Work has been completed on a steel tower for tests of the world's most powerful rocket, the Space Launch System. Engineers completed the addition of about 1 million pounds of structural steel work on the SLS core stage test frame on the B-2 test stand at SSC. The addition of the structural framework to the historic test stand is needed to support the height and weight of the massive rocket's core stage while allowing test teams access and providing for thrust takeout, which will hold the core stage in place during testing. NASA has been renovating the B-2 Test Stand for more than two years in preparation for the SLS test series. The historic test stand was built in the 1960s and previously used to test both the Saturn V and the space shuttle propulsion system. (Source: NASA/SSC, 08/25/15)