Core stage now at MSFC

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The core stage of NASA’s Space Launch System has finished a 17-day trip by barge and is moving ever-so-slowly to a building at Marshall Space Flight Center to undergo stress testing. The barge Pegasus moved the 40,000-pound core, built at Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, via the Mississippi, Ohio and Tennessee rivers to a landing some seven miles from the MSFC test stand. At MSFC, the core will be fitted with data channels and hydraulic lines that will subject it to the stresses of launch. The test program will last until early next year. The engine core is one of four cores that will be tested at MSFC. (Source: al.com, 05/16/17) After the test at MSFC, the core will be sent to Stennis Space Center where it will be tested with all four RS-25 engines attached. Previous