Tuesday, January 16, 2018

NASA tests RS-25 flight controller

RS-25 flight controller test. NASA photo
STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- NASA engineers picked up this year where they left off in 2017, conducting a certification test of another RS-25 engine flight controller Tuesday on the A-1 Test Stand. The 365-second, full-duration test came a month after the space agency capped a year of RS-25 testing with a flight controller test in mid-December. A 3D printed part tested in December, a pogo accumulator assembly, was tested again. It’s part of an ongoing series of tests with parts made using advanced manufacturing techniques that will make building future engines more affordable. For this "green run" test, the flight controller was installed on RS-25 developmental engine E0528 and fired just as during an actual launch. Once certified, the flight controller will be removed and installed on a flight engine for use by NASA’s new deep-space rocket, the Space Launch System (SLS). (Source: NASA/SSC, 01/16/18) Previous