EXPLORATION SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT

COMBINED MONTHLY REPORT July 2018

Orion Lands at the White House

First SLS Core Stage Flight Hardware Complete

Exploration Ground Systems Installs Final Umbilical on Mobile Launcher

www.nasa.gov ORION

4 Orion Lands At The White House 5 Orion ESM Engine Dances the Hula 6 Team Powers on AA-2 Orion 7 AA-2 Ground Test Motor Arrives at KSC 7 Orion Interns Step Inside 7 EM-1, Shielded From The Heat 8 Orion Parachutes Chalk Up Another Test Success in Arizona 9 Snoopy Gears Up to Return to The Moon 10 Rocket Women Fire Up Crowd at Oshkosh Air Show 11 Former Astronaut Lockhart Inspires Orion Team 11 Brutalizing A Replica To Ensure Orion Safety 12 SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT: Cobham Mission Systems

SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM

14 First SLS Core Stage Flight Hardware Complete, Ready For Joining 15 New RS-25 Engines Are Up to the Test 16 Solid Rocket Boosters Prepping for Flight 17 SLS Draws a Crowd at San Diego Comic-Con 17 Getting Virtual: Oshkosh Attendees Experience a Virtual Rocket Launch 18 I Am Building SLS: Leeann Clayton 19 Hot to Go, and Ready 19 SPACEFLIGHT PARTNERS: Amorim Cork Composites

EXPLORATION GROUND SYSTEMS

22 Final Umbilical Installed on Mobile Launcher 24 Engineers Mark Completion of Umbilical Testing at Launch Equipment Test Facility 25 Interns Enjoy Kennedy Experience 27 Mars Over the Vehicle Assembly Building

2 ESD Combined Report July 2018 ORION JULY 2018

Orion Lands at the White House Orion Exploration Flight Test-1 spacecraft stars in a Made in America event. ORION LANDS AT THE WHITE HOUSE

NASA’s Exploration Flight Test-1 Orion spacecraft landed with more than 1,000 suppliers and small businesses from all front and center on the White House South Lawn for the 50 states and Puerto Rico to design, test and manufacture Administration’s Made in America Product Showcase on July components for the spacecraft. 23. This spacecraft successfully completed an orbital flight test on December 5, 2014, that went farther into space than There are three Orion spacecraft currently in production for any spacecraft built to carry humans had traveled since 1972. upcoming missions, beginning with Exploration Mission-1 when Orion will travel to the far side of the Moon and back NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine and Lockheed Martin during a three-week journey. Welding for the Exploration Orion Program Manager Mike Hawes were on site at the Mission-2 crew module pressure vessel is complete at NASA’s event to provide Orion program and NASA exploration Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans, Louisiana, and mission updates to President Trump, Vice President Pence, will be delivered to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida cabinet members, and other elected officials who attended. in August to begin final assembly for Orion’s first crewed flight. Companies are also currently fabricating parts for During the event, the White House hosted companies from all Exploration Mission-3. With components from companies 50 states to share the stories of what American companies nationwide, Orion truly is America’s spacecraft. are making, how it is impacting the economy, and what breakthroughs in technology have been recently discovered. Read more: bit.ly/EFT1atWH and politi.co/2w6Vxli Lockheed Martin, NASA’s prime contractor for Orion, works

4 ESD Combined Report July 2018 ORION ESM ENGINE DANCES THE HULA

The European Service Module (ESM) for NASA’S Orion directions and at different speeds to show if all signals from spacecraft is currently being tested at Airbus Space Systems the electronic system are correctly interpreted, and whether in Bremen, Germany. The team is fully concentrating on all mechanical components are working as planned. The the various tests that are ongoing, which recently included Thrust Vector System performed well, as shown in the post- a set of tests of the Thrust Vector System. In July, the test analysis video. The next big milestone will be the leak team successfully completed a test of the engine gimbal proof test. system. During a series of tests, the nozzle of the Orbital Maneuvering System engine was swung in different Learn more: bit.ly/OrionHula

July 2018 ESD Combined Report 5 TEAM POWERS ON AA-2 ORION

The team of engineers working on the Orion test article for Now that the power-on activity is complete, engineers are the Ascent Abort-2 (AA-2) flight test has outfitted the vehicle moving right into simulating the flight test, including ground with all the components it needs for flight and powered it on support milestones, the prelaunch countdown and flight for the first time the week of July 8. profile, followed by testing to verify that the vehicle will perform as expected. Upon completion of testing, technicians will Powering on the vehicle is a major milestone toward the flight have a few mechanical elements to finish integrating before test and ensures the crew module works in an integrated the crew module is rolled on its side to verify its weight and fashion. Powering up Orion is a lot more complicated than center of gravity, both of which have to be the same as the simply flipping on a switch. The multi-day, incremental Orion that will carry crew to deep space to ensure the April process began with teams applying power to the power flight test provides accurate data for a mission abort scenario. distribution unit to ensure all the pins in the unit have the right voltages. One by one, additional systems were connected The spacecraft will soon be shipped to NASA Glenn Research and powered to ensure that the vehicle is healthy and Center’s Plum Brook Station in Sandusky, Ohio, where it will providing the right data. Engineers have positioned all of the undergo several weeks of acoustics testing. It will return to core avionics, outfitted the data instrumentation, and routed NASA’s Johnson Space Center in September for integration and clamped almost 11 miles of harnessing inside Orion. with the separation ring that connects the crew module to its booster, and then transported to NASA’s Kennedy Space Ascent Abort-2 is a full-stress test of Orion’s Launch Abort Center for integration with the booster for launch. System (LAS) planned for April 2019. It is the only remaining flight test of the active LAS before flying crew on Orion Read more about the power on: beginning with Exploration Mission-2. The LAS is essential bit.ly/ChronPowerOn for spaceflight systems designed to carry humans to the Moon and beyond. The system is built to propel Orion and its Read about the AA-2 Jettison Motor which recently passed crew to a safe distance away from the Space Launch System a key milestone on the way to AA-2 : rocket if an emergency arises during launch or ascent. bit.ly/July18AA2

6 ESD Combined Report July 2018 AA-2 GROUND TEST MOTOR ARRIVES AT KSC

The Ascent Abort 2 (AA-2) flight test ground test motor (GTM), an SR118 inert solid rocket motor, arrived at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida on July 19. The GTM arrived by truck to Kennedy’s Rotation, Process and Surge Facility (RPSF) Surge 1 where it will be inspected and prepared for transport to Space Launch Complex 46 (SLC-46) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station for mechanical fit testing.

This motor will not be used for flight, but will be used to certify flight hardware assembly in preparation for the AA-2 flight test targeted for April 2019. During the test flight, the booster will launch from SLC-46, carrying a fully-functional Launch Abort System (LAS) and a 22,000-pound Orion test vehicle to an altitude of 31,000 feet and traveling at more than 1,000 mph. The test will verify the LAS can steer the crew module and astronauts aboard to safety in the event of an issue with the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket their contractors from Jacob’s and Northrop Grumman, in when the spacecraft is under the highest aerodynamic loads conjunction with the Air Force Space and Missile Center’s it will experience during a rapid climb into space. NASA’s Launch Operations Branch, are performing the pathfinding Orion and Exploration Ground Systems programs and exercises for AA-2.

ORION INTERNS STEP EM-1, SHIELDED FROM INSIDE THE HEAT

Orion interns at NASA’s Johnson Space Center The Exploration Mission-1 heat shield was mechanically participated in a round of Human-in-the-Loop testing mated to the crew module at the Operations and in the Orion medium fidelity mock up in Houston. Orion Checkout building at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center team members rigorously test new mechanisms and in July. As the spacecraft returns to Earth at a speed objects the crew will need when traveling to space, and exceeding 25,000 mph, the heat shield will be responsible make decisions on what is probable for use and what for protecting the rest of the vehicle as it encounters should be changed before bringing astronauts into the nearly 5,000-degree Fahrenheit heat during reentry. It mock up for their recommendations. The interns were will also test updates made to the heat shield since the able to help with some early-concept ideas to determine 2014 Exploration Flight Test-1 to ensure the spacecraft is if the space and orientation of the vehicle worked with ready to bring humans to the Moon and back home safely the new designs. beginning with Exploration Mission-2.

July 2018 ESD Combined Report 7 ORION PARACHUTES CHALK UP ANOTHER TEST SUCCESS IN ARIZONA

The parachute system for Orion, America’s spacecraft that When deployed, each of Orion’s three main parachutes will carry humans to deep space, deployed as planned expands to 116 feet in diameter and contains enough after being dropped from an altitude of 6.6 miles on July fabric to cover 80 yards of a football field, but is carried 12 at the U.S. Army Proving Ground in Yuma, Arizona. aboard Orion in containers the size of a large suitcase. Data from the successful seventh drop in a series of eight For storage, the parachutes are compacted with hydraulic qualification tests will help NASA engineers certify Orion’s presses at forces of up to 80,000 pounds, baked for two parachutes for missions with astronauts. days and vacuum sealed . Once packed, they have a density of about 40 pounds per cubic foot, which is roughly This was the final test using a special dart-shaped test the same as wood from an oak tree. article. The last test in the series, scheduled for September, will use a capsule-shaped test article representative of the spacecraft NASA will use on Orion’s upcoming missions, including the first crewed mission, Exploration Mission-2.

8 ESD Combined Report July 2018 SNOOPY GEARS UP TO RETURN TO THE MOON

NASA and Peanuts Worldwide are joining forces to collaborate The Agency’s Silver Snoopy award is given by NASA on educational activities that share the excitement of astronauts to employees and contractors for outstanding Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) with the achievements related to human flight safety or mission next generation of explorers and thinkers. The collaboration, success. Receiving one is regarded as a high honor for formalized though a Space Act Agreement, provides an outstanding performance. opportunity to update the Snoopy character by Charles M. Schulz, for space-themed programming with content about NASA is leading the next steps of human exploration into NASA’s deep space exploration missions, 50 years after its deep space where astronauts will build and begin testing initial collaboration began during the Apollo era. the systems near the Moon needed for lunar surface missions and exploration to other destinations farther from With NASA’s involvement, Peanuts will work on content for Earth, including Mars. Exploration Mission-1 will be the first Astronaut Snoopy, including a STEM-based curriculum for integrated test of NASA’s deep space exploration systems: students about America’s deep space exploration objectives the Orion spacecraft, Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and interactive ways to celebrate next year’s 50th anniversary and the ground systems at Kennedy Space Center in Cape of humans first setting foot on the Moon. Peanuts began Canaveral, Florida. The first in a series of increasingly complex sharing its updated space-themed activities at the Comic- missions, Exploration Mission-1 will be an uncrewed flight Con International: San Diego conference in July. test that will provide a foundation for subsequent missions with crew, and demonstrate our commitment and capability NASA has shared a proud association with Charles M. Schulz to extend human existence to the Moon and beyond. and his American icon Snoopy since Apollo missions began in the 1960s. Schulz created comic strips depicting Snoopy To kick off the renewed partnership, Snoopy revealed his on the Moon, capturing public excitement about America’s new orange spacesuit during the San Diego Comic-Con. achievements in space. In May 1969, Apollo 10 astronauts Members of the Peanuts Worldwide team and a few key traveled to the Moon for a final checkout before lunar landings NASA employees joined for a panel which explored the on later missions. Because the mission required the lunar history of Peanuts and NASA, as well as what is to come for module to skim the Moon’s surface to within 50,000 feet and the beagle and his friends as they aim to teach students more “snoop around” scouting the Apollo 11 landing site, the crew about deep space. named the lunar module Snoopy. The command module was named Charlie Brown, Snoopy’s loyal owner. Read more: bit.ly/PeanutsNASAJul18

July 2018 ESD Combined Report 9 ROCKET WOMEN FIRE UP CROWD AT OSHKOSH AIR SHOW

Six female professionals who are leading America’s next- these exciting programs. The prime contractors for these generation space exploration programs recently participated systems have participated in forums at Oshkosh for six in a forum at EAA AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Several years, and the women’s panel continues to be a favorite. hundred individuals attended the forum and heard from these women about the exciting developments they are Participants in the forum included: (left to right) Charlie working on for human space exploration. Blackwell-Thompson, launch director for NASA’s Exploration Ground Systems Program at NASA’s Kennedy These women are leading development of major spacecraft Space Center; Erica Sandoval, principal Launch Abort systems for NASA’s Orion spacecraft, Space Launch Motor manufacturing engineer at Northrop Grumman; System rocket and launch operations to ensure our Tiffany Williams, Orion senior program manager at Aerojet astronauts get to the Moon, then Mars and back home Rocketdyne; and Marcia Lindstrom, panel moderator and safely – every mission. They shared that, in less than a year, SLS Communications lead at NASA’s Marshall Space NASA will launch its Ascent Abort-2 flight test then soon Flight Center; Heather McKay, Orion Launch Abort System after launch Exploration Mission-1, sending a human-rated manager at Lockheed Martin Space; Amanda Gertjejansen, spacecraft farther than any has traveled since 1972. SLS Program master scheduler at Boeing.

After they described the challenging and meaningful work they do, the audience asked questions to learn more about

10 ESD Combined Report July 2018 FORMER ASTRONAUT LOCKHART INSPIRES ORION TEAM

Paul Lockhart, former NASA astronaut and retired Air the importance of continuing to send humans into deep Force Colonel and pilot, visited with Orion employees space and on to Mars. That evening, Lockhart hosted a at Lockheed Martin Space near Denver on July 9. dinner for Orion interns, thanking them for their hard work Lockhart, who piloted STS-111 and STS-113, spoke over the summer. about his experience on the two shuttle missions and

BRUTALIZING A REPLICA TO ENSURE ORION SAFETY

Recently, WIRED reporter Sarah Scoles took a behind-the- scenes look at what Lockheed Martin is doing in Colorado to test Orion and ready it for Exploration Mission-1 and beyond. She got a glimpse at the teamwork necessary to put the Structural Test Article, Orion’s twin, through tests that push its integrity and strength to its limits. These simulations are critical so when the actual Orion spacecraft travels to the Moon and farther into deep space, it will be ready for the harshest of situations and ensure that our astronauts will return home safely.

Read more: bit.ly/WIREDOrionSTA SUPPLIER SPOTLIGHT COBHAM MISSION SYSTEMS

Cobham Mission Systems, based in Orchard Park, New the oxygen, nitrogen and water the astronauts need during York, designs and manufactures life support components their missions. Cobham was no stranger to the space game critical to crew safety and survival in Orion and the Space before working on Orion, as their regulators have been part of Launch System. One set of their components are used in Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Space Shuttle and other important the propulsion system to keep liquids sealed and separated programs in NASA’s human spaceflight history. Their team until they are needed to propel Orion to its deep-space takes pride in knowing that their valves and components are destinations. Other components they provide are used in enabling the next generation of astronauts to venture farther the Environmental Control and Life Support System within into space than any have ever gone before. Orion’s European Service Module to provide and manage

FOLLOW THE PROGRESS OF NASA’S NEW SPACECRAFT AUGUST 2018 FOR HUMAN EXPLORATION:

Twitter...... Twitter.com/NASA_Orion Orion Team Meets New NASA Administrator Facebook...... Facebook.com/NASAOrion EM-2 Crew Module Takes Shape Flickr...... Flickr.com/NASAOrion KSC Unveils New Education Center Tumblr...... NASAOrion.tumblr.com Chicago Air & Water Show National Aeronautics and Space Administration

SPACE LAUNCH SYSTEM JULY 2018

FORWARD SKIRT: www.nasa.gov FINISHED! FIRST SLS CORE STAGE FLIGHT HARDWARE COMPLETE, READY FOR JOINING The first major piece of core stage hardware for NASA’s SLS rocket has been assembled and is ready to be joined with other hardware for EM-1, the first integrated flight of SLS and the Orion spacecraft. SLS will enable a new era of exploration beyond low- Earth orbit, launching crew and cargo on deep space exploration missions to the Moon, Mars and beyond. The backbone of the world’s most powerful rocket, the 212-foot-tall core stage, will contain the SLS rocket’s four RS-25 rocket engines, propellant tanks, flight computers and much more. Though the smallest part of the core stage, the forward skirt will serve two critical roles. It will connect the upper part of the rocket to the core stage and house many of the flight computers, or avionics. “Completion of the core stage forward skirt is a major step in NASA’s progress to the launch pad,” said Deborah Bagdigian, lead manager for the forward skirt at the Agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. “We’re putting into practice the steps and processes needed to assemble the largest rocket stage ever built. With the forward skirt, we are improving and refining how we’ll conduct final assembly of the rest of the rocket.” On July 24, forward skirt assembly was wrapped up with the installation of all its parts. As part of forward skirt testing, the flight computers came to life for the first time as NASA engineers tested critical avionic systems that will control the rocket’s flight. The construction, assembly and avionics testing occurred at NASA’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Read the full story: go.nasa.gov/2LZBAHb NEW RS-25 ENGINES ARE UP TO THE TEST The SLS Program recently completed a successful two-year campaign to test the RS-25 engine under SLS operating conditions. Now, the engines team has started a new series of tests focusing on components for new-production RS-25 engines that will help lower the cost of future SLS missions. The SLS Program already has 16 RS-25 engines in inventory from the Space Shuttle Program for the first four SLS flights. It’s updating the engines with new controllers and nozzle insulation and ablative. During hot fire tests at Stennis Space Center, engineers tested RS-25 development engines under the higher temperatures, inlet pressures and thrust profile expected for SLS launches and confirmed the existing engines could do the job. In the meantime, NASA is working with Aerojet Rocketdyne to restart engine production to support flights beginning as backup for the fourth mission and then installed for the fifth mission. At the end of the last engine test series in February 2018, the SLS engine team had conducted 22 tests totaling just over 10,000 seconds of firing time. Beginning in August and continuing into 2019, Stennis will conduct a new series of hot fire tests of an engine equipped with a new configuration main combustion chamber (MCC). The MCC is where the liquid hydrogen and oxygen propellants are injected and then ignited to produce each engine’s 500,000 pounds of thrust. The new MCC is made using a process called Hot Isostatic Pressure – or HIP – bonding. The internal metal liner and external jacket are bonded together under very high pressures and temperatures, avoiding miles of traditional braze, eliminating a time-consuming structural plating process, saving time and money. The SLS Program expects to reduce future engine costs by at least 30 percent. Development engine No. 0525 will also feature additional testing of a 3D-printed pogo accumulator first hot fired on four tests in December 2017 and January and February 2018. The basketball-sized device dampens potentially damaging oscillations in the propellant flow. Replacing traditional welding with 3D printing, which uses lasers to fuse metal powder into the desired shape, reduced the number of welds by 78 percent. Ultimately, the SLS program plans for nearly 40 parts to be 3D printed and become part of future engine builds. The pogo is one of the more complex parts to be printed and its success in testing provides confidence in the program’s cost-reduction initiative. The RS-25’s new main combustion chamber will begin testing this month.

July 2018 ESD Combined Report 15 SOLID ROCKET BOOSTERS PREPPING FOR FLIGHT At the Booster Fabrication Facility at Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the forward and aft assemblies of the solid rocket boosters that will provide more than 75 percent of power at liftoff are getting ready for flight. Five of six EM-1 forward assembly structures have received at least part of their thermal protection system. The nose caps received Marshall Convergent Coating-1 (MCC-1), before getting a topcoat of Hypalon, a type of synthetic rubber paint. The frustums, which will attach to the nose caps, have received MCC-1 thermal protection and the Hypalon topcoat. The left-hand booster forward skirt, which attaches to the nose assembly, has received MCC-1 thermal protection and awaits topcoat application. In addition to progress on the forward assemblies, the thrust vector control system is being installed in the left- and right-hand aft skirts. The booster separation motors are installed in mounts, ready to be installed on the aft skirts. These motors will fire simultaneously for one second to safely push the boosters away from the rocket’s core. There are four booster separation motors on each aft skirt. At prime contractor Northrop Grumman’s facilities in Utah, seven booster motor segments are ready and will be shipped to Kennedy Space Center at a later date. While work on the EM-1 boosters is being completed, Northrop Grumman has begun work on the boosters for EM-2, casting several motor segments with propellant and performing nondestructive evaluation to ensure no defects are detected.

The nose caps for the SLS EM-1 solid rocket boosters have received Marshall Convergent Coating-1 (MCC-1). The aft skirt, in the background, has received MCC-1 and a topcoat of synthetic rubber paint. SLS ON THE ROAD SLS DRAWS A CROWD AT SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON The SLS exhibit at San Diego’s Comic-Con in July was a popular spot. Crowds gathered to have a close look at the rocket and receive special-edition posters and other NASA and SLS products. About 130,000 people attended the annual event.

GETTING VIRTUAL: OSHKOSH ATTENDEES EXPERIENCE A VIRTUAL ROCKET LAUNCH Two aspiring astronauts dressed the part at the SLS exhibit at the 2018 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh. More than 500,000 people attended the event, where visitors to the SLS exhibit learned about the future of deep space exploration, and how SLS, Orion and Exploration Ground Systems are working together to make it happen. Participants also got to experience what it’s like to launch with the SLS rocket using a virtual reality system.

July 2018 ESD Combined Report 17 WHAT’S NEW IN SLS SOCIAL MEDIA

In Rocket Science in 60 Seconds, get an inside look at work being done to explore deep space like never before. Mike Sarafin, EM-1 mission manager, explains how this mission beyond the Moon will unfold and what we will learn. Watch the latest Rocket Science video here: bit.ly/2LWxajY

I AM BUILDING SLS: LEEANN CLAYTON Leeann Clayton grew up turning a wrench at her dad’s gas station, and now she works on one of the most sophisticated spaceships ever to be built. Working as a Boeing engineer who is building and testing the world’s most powerful rocket, NASA’s SLS, has exceeded her wildest dreams. Read the full story: go.nasa.gov/2OzxLH1

18 ESD Combined Report July 2018 HOT TO GO, AND READY Aerojet Rocketdyne developmental RS-25 engine No. 0525 is readied for installation on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis Space Center July 23 in preparation for a new hot fire series to support NASA’s SLS Program. Stennis is testing all RS-25 engines that will help power the SLS rocket, which is being built for missions beyond low-Earth orbit. Read the full story: go.nasa.gov/2LPrF3C

SPACEFLIGHT PARTNERS: Amorim Cork Composites

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES: 65

LOCATION: Trevor, WI

WHAT THEY DO FOR SLS: Amorim Cork Composites provides cork sheeting used in the thermal protection systems on various elements of SLS and Orion. The cork sheeting, manufactured in Trevor, Wisconsin, has been used in space travel since the 1960’s. Cork is a 100 percent natural insulator, is fire retardant, high-temperature resistant, impermeable to liquids and gases – and is lightweight. These natural characteristics make cork-based thermal protection a great fit for SLS and Orion. As retired NASA Astronaut Don Thomas says, “Cork – don’t leave Earth without it!”

FOLLOW THE PROGRESS AUGUST OF NASA’S NEW LAUNCH VEHICLE FOR DEEP SPACE: Engine Testing Resumes Twitter ...... Twitter.com/NASA_SLS Why SLS Leads Deep Space Exploration

Facebook ...... Facebook.com/NASASLS Administrator Bridenstine visits SLS sites National Aeronautics and Space Administration

EXPLORATION GROUND SYSTEMS HIGHLIGHTS

JULY 2018 EGS MONTHLY HIGHLIGHTS

Final Umbilical Installed Tests Complete at LETF

Interns Enjoy Kennedy Experience Mars Over Vehicle Assembly Building

July 2018 ESD Combined Report 21 FINAL UMBILICAL INSTALLED ON MOBILE LAUNCHER

The second of two Tail Service Mast Umbilicals was lifted by crane for installation on the 0-level deck of the mobile launcher (ML) on July 27, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 35-foot-tall umbilical will connect to NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket core stage aft section and provide liquid hydrogen and electrical cable connections to the core stage engine section to support propellant handling during prelaunch operations.

A JP Donovan construction worker makes preparations for lifting of the second of two Tail Service Mast Umbilicals for installation on the 0-level deck of the mobile launcher on July 27, at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

22 ESD Combined Report July 2018 It was the final installation of a launch umbilical on the ML. The installation brings Exploration Ground Systems one step closer to supporting prelaunch operations for the Agency’s SLS rocket and Orion spacecraft on Exploration Mission-1 and deep space destinations. Photo credit: NASA/Cory Huston

July 2018 ESD Combined Report 23 ENGINEERS MARK COMPLETION OF UMBILICAL TESTING AT LAUNCH EQUIPMENT TEST FACILITY

The team that tested the umbilical lines and accessories that will connect from the mobile launcher to NASA’s Space Launch System rocket and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1 held a banner signing event July 24, 2018, to mark completion of testing at the Launch Equipment Test Facility (LETF) at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Photo credit: NASA/Kim Shiflett

The team that tested the umbilical lines and launch accessories that will connect from the mobile launcher (ML) to NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft for Exploration Mission-1 celebrated their achievement during a banner signing at the Launch Equipment Test Facility (LETF) at the Agency’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Engineers and technicians in the Engineering Directorate and the Exploration Ground Systems Program, along with contractor support, began the tests at the LETF about 2.5 years ago. The first to be tested was one of two aft skirt electrical umbilicals. Testing of the final umbilical, the second of two tail service mast umbilicals, was completed on June 27. “The team of NASA test engineers and test managers, and contractor engineers and technicians, worked tirelessly six days a week, 10 hours a day, in order to meet the highly aggressive schedule and deliver the hardware to the mobile launcher for installation,” said Jeff Crisafulli, Test and Design branch chief in the Engineering Directorate. In all, 21 umbilicals and launch accessories were tested on various simulators at the LETF that mimicked conditions during launch to ensure they are functioning properly and ready for installation on the ML. Most have been delivered and installed on the ML tower. These include the Orion service module umbilical, interim cryogenic propulsion stage umbilical, core stage forward skirt umbilical and core stage inter-tank umbilical. Two aft skirt electrical umbilicals, two aft skirt purge umbilicals, a vehicle stabilizer system, eight vehicle support posts and two tail service mast umbilicals were installed on the 0-level deck of the ML. Before launch, the umbilical lines will provide power, communications, coolant and fuel to the rocket and spacecraft. Additional accessories will provide access and stabilization. During launch, each umbilical and accessory will release from its connection point, allowing the SLS and Orion to lift off safely from the launch pad. “Design, fabrication and testing of the new mobile launcher’s umbilicals and launch accessories is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that I am proud to have been part of,” Crisafulli said.

24 ESD Combined Report July 2018 INTERNS ENJOY KENNEDY EXPERIENCE

Interns in Exploration Ground Systems take a break from their work on the fifth floor observation deck in the Operations Support Building with a view of the Vehicle Assembly Building in the background at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. Photo credit: NASA/Shana Fabian

July 2018 ESD Combined Report 25 View the EGS 2017 Year in Review at https://go.nasa.gov/2C9twKC. MARS OVER THE VEHICLEFinal Umbilical ASSEMBLY Installed on Mobile Launcher BUILDING

View the EGS 2017 Year in Review at https://go.nasa.gov/2C9twKC. National Aeronautics and Space Administration FOLLOW THE PROGRESS OF NASA’S EGS PROGRAM: John F. Kennedy Space Center Kennedy Space Center, FL 32899 NASA EGS Blog...... blogs.nasa.gov/groundsystems

www.nasa.gov Twitter...... twitter.com/NASAGroundSys

SP-2018-07-809-KSC Facebook...... facebook.com/NASAGroundSystems/