NASA has begun the process of constructing a mock-up of the vast core section of its planned Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The simulated core will serve as a practice tool for NASA prior to the 2018 launch of the SLS, which the agency hopes will move mankind one step closer to undertaking a manned mission to Mars.
The SLS, to be launched in 2018, will be the first of three generations of the next-generation launch system planned for operational service. However all three iterations will use the same core structure.
The test core will measure 213 ft (65 m) in length, boasting the same proportions as a mission-ready Block 1 core stage, and will be used to trial the logistical side of launching what will be the most powerful rocket ever constructed. It will mimic the fuselage of the core segment, as well as the shape of the four RS-25 liquid fuel engines housed at the bottom of the main stage segment.
“We don’t want the first time we transport the core stage to be with flight hardware,” states Shane Carpenter, lead engineer for the project at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center. “That’s why having a pathfinder is critical to the program.”