NASA's forthcoming Artemis mission to the Moon today achieved another significant milestone by successfully ground testing a full-scale version of its newest rocket booster.
Based on the completion of other similar booster tests - called Flight Support Booster 1 (FSB-1) - that certified the booster as part of the upcoming Space Launch System (SLS) of the agency, this latest test used new propellant materials and confirmed that the ballistic specifications of its five engines had been met. NASA and its collaborators verified in a follow-up teleconference that the test accomplished its objectives.
"NASA and Northrop Grumman have completed testing for the boosters used for the first three Artemis missions of the agency's lunar program," NASA announced. "FSB-1 builds upon prior tests of the rocket's five-segment solid rocket booster to evaluate improvements and new materials in the boosters for missions beyond Artemis III."
FSB-1 and its variations are developed primarily by NASA partner Northrop Grumman whose workshop in Promontory, Utah, is where the test occurred. The latest test-firing lasted for about two minutes and generated a thrust of 3.6 million pounds. A nod to NASA's argument that these are the biggest, most powerful rocket boosters ever designed for flight is its success. The FSB-1-type boosters, measuring 167 feet long and 12 feet in diameter, will fly in pairs along with the main SLS rocket body and cargo.
NASA's Artemis mission is called the "twin sister of Apollo" and aims to send humans back to the Moon by 2024. The agency has set out to build a whole suite of technologies that will enable both a sustainable lunar-oriented mission and a corresponding Mars mission, involving the commercial space industry along the way. Although Artemis' launch components include the conventional NASA route of using long-term contractors, other aspects of the project were opened to other bidders whose contract winners included SpaceX.
As an add-on to its achievement in launching the first astronauts from American soil to the ISS since the 2011 retirement of the Space Shuttle, SpaceX has also made strides in NASA's competitive Moon race. The private space firm has already obtained four contracts for the agency to build the lunar launch the landing technologies, one as recently as the end of August. SpaceX also has several Moon-oriented contracts for launch, separate from NASA.
SpaceX's Falcon Heavy and Starship rockets will be one of the main rivals of the SLS. The company has already started testing prototypes of its combination rocket-lander, along with setting world records for its new Raptor engine. Although the primary mission of SpaceX is to ferry humans to Mars for indefinite stays, the Moon already provides the venture's paying customers.
The complete Artemis project booster test from NASA can be seen below:
