As a child, my bedroom was adorned with NASA posters, and I would lay awake at night dreaming of space exploration. Growing up in Wisconsin – far away from the Space Coast – I never would have imagined that I would make my way to Florida fresh out of college to work with NASA on the Space Shuttle Program, and now the Space Launch System (SLS) – the most powerful rocket ever built that will send the first woman and the next man to the Moon.
As a test engineer for Northrop Grumman in the Aft Skirt Test Facility at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, we work with hazardous chemicals and vapors that are part of the rocket’s propulsion system. We wear self-contained atmospheric protection ensembles — or “SCAPE” suits – that include rubber boots with seals and a helmet with a breathing apparatus to protect us from the chemicals and their vapors expelled during testing. The aft skirt thrust vector control system for the solid rocket boosters is tested at the Aft Skirt Test Facility. The twin set of solid rocket boosters produce the 7.2 million pounds of total thrust SLS needs to get off the launch pad and into space. The aft skirt assemblies for the boosters literally provide a foundation for the rocket because they are the attach points between the SLS launch vehicle and the mobile launcher. They support the rocket’s massive core stage and the Orion spacecraft – the crew vehicle that sits on top of the rocket — on the launch pad for all conditions before booster ignition.
In June, we will begin major testing on the boosters that will be flown on the first mission of SLS, Artemis 1. The forward skirt assemblies and aft skirts of the solid rocket boosters were used on space shuttle flights and are now being refurbished at Kennedy. My team is responsible for adding new, modernized avionics systems to the boosters. Specifically, we ensure the new booster avionics systems that steer the booster and the hydrazine fuel system will perform correctly on launch day.
Testing culminates with what is known as an aft skirt hot fire. The hot fire runs a normal booster mission profile and includes all failure modes that might occur during vehicle ascent through booster separation. Upon successful completion of the hot fire, the thrust vector control systems are de-serviced and the aft skirts can be transported to the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility where they are joined to the aft motor segments. The aft skirt assemblies, then fully assembled, will then roll over to the Vertical Assembly Building to be stacked and integrated with the rest of the rocket for Artemis 1.
When I heard the recent charge from the President to send astronauts to the Moon in 2024, I was excited to think about how I will be part of American history. I can’t wait to watch SLS launch from Kennedy alongside my two children.