On May 17, 2017, the engine section structural test article for NASA’s Space Launch System was moved from the barge Pegasus to a test stand at Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The test article arrived on May 15 after a 1,240-mile journey from Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans where the test article was built by Boeing, the prime contractor for the SLS core stage. The yellow part of the test article replicates the engine section, the bottom part of the 212-foot-tall core stage where four RS-25 engines attach. The top shiny metal part of the test article simulates part of the liquid hydrogen fuel tank that connects to the engine section. The simulator was manufactured by Futuramic in Detroit, Michigan. The test stand will pull, push, and twist the test article to simulate flight. Tests are crucial because the engine section needs to be structurally strong to withstand the 8.8 million pounds of thrust produced at launch.
Image Credit: NASA/MSFC