SLS, Stennis working on colder LOX for next Green Run WDR attempt
December 11, 2020
Space Launch System (SLS) Core Stage Green Run team members are working on new procedures to supply liquid oxygen (LOX) to the vehicle at lower temperatures in the next Wet Dress Rehearsal (WDR) attempt. The first attempt on December 7 at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi was scrubbed because the temperature of the LOX was a few degrees higher than design requirements as it entered the vehicle; NASA did not want to continue loading with the temperature out of limits.
The problem is not with the Core Stage itself; engineers with the SLS Program, Core Stage prime contractor Boeing, and NASA Stennis are looking at ways to reduce the temperature of the cryogenic liquid before it reaches the stage from barges docked next to the B-2 Test Stand. In the meantime, the test team is recycling the stage and other equipment to be ready to start a new Wet Dress Rehearsal attempt no earlier than the week of December 14, with the tanking and countdown demonstration no earlier than the end of that week.