As NASA prepares for the first crewed Artemis missions to the Moon, agency propulsion and test teams are setting their sights on future Space Launch System (SLS) flights and working to improve one of the world’s most powerful and reliable rocket engines for missions beginning with Artemis V. A se
I read Jonathan Ranson’s letter in the Feb. 18 edition of the Acorn with much interest and appreciation. The student provided an excellent summary of the Coca test area at the Santa Susana Field Laboratories, and argued persuasively for the area’s preservation. He told of the final Space Shuttle Main Engine test at the facility.
LIFTOFF The Coca III test stand as framed by the Coca IV test stand. These two stands were used to develop the engines for the Apollo program’s Saturn V rockets. They also were used to develop the Space Shuttle Main Engine.“They are by far the most historically important test stands at the former Santa Susana Field
"Oh, yes I know you. There was a time you looked at the stars and dreamed of what might be." -Star Trek: Nemesis, spoken by Jean-Luc Picard
The stars call to us through the ages, with each and every one holding the promise of a future for humanity beyond Earth. For generations, this was a mere dream, as our technology allowed us to neither know what worlds might lie beyond our own Solar System or to reach beyond our planet. But time and development has changed both of those things significantly.
The upcoming debut of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on the Artemis I mission will mark a return to flight for four main engines that already have a remarkable history of their own.