The integration of NASA’s powerful SLS (Space Launch System) rocket and Orion spacecraft for the agency’s Artemis campaign would not be possible without adapters being built, tested and refined at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Marshall currently hosts six adapters designed to connect the SLS upper stages to the core stages and propulsion systems for future Artemis flights to the Moon.
The first three Artemis flights use the SLS Block 1 rocket variant, which can send more than 27 tons to the Moon in a single launch with the help of the interim cryogenic propulsion stage. The propulsion stage is sandwiched between two adapters: the launch vehicle stage adapter and the Orion stage adapter.
The launch vehicle’s cone-shaped stage adapter provides structural strength and protects the rocket’s flight computers and other delicate systems from acoustic, thermal and vibration effects.
“The interior of the launch vehicle stage adapter for the SLS rocket uses orthogrid machining, also known as waffle pattern machining,” said Keith Higginbotham, director of launch vehicle stage adapter hardware supporting the Evolution Office. and Spacecraft/SLS Payload Integration at Marshall. “The aluminum alloy plus the grid pattern is lightweight, but also very strong.”
The launch vehicle stage adapter for Artemis II is in Marshall and ready for shipment to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida, engineering teams are completing outfitting and integration work on the Artemis III launch vehicle stage adapter. These cone-shaped adapters differ from their Artemis I counterpart in that they feature additional avionics protection for crew safety.
Just a few buildings away, the Orion stage adapter for Artemis II, with its unique docking target that mimics the target on the interim cryogenic propulsion stage to test Orion’s handling during the piloting demonstration test, sits in final equipment before shipment to Kennedy for launch. preparations. The five-foot-tall ring-shaped adapter is small but mighty: In addition to having space to accommodate small secondary payloads, it contains a diaphragm that acts as a barrier to prevent gases generated during launch from entering Orion.
The main structure of the Artemis III Orion stage adapter is complete and its avionics unit and diaphragm will be installed later this year. Unlike flight hardware, universal stage adapter development test article has flaws intentionally included in its design to test whether the fracture toughness predictions are correct. Technicians are incorporating changes for the next test article, including modifications to the vehicle’s damping system to mitigate vibrations on the launch pad.
After the first flight of the SLS with Artemis I, technicians adjusted their approach to assembling the launch vehicle stage adapter by introducing the use of a rounding tool to ensure that no unwanted forces were applied to the hardware.
The Orion stage adapter is complete in Marshall, including welding, painting and installing the secondary payload mounts, cables and avionics unit. The adapter is protected by a special conductive paint that prevents arcing in space. NASA astronauts Reid Wiseman and Christina Koch viewed the hardware during a visit to Marshall on Nov. 27.
The SLS Block 1B payload adapter is an evolution of the Orion stage adapter used in the Block 1 configuration, but each one will be unique and customized to fit the individual needs of the mission. “Both the Orion stage adapter and payload adapter are being assembled in the same room at Marshall,” said Brent Gaddes, Orion stage adapter lead in the Spacecraft/Payload Evolution and Integration Office at Marshall. “So there’s a lot of cross-pollination between teams.”
