NASA Begins Acoustic Tests On The Space Launch System
A 5-percent scale model of the Space Launch System (SLS) is ignited for five seconds to measure the effect acoustic noise and pressure have on the vehicle at liftoff. NASA/MSFC/David Olive NASA's Space Launch System will have some pretty strong engines. As a result, the engines produce enormously loud sounds. The SLS is slated to be the most powerful rocket in history. The heavy-lift launch vehicle is set to carry the Orion capsule beyond low-Earth orbit and into deeper space exploration. This month at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, engineers have begun testing a 5 percent scale model of the rocket on a similarly scaled launcher to understand more about how high and low frequencies affect it—and the crew. Engineers have created a sound suppression system for the SLS, and the data gathered in this testing will help verify the design. At Kennedy Space...