Water Gushes From SLS Rocket LOX Propellant Tank As Engineers Break It On Purpose

To complete the structural qualification test campaign for NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the liquid oxygen structural test article was pushed beyond its limits until it broke and water gushed from the tank The tank is a test article that is identical to tanks that are part of the SLS core stage that will produce 2 million pounds of thrust to help launch the rocket on the Artemis missions to the Moon. The tank was bolted into a massive steel ring at the base of Test Stand 4697 at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. Hydraulic cylinders were then calibrated and positioned along the tank to apply millions of pounds of crippling force from all sides while engineers measured and recorded the effects of the launch and flight forces. For the test, water used to simulate the liquid oxygen flows out of the tank after it ruptures. The structural test campaign was conducted on the rocket to ensure the SLS rocket’s structure can endure the rigors of launch and safely send astronauts to the Moon on the Artemis missions.