avionics

Nasa and Orbital ATK engineers are preparing to test solid rocket booster avionics for the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket.

The avionics system, which includes hardware, software and ground test systems, plays a crucial role in igniting, steering and jettison of the five-segment rocket boosters.

Powered by four RS-25 engines, the SLS will allow astronauts to explore destinations in deep space, including an asteroid and Mars.

Marshall Flight Center SLS booster element avionics system manager Eric Corder said: "We are designing a system for a human-rated vehicle that has to be at a minimum single-fault tolerant, which means no one failure on a critical system can result in a big problem for the mission."

"The avionics system, which includes hardware, software and ground test systems, plays a crucial role in igniting, steering and jettison of the five-segment rocket boosters."

During a major qualification test, a flight-like set of the avionics system will be used on booster at Orbital ATK’s test facilities in Utah in March, which will allow engineers to evaluate the design and test system performance in conditions faced by boosters on the pad and during flight.

Orbital ATK’s Avionics Lab in Utah delivered the booster avionics system to the SLS system integration laboratory at Nasa’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama in early February.

Booster avionics that work with the SLS avionics to monitor booster conditions and steer motor nozzles are being integrated in a forward skirt ring to continue testing.

Mr Corder said: "We’re going through millions of possible failure scenarios all the way down to the individual circuits within the boxes."

Testing is being carried out through two-minute flight simulations, while booster test set mimics the SLS flight computer and avionics also connected to the thrust vector control actuators and systems that direct the vehicle’s propulsion system.

Nasa, Orbital ATK and L-3 Cincinnati Electronics worked together to design the booster avionics system.

Image: An Orbital ATK technician checks the avionics control panels. Photo: courtesy of Orbital ATK.