NASA spent the last two weeks hoisting a 103-ton component onto a simulator and installing it to help prepare for the next Moon missions. Crews fitted the interstage simulator component onto the Thad Cochran Test Stand at Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, mimicking the same SLS (Space Launch System) part that will protect the rocket’s upper stage for future Artemis launches. The Thad Cochran Test Stand is where NASA conducts thorough testing on SLS components to ensure their safety and functionality for space flights. The new section, now installed on the testing center, is fitted with all necessary systems for future test runs. This interstage section will protect electrical and propulsion systems for the SLS’s EUS (Exploration Upper Stage) in the rocket’s latest Block 1B design, offering a 40 percent bigger payload. NASA’s testing at Stennis Space Center will prepare the SLS for the Artemis IV mission, where four astronauts will journey to the Lunar Gateway space station and then descend to the Moon’s surface in the Starship HLS lunar lander.
