Northrop Grumman set to test SLS Block 2 BOLE booster in Utah
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Northrop Grumman Completes First BOLE Solid Rocket Motor Segment for NASA’s Space Launch System
Northrop Grumman completed the first Booster Obsolescence and Life Extension (BOLE) motor segment for the next-generation Space Launch System (SLS) solid rocket booster. BOLE adds nearly five metric tons of payload capacity for SLS Block 2 Moon and Mars missions. The first BOLE demonstration test is scheduled for this year, featuring a full-scale static test.
PROMONTORY, Utah – Feb. 26, 2024 – (PHOTO RELEASE) Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) completed the first Booster Obsolescence and Life Extension (BOLE) motor segment for the next-generation Space Launch System (SLS) solid rocket booster. BOLE adds nearly five metric tons of payload capacity for SLS Block 2 Moon and Mars missions above the enhancements already in work for the SLS Block 1B configuration slated to fly on Artemis IV. The new solid rocket boosters will be used on Block 2 beginning with Artemis IX when all the recovered and refurbished shuttle-era steel cases have been expended.
Building on the foundation of the largest and most powerful solid rocket boosters ever flown, Northrop Grumman’s BOLE booster incorporates cutting-edge carbon fiber technology and a weight-saving composite case. Combined with other upgrades, it generates 11% more total impulse than the current five-segment solid rocket boosters. The first BOLE demonstration test is scheduled for this year, featuring a full-scale static test with all five segments integrated and horizontally fired in a test bay.
SLS (Space Launch System) Solid Rocket Booster
SLS is the only rocket that can send the Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and a large cargo to the Moon in a single launch. boosters contribute to the power that SLS needs to launch payloads with more mass and volume to deep space. boosters are optimized for single use, while the shuttle boosters were designed to be reused. boosters operate for about two minutes before separating from the core stage and landing in the Atlantic Ocean. boosters carry the entire weight of the fueled SLS rocket. After stacking, each booster is integrated to the SLS core stage by braces on the forward and aft booster segments. boosters generate more thrust than 14 four-engine jumbo commercial airliners. The boosters are the largest, most powerful solid propellant booster to ever fly. They undergo a rigorous nondestructive inspection process to confirm each segment’s readiness for flight. boosters undergo hot fire tests to evaluate materials and processes for future missions. booster avionics monitor booster conditions and steer the booster exhaust nozzle. boosters have enough remaining shuttle booster hardware for seven more flight sets.
NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) solid rocket booster is based on three decades of knowledge and experience gained with the space shuttle booster and improved with the latest technology.
SLS is the only rocket that can send the Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and a large cargo to the Moon in a single launch.
The boosters contribute to the power that SLS needs to launch payloads with more mass and volume to deep space making it possible to send astronauts to distant destinations including the Moon and, later, Mars.
Solid Rocket Booster Details Length 177 ft. Diameter 12 ft. Weight 1.6 million lbs. each Propellant polybutadiene
acrylonitrile (PBAN) Thrust 3.6 million lbs. each Operation time 126 seconds
SLS Solid Rocket Booster Configuration
Five-Segment Solid Rocket Booster
The SLS booster is the largest, most powerful solid propellant booster to ever fly. Standing 17 stories tall and burning approximately six tons of propellant every second, each booster generates more thrust than 14 four-engine jumbo commercial airliners. Together, the twin SLS boosters provide more than 75 percent of the total SLS thrust at launch.
The major physical difference between the shuttle and SLS boosters is the addition of a fifth propellant segment to the four-segment shuttle booster, allowing NASA’s new launcher to lift more weight than the shuttle. Additionally, the SLS boosters are optimized for single use, while the shuttle boosters were designed to be reused. Though based on the shuttle booster, the SLS booster benefits from several design, process, and testing improvements for greater performance, safety, and affordability.
All booster components use steel cases repurposed from cases used on previous space shuttle flights. The five booster segments are manufactured by Northrop Grumman in Utah and transported by train to NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida where they are stacked and prepared for launch. The segments that include the propellant are the largest single component of each booster. They undergo a rigorous nondestructive inspection process to confirm each segment’s readiness for flight.
A completed booster segment for the Artemis IV flight. NASA
Boosters undergo hot fire tests to evaluate materials and processes for future missions. NASA
Artemis I boosters and core stage structurally mated in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. (side view). NASA/Frank Michaux
Solid Rocket Booster Improvements 25 percent more propellant New nozzle design New asbestos-free insulation New liner configuration New avionics
Artemis I booster aft assembly stacked on the mobile launcher in the Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy. NASA
Booster Components
The other booster components are assembled in the Booster Fabrication Facility at Kennedy.
The booster forward skirt houses booster avionics that communicate with the SLS avionics to monitor booster conditions and steer the booster exhaust nozzle.
The aft skirt contains the thrust vector control system that steers the nozzle based on commands from the booster avionics. The frustum and nose cone serve as the aerodynamic fairing for the booster.
The boosters are the first SLS element stacked on the mobile launcher. After stacking, each booster is integrated to the SLS core stage by braces on the forward and aft booster segments.
On the launch pad, the boosters carry the entire weight of the fueled SLS rocket. After launch, the boosters operate for about two minutes before separating from the core stage and landing in the Atlantic Ocean.
Evolved Boosters
Northrop Grumman has enough remaining shuttle booster hardware for seven more flight sets. Beginning with Artemis IX, the SLS rocket in its Block 2 configuration will use the booster obsolescence and life extension (BOLE) booster. The more powerful solid rocket motor will give the SLS rocket the capability to send even heavier payloads to the Moon and other areas of deep space for future Artemis missions.
NASA is working to land the first woman, first person of color, and its first international partner astronaut on the Moon under Artemis.
A booster obsolescence and life extension (BOLE) motor segment being transported to final assembly at Northrop Grumman in Utah. NASA
For more information about SLS, visit:
http://www.nasa.gov/artemis
http://www.nasa.gov/sls
http://www.facebook.com/NASASLS
http://www.instagram.com/nasaartemis
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
George C. Marshall Space Flight Center
Huntsville, AL 35812
www.nasa.gov/marshall
www.nasa.gov
MSFS-06-2024-SLS-4837
Northrop Grumman and NASA Successfully Test Space Launch System Booster
The five-segment solid rocket booster will provide more than 75 percent of the SLS rocket’s initial thrust during launch. The 154-foot-long booster fired for just over two minutes producing upwards of 3.6 million pounds of thrust. Northrop Grumman was awarded a contract to develop the BOLE booster in December 2021. The award also included follow-on production and flight sets for Artemis IV through Artemis VIII, and aBOLE booster set for Artemis IX. The company further supports the Artemis program providing the Habitation and Logistics Outpost module for NASA’s lunar Gateway and internally developing a Lunar Terrain Vehicle that supports human and robotic exploration of the moon and beyond.
The five-segment solid rocket booster for NASA’s SLS rocket tested for early learning in support of next-generation systems at Northrop Grumman’s Promontory, Utah, test area.
Over 300 measurement channels assessed the 154-foot-long solid rocket booster as it fired for just over two minutes producing upwards of 3.6 million pounds of thrust. Today’s test evaluates new materials and demonstrates a new motor ignition system and an electronic thrust vector control system that steers the motors to provide data for the development of the next-generation Booster Obsolescence and Life Extension (BOLE) boosters.
Northrop Grumman was awarded a contract to develop the BOLE booster in December 2021. The award also included follow-on production and flight sets for Artemis IV through Artemis VIII, and a BOLE booster set for Artemis IX.
“Continuous product improvements and obsolescence mitigation helps NASA achieve its long-term mission to utilize SLS for its Artemis program,” said Wendy Williams, vice president, propulsion systems, Northrop Grumman. “This opportunity for early learning on next-generation systems will help us develop an enhanced booster that is ready to support the greater payload demands of the SLS rocket through 2031.”
Booster segments for Artemis II, the first crewed Artemis mission, and Artemis III, the mission that will land the first woman and first person of color on the lunar surface, are complete. Artemis IV segments are currently being cast with propellant and the first BOLE booster composite segment case to be used for development testing completed winding in October.
Northrop Grumman has supplied rocket propulsion for NASA’s Apollo and Space Shuttle Programs and developed the five-segment SLS solid rocket booster based on the flight-proven design of the space shuttle boosters. Designed with an additional segment and upgraded technology and materials, each of the twin solid rocket boosters generates 25 percent more thrust than its predecessor boosters to aid the SLS rocket’s ability to deliver greater mass and volume to space with greater departure energy than any existing launch vehicle.
Along with the twin solid rocket boosters, Northrop Grumman also produces the abort motor and attitude control motor for NASA’s Orion spacecraft’s Launch Abort System that increases astronaut safety on pad and during ascent. The company further supports the Artemis program providing the Habitation and Logistics Outpost module for NASA’s lunar Gateway and internally developing a Lunar Terrain Vehicle that supports human and robotic exploration of the moon and beyond.
Northrop Grumman is a technology company, focused on global security and human discovery. Our pioneering solutions equip our customers with capabilities they need to connect, advance and protect the U.S. and its allies. Driven by a shared purpose to solve our customers’ toughest problems, our 90,000 employees define possible every day.
Source: https://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2025/06/bole-dm1-test/