Artemis III Liquid Hydrogen Tank Prepares for Thermal Protection System Application

Teams move a liquid hydrogen tank for NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket out of a priming cell and into an adjacent cell on May 20 at the agency’s Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. Inside the cell, the tank, which will be used on the core stage of NASA’s Artemis III mission, will receive its thermal protection system. The thermal protection system, or spray-on foam insulation, provides protection to the core stage during launch. It is flexible enough to move with the rocket yet can withstand the aerodynamic pressures as the SLS accelerates from 0 to 17,500 mph and soars to more than 100 miles above the Earth. This third-generation insulation is more environmentally friendly and keeps the cryogenic propellant, which powers the rocket’s four RS-25 engines, extremely cold (the liquid hydrogen must remain at minus 423 degrees Fahrenheit/253 degrees Celsius) to remain in its liquid state. When applied the thermal protection system is a light-yellow color, which “tans” once exposed to the Sun’s ultraviolet rays, giving the SLS core stage its signature orange color. The propellant tank is one of five major elements that make up the 212-foot-tall rocket stage. The core stage, along with its four RS-25 engines, produce more than two million pounds of thrust to help launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft, astronauts, and supplies beyond Earth’s orbit and to the lunar surface for Artemis.