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NASA's Space Launch System Launch Vehicle Stage Adapter Ready for Thermal Insulation Application (News Release)

The largest piece of hardware for NASA's Space Launch System built at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, is ready for thermal insulation. Manufacturing is complete on the launch vehicle stage adapter, and it has been moved to NASA’s Center for Advanced Manufacturing for the application of the spray-on foam insulation that will surround it during its ride to space. Not only is the LVSA the largest segment of the rocket built at Marshall, measuring 27.6 feet in diameter and 30 feet tall, it is also the largest piece of flight hardware to have insulation applied at Marshall by hand.

The LVSA connects two major sections of the upper part of SLS -- the core stage and the interim cryogenic propulsion stage -- for the first flight of the rocket and NASA's Orion spacecraft. Insulation is applied to segments of rocket hardware to protect them from aerodynamic heating. When the insulation is applied, the coating will appear yellow, but as the insulation is exposed to the sun, it will turn orange. Teledyne Brown Engineering of Huntsville, is the prime contractor for the adapter.

Source: NASA.Gov