A test version of the launch vehicle stage adapter (LVSA) for NASA’s new rocket, the Space Launch System, was moved to a 65-foot-tall test stand at the agency’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The test version LVSA was stacked with other test pieces of the upper part of the SLS rocket and pushed, pulled and twisted as part of an upcoming test series to ensure each structure can withstand the incredible stresses of launch. The LVSA joined the core stage simulator, which was loaded into the test stand Sept. 21, 2016. The other three qualification articles and the Orion simulator completed the stack in late 2016. SLS will be the world’s most powerful rocket, and with the Orion spacecraft, take astronauts to deep-space destinations, including the Journey to Mars. Credit: NASA/MSFC #journeytomars #lvsa #space #sls #rocket #science #tech #explore #nasa #launch #EM1 nasa_marshall kennedyspacecenter nasakennedy