Kennedy Countdown for Aug. 27, 2021

To measure the level of vibrations NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket will experience during launch, teams at Kennedy Space Center are performing tests inside the Vehicle Assembly Building. This involves placing hydraulic shakers at different locations on the rocket, as well as using a small hammer to deliver calibrated taps at different areas on the mobile launcher to simulate vibrations. About 300 sensors have been attached to the SLS stack to capture and record data. Also, NASA awarded $500,000 divided among 13 teams across the United States for the agency's Break the Ice Lunar Challenge. The challenge involved designing a method to extract water by excavating and moving large amounts of icy regolith from a permanently shadowed area of the Moon.