NASA’s newly redesigned RS-25 engine for future flights of the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, underwent its first hot fire test of the year yesterday at the agency’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis.
The new engines will help power future Artemis missions to the Moon beginning with Artemis V.
The single-engine hot fire on the Fred Haise Test Stand followed a confidence test in 2022, which tested whether all was ready to proceed with the certification series.
During the latest test, engineers fired the RS-25 engine for a full duration of about eight and a half minutes (500 seconds), the same amount of time the engines must operate to help power SLS to space. The RS-25 engine also operated at 111% power for most of the test, the same level needed to help lift SLS to orbit. Four RS-25 engines fire simultaneously to generate a combined 1.6 million pounds of thrust at launch and 2 million pounds of thrust during ascent to help power each SLS flight.
NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne modified 16 engines remaining from the Space Shuttle Program, which were proven flightworthy at Stennis for Artemis missions I through IV. Every RS-25 engine that will help power SLS will be tested at NASA Stennis.
