NASA completed developmental engine testing yesterday with a full-duration RS-25 hot fire, to support future engines that will launch Space Launch System (SLS) astronauts deeper into space than ever.
Operators fired an RS-25 engine for about eight-and-a-half minutes and up to 111% power at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis.
The March 30 hot fire completed the fourth developmental test series and sets Aerojet Rocketdyne, lead contractor for NASA’s SLS engines, on pace to produce new RS-25s for future use.
NASA is building SLS to return humans, including the first woman and the first person of color, to the Moon as part of Artemis and to power future missions to Mars. Four RS-25 engines will help launch SLS missions. The first four missions, including the upcoming uncrewed Artemis I flight test to the Moon, will use modified space shuttle main engines, all of which have been tested for flight.
