NASA examined RS-25 engine No. 20001 on June 20, on the Fred Haise Take a look at Stand at NASA’s Stennis Area Middle at Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Take a look at groups fired the engine for nearly eight-and-a-half minutes (500 seconds), the identical period of time RS-25 engines hearth throughout a launch of an SLS (Area Launch System) rocket on Artemis missions to the Moon. The Artemis marketing campaign will discover the Moon for scientific discovery, financial advantages, and to construct the muse for the primary crewed missions to Mars – for the good thing about all.
4 RS-25 engines, constructed by contractor L3Harris Applied sciences (previously Aerojet Rocketdyne), assist energy every SLS launch, producing as much as 2 million kilos of mixed thrust. Throughout the take a look at, operators additionally fired engine No. 20001 as much as the 111% energy degree, the identical quantity of thrust wanted to launch an SLS rocket, carrying the Orion spacecraft, to orbit. The complete-duration “scorching hearth” was the primary take a look at since NASA accomplished certification testing for brand spanking new manufacturing RS-25 engines in 2024.
All RS-25 engines are examined and confirmed flightworthy at NASA Stennis. The take a look at was performed by a workforce of operators from NASA, L3Harris, and Syncom Area Providers, prime contractor for website amenities and operations.