WASHINGTON – NASA has successfully tested a rocket engine needed for futureMoon missions, marking a major milestone in its aim to return astronauts tothe lunar surface in the next five years, the US space agency said Friday.
The latest test was conducted on Thursday at NASA’s Stennis Space Centernear Bay St Louis, Mississippi, US, NASA said in a statement. The “hotfire” test marks the culmination of over four years of testing for theRS-25 engines that will send the first four Space Launch System (SLS)rockets into space, it said.link
linkJim Bridenstine✔@JimBridenstinelinklink
Very excited to see one of the last @NASA_SLS linkRS-25 single engine tests from @NASAStennislink before these engines will be powering @NASA_Orion link to the Moon!
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“Engines are now a ‘go’ for missions to send astronauts forward to the Moonto learn and prepare for missions to Mars,” said Johnny Heflin from NASA’sMarshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, US. “We are ready to provide thepower to explore the Moon and beyond,” Heflin said.
The RS-25 rocket engine test era began January 9, 2015, with a 500-second —more than eight minutes — hot fire of RS-25 developmental engine No 0525 onthe A-1 Test Stand at Stennis. NASA tested the first SLS flight engine onMarch 10, 2016. Altogether, the agency has conducted 32 developmental andflight engine tests for a total of 14,754 seconds — more than four hoursof cumulative hot fire – all on the A-1 stand at Stennis.
