NASA has conducted the second round of hot fire tests in a final 12-test certification series aimed at paving the way for producing new RS-25 engines.
Test engineers conducted a full-duration test of more than eight minutes on an RS-25 certification engine manufactured with new processes and techniques by lead contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne.
The 500-second test duration is the same amount of time needed to help launch Space Launch System (SLS) rockets to orbit during future Artemis missions to the moon. Four RS-25 engines fire simultaneously to help launch each SLS rocket, producing up to 2 million pounds of combined thrust.
The hot fire on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, was the second test in a series that began on October 17.
With the completion of the current series, Aerojet Rocketdyne will begin full production of engines for use on missions beginning with Artemis V.
