The RS-25 engine fires up for a 500-second test Jan. 9, 2015 at NASAs Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Credit: NASA

NASAs goal of sending astronauts to deep space took a major step forward when the first engine of the type destined to power the mighty Space Launch System (SLS) exploration rocket blazed to life during a successful test firing at the agencys Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

The milestone hot fire test conducted on Jan. 9, involved igniting a shuttle-era RS-25 space shuttle main engine for 500 seconds on the A-1 test stand at Stennis.

A quartet of RS-25s, formerly used to power the space shuttle orbiters, will now power the core stage of the SLS which will be the most powerful rocket the world has ever seen.

The RS-25 is the most efficient engine of its type in the world, said Steve Wofford, manager of the SLS Liquid Engines Office at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center, in Huntsville, Alabama, where the SLS Program is managed. Its got a remarkable history of success and a great experience base that make it a great choice for NASAs next era of exploration.

The SLS is NASAs mammoth heavy lift rocket now under development. It is intended to launch the Orion deep space crew capsule and propel astronauts aboard to destinations far beyond Earth and farther into space than ever before possible beyond the Moon, to Asteroids and Mars.

The over eight minute RS-25 engine test firing provided NASA engineers with critical data on the engine controller unit, which is the brain of the engine providing communications between the engine and the vehice, and inlet pressure conditions.

The controller also provides closed-loop management of the engine by regulating the thrust and fuel mixture ratio while monitoring the engines health and status. The new controller will use updated hardware and software configured to operate with the new SLS avionics architecture, according to NASA.

This also marked the first test of a shuttle-era RS-25 since the conclusion of space shuttle main engine testing in 2009.

For the SLS, the RS-25 will be configured and operated differently from their use when attached as a trio to the base of the orbiters during NASAs four decade long Space Shuttle era that ended with the STS-135 mission in July 2011.

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First SLS Engine Blazes to Life in Mississippi Test Firing Igniting NASAs Path to Deep Space