BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss., Jan. 12 (UPI) -- The engine that will power NASA's next manned missions into space -- to the moon, Mars, and beyond -- was successfully tested last week at the space agency's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. <\/p>\n
The RS-25 isn't entirely new. It served as the main engine for the since-retired space shuttle missions. But now it's been repurposed for NASA's newest Space Launch System (SLS). <\/p>\n
The video of RS-25's first successful test is loud and smoke-filled. It captures what was first of several tests that the engine will be put through before it will be integrated and used as part of the first test flight. <\/p>\n
\"We've made modifications to the RS-25 to meet SLS specifications and will analyze and test a variety of conditions during the hot fire series,\" Steve Wofford, manager of the SLS Liquid Engines Office at the agency's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, said ahead of last Friday's successful testing session. <\/p>\n
\"This first hot-fire test of the RS-25 engine represents a significant effort on behalf of Stennis Space Center's A-1 test team,\" confirmed Ronald Rigney, RS-25 project manager at the Stennis Space Center. \"Our technicians and engineers have been working diligently to design, modify and activate an extremely complex and capable facility in support of RS-25 engine testing.\" <\/p>\n
When assembled for maximum boost, the SLS will boast four RS-25 engines. The SLS is NASA's latest attempt to pair newly engineered space capsules (Orion) with a next-generation, scalable rocket launch system for the purpose of sending astronauts to deep space. <\/p>\n
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Watch NASA test the newest space launch system rocket engine<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss., Jan Continue reading