NASA successfully tested the nuclear phase of its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for the second time on Thursday afternoon.
The powerful lunar rocket’s four RS-25 engines fired eight minutes and 19 seconds at about 16:37 ET at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
The ‘Green Run’ series’ 212-foot core fire test indicates what NASA says is a ‘critical milestone’ ahead of their future lunar missions.
The core stage design will be used for all configurations of the 322-foot-high SLS rocket and the team will use the data from their tests to validate the design for the flight.
‘The SLS is the most powerful rocket NASA has ever built, and during today’s test, the core phase of the rocket produced more than 1.6 million pounds of push within seven seconds. The SLS is an incredible engineering achievement and the only rocket that can drive next-generation missions in America that will put the first woman and the next man on the moon, “said NASA administrator Steve Jurczyk in a Thursday release said.
“Today’s successful nuclear test of the SLS is a major milestone in NASA’s goal of bringing humans back to the lunar surface,” he added.
NASA’s first hot test of the SLS core stage was carried out on January 16, when the four engines fired for about one minute. The test was stopped earlier than planned due to a fault in the hydraulic system, which intensified the need for a second, longer hot fire test.
The second fire test enabled engineers to test a multitude of operating conditions, such as aiming the thrust, throttling and throttling, and propelling the engines to 100%.
The core-stage propulsion tank can hold more than 700,000 liters of cryogenic propellant and simulates nearly 2 million pounds of thrust.
In addition, the stage – for which Boeing is the main contractor – is technologically advanced, with sophisticated flight software and aviation systems, propulsion systems and hydraulic systems.
The stage is then refurbished as needed and sent to the Kennedy Space Center at NASA in Florida for the launch of the Artemis I mission.
Artemis I, which is very tentatively planned for the end of the year, will use an SLS rocket to send an Orion spacecraft unmanned on a flight around the moon and back to Earth.
‘Today is a wonderful day for NASA, Stennis and the country’s human space exploration program. This last test in the Green Run series is an important milestone for the return of this country to the Moon and the ultimate mission to Mars, ”said Richard Gilbrech, director of the Stennis Center. “So many people across the agency and the country have contributed to this SLS core phase, but special recognition is due to the mixed team of test operators, engineers and support staff for an exemplary effort to run the test today.”
The John C. Stennis Space Center is the country’s largest rocket engine test complex.