NASA completed a hot fire test to study the pivoting capabilities of the Aerojet Rocketdyne’s redesigned RS-25 engine, which will be used for future flights of the Space Launch System.
The agency said Thursday that it performed 12 minutes of gimbaling, or pivoting, on the engine to simulate launch and flight maneuvers of the SLS rocket.
NASA and Aerojet redesigned 12 RS-25 units from the Space Shuttle program as a basis for new versions to be manufactured for the Artemis V lunar mission and beyond.
SLS uses four RS-25 engines, which have a combined thrust of over 2 million pounds during launch. The engine met the 111 percent thrust level and withstood up to 113 percent of power during the test.
The tests took place on April 26 at Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.