NASA accomplished initial certification tests of redesigned RS-25 engines manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne, which will be used for the Space Launch System rocket in the Artemis V lunar missions and beyond.
The 12-test series was completed at Fred Haise Test Stand at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and will be followed by a second and final round of certification trials in the fall of 2023, the space agency said Friday.
The experiment included 500-second hot fire tests, as well as four long-duration trials that lasted a total of 720 minutes. Engineers also performed a gimbal test to evaluate the component’s pivoting abilities, and pushed power levels from 80 percent to 113 percent.
“This 12-test series demonstrated our confidence level that our new designs have the same reliability and performance as their predecessors,” said Mike Lauer, Aerojet’s deputy program manager for RS-25. “We put the engine through a lot of different scenarios, and we are extremely pleased with the results.”