NASA has conducted a full-duration hot fire test of an RS-25 certification engine to demonstrate and validate its capability to power the agency’s Space Launch System rocket for future deep space missions.
The test was carried out on the Fred Haise Test Stand at Stennis Space Center in Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, to evaluate the performance capabilities of the Aerojet Rocketdyne-manufactured engine’s hydraulic actuators, flex ducts, turbopumps and other components, NASA said Thursday.
During the test, the RS-25 engine was powered for about eight and a half minutes, which is the same amount of time needed to launch the SLS rocket, and fired at power levels ranging between 80 and 113 percent.
The hot fire is the fourth in a 12-part certification series that began in October to certify the production of the redesigned RS-25 engine by L3Harris Technologies’ Aerojet Rocketdyne subsidiary for future deep space exploration missions, starting with Artemis V.
NASA expects to conclude the test campaign in 2024 to kick off the production of 24 new RS-25 engines for the Artemis mission.