WASHINGTON: NASA has successfully completed the first developmental test series on “super” engines that will power its mega Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on missions deeper into space than ever before, including Mars.
The test series wrapped up with a seventh hot fire test of a developmental RS-25 engine at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Bay St Louis, Mississippi, on Thursday.
The test ran for a full-duration of 535 seconds.
“The completion of this test series is an important step in getting SLS ready for the journey to Mars,” said Steve Wofford, engines manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, in a statement.
The RS-25 engine gives 77-tonnes SLS a proven, high performance and affordable main propulsion system.
