NASA Continues Certification Testing for Redesigned RS-25 Engines

NASA conducted another long-duration hot fire of an RS-25 engine May 10, continuing to pave the way for production of new engines for future deep space missions.

Operators at the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, fired an RS-25 certification engine for more than 10 minutes (630 seconds). The test duration is longer than the 500 seconds the engines must fire to help launch the Space Launch System rocket on Artemis missions and helps provide a margin of operational safety.

The engine also fired at 111% power level, the same level of thrust needed during launch, and at 113%, allowing operators to provide a margin of operational safety.

The May 10 hot fire marked the seventh in a 12-test series designed to certify production of new RS-25 engines for future Artemis missions by lead contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne. Four RS-25 engines fire simultaneously, producing up to 2 million pounds of combined thrust, to help power each SLS launch.

Image credit: NASA larger image