Impressive engine test for NASA SLS

NASA has successfully tested the four RS-25 engines that will be used in the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. As NASA notes, the rocket body is the largest rocket component it has ever built. The test, also known as the "hot fire test", lasted for 8 minutes and 19 seconds. This is a critical milestone in the development of the US Artemis I mission, which will send an unmanned Orion spacecraft on a test flight to the Moon and back to Earth, paving the way for the Artemis manned missions. This is also the second test of the engines, as in the first there was an unexpected shutdown.

During the test, the motors moved in specific ways to direct the thrust, while their endurance was also tested, bringing the power to 109%, reducing it and increasing it again. The two tanks in the rocket body contained 2,774,000 liters of supercooled liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen.

The SLS body will now be transported to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where it will be connected to the rest of the rocket.