The test took location on the Fred Haise Test Stand just days after NASA successfully completed the Artemis I flight test. These latest tests are for the RS-25Es, which will be used by the Artemis V and VI objectives, which will take location sometime in 2028 and 2029 (respectively).
On November 16th, NASA released the very first mission of the Artemis Program (Artemis I), which crashed three and a half weeks later. This uncrewed mission saw the Space Launch System (SLS) send out an Orion spacecraft far beyond the orbit of the Moon, developing a new record for distance taken a trip by a mission and the quantity of time invested beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO). Powering the core stage of the SLS were 4 Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25s, the same engines used by the Space Shuttle– called the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME).
By the end of the decade, NASA plans to install an overall of six Artemis launches that will consist of crewed objectives to the surface, the creation of the Artemis Basecamp, and the release of the Lunar Gateway. NASA likewise prepares to update key components in the mission architecture along the method, that include replacing the Space Shuttle Era engines with the newly-designed RS-25E. On December 14th, NASA checked this engine for the first time at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, finishing a hot fire test that lasted for simply under 3 and a half minutes (209.5 seconds).
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NASA engineers checked the very first RS-25 engine on the A-2 Test Stand at Stennis Space Center on March 23, 2017. Credits: NASA/SSC
These missions will deliver crews of four astronauts to the surface of the Moon, as well as the Lunar Terrain Vehicle (LTV) and the last elements of the Gateway– the European System Providing Refueling Infrastructure and Telecommunication (ESPRIT) and the Gateway Airlock modules. Johnny Heflin, supervisor of the SLS Liquid Engines Office at NASAs Marshall Space Flight Center, discussed the value of hot screening in a current NASA news release:
” Much like launch, test campaigns are dynamic events that allow us to find out more about the SLS rocket hardware. NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne groups were successful in running the very first test of the new RS-25 restart engine for 209.5 seconds that will assist power future missions with the SLS rocket.
As with previous tests, the hot fire was scheduled to run for 500 seconds but was shut down early by a non-flight system utilized to keep track of the engine. NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne are evaluating the information now to evaluate the tracking system, examine the engines efficiency, and determine the factor for the early cutoff. Considering that the test did not include engines destined to be utilized by any missions in the near future, the termination will not affect NASAs flight schedule.
With the Artemis I flight test total, both NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne– its main specialist for establishing propulsion elements for Artemis– are moving forward with screening and developing brand-new mission aspects. Hot fire tests are vital to these efforts because they will check brand-new elements utilized in future engines.
A hot fire test of the RS-25 from the Space Shuttle Era. Credit: NASA
This latest test was likewise the very first time considering that March that the Fred Haise Test Stand was utilized when NASA completed a developmental test series designed to update the manufacture and decrease the costs of producing RS-25 engines. Ever since, Stennis teams have finished crucial upkeep tasks to support the RS-25 testing program, like upgrading the stands high-pressure industrial water systems, its flame deflector, thrust vector control system, and data-acquisition system.
” Each test, even one that does not go full period, helps us collect valuable information and assists us prepare to fly securely,” stated Stennis RS-25 job supervisor Chip Ellis.”
The very first crewed mission of the Artemis Program (Artemis II) is currently set up for May 2024. This mission will see a team of 4 conduct a lunar flyby before returning to Earth. This will be followed by Artemis III sometime in 2025, which will see a crew of 4 flying to lunar orbit and rendezvous with the Starship HLS. Two crewmembers, “the very first female and individual of color,” will then use the HLS to arrive at the lunar surface area. They will be the very first astronauts to stroll on the Moon considering that Gene Cernan and Harrison Schmitt did so in 1972 as part of the Apollo 17 objective.
Every SLS flight will be powered by four core phase RS-25 engines, plus two expendable solid rocket boosters (likewise utilized throughout the Space Shuttle Era). These engines will fire all at once to create a combined 725,748 kg (1.6 million pounds) of thrust at launch and 907,185 kg (2 million pounds) during ascent. Beyond just sending astronauts to the Moon for the very first time because the Apollo Era, the long-term objective of these missions is to develop the facilities that will enable a “continual program of lunar exploration” and pave the method for crewed objectives to Mars.
Were going back, and we intend to stay. Were going even more. The RS-25, once the workhorse of the Space Shuttle Program, will be a crucial element of these strategies, offering the kind of thrust needed to send out astronauts beyond LEO for the very first time in over 50 years!
The test took location on the Fred Haise Test Stand simply days after NASA successfully finished the Artemis I flight test. NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne teams were successful in running the first test of the brand-new RS-25 restart engine for 209.5 seconds that will assist power future objectives with the SLS rocket. Since the test did not include engines destined to be utilized by any objectives in the near future, the termination will not affect NASAs flight schedule.
Hot fire tests are vital to these efforts because they will evaluate brand-new components utilized in future engines.
On December 14th, NASA evaluated this engine for the first time at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, completing a hot fire test that lasted for just under 3 and a half minutes (209.5 seconds).
Additional Reading: NASA
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