NASA Readies for Future Artemis Moon Missions with Rocket Engine Test Series

NASA marked a significant milestone on Sept. 30 in its plans for future missions to the Moon and, eventually, Mars with the completion of an RS-25 single-engine Retrofit-2 test series at Stennis Space Center. A full-duration hot fire of RS-25 of developmental engine No. 0528 on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis culminated a seven-test series to support development and production of new engines for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket on future Artemis missions. During this hot fire, operators fired RS-25 developmental engine No. 0528, used for each of the seven tests in the series, for more than eight minutes (500 seconds), the same time required during an actual launch.