NASA Achieves Milestone with Completion of RS-25 Certification Test Series

NASA achieved a key milestone June 22, completing an initial certification test series designed to pave the way for production of new RS-25 engines to help power NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket on future Artemis missions to the Moon, beginning with Artemis V. Test engineers conducted a full-duration test of more than eight minutes (500 seconds) on an RS-25 certification engine manufactured by SLS engines lead contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne. The test duration is the same amount of time needed to help launch the SLS rocket and send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft into orbit. The hot fire on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, marked the 12th – and final – test in the current series, which featured a certification engine that incorporates dozens of improvements to make production more efficient and affordable while maintaining high performance and reliability. The stage is now set to conduct a follow-up hot fire series on a second certification engine this fall. Four RS-25 engines fire simultaneously to help launch each SLS rocket, producing up to 2 million pounds of combined thrust.