The American Aerospace Agency (NASA) has just carried out a historic test lasting 8 minutes. NASA launched four engines that would later be used to launch the spacecraft’s launch system into orbit.
According to Sputnik (Russia), this is the eighth test with this engine, but it is the first time launched in a full 8 minutes like a real missile launch.
To perform the test, NASA put more than 2.7 million liters of ultra-cold rocket fuel into the engine’s fuel tank. The engine is still attached to the test launcher at the Stennic Space Center in St. Bay. Louis, Mississippi.
Burning fuel for 8 minutes created a giant column of smoke and a shrill roar. The trial had no problem. Previously, during a test in January, engineers were forced to shut down the engine after burning fuel for 1 minute due to problems.
The motor mentioned above is called RS-25, not a new motor. Previously, three engines of the same type had put the space shuttle into orbit for decades.
The spacecraft launch system (SLS) will use four RS-25 engines, powerful enough to transport 800 tons of cargo as well as people into space.
The power of these engines could launch the Orion spacecraft to complete the Artemis mission to bring humans back to the Moon and prepare for a manned flight to Mars.
NASA Acting Director Steve Jurczyk said NASA was looking for an opportunity to launch the Artemis I mission this year. However, he noted that unexpected issues could arise during implementation.
SLS and Orion are in competition with private company SpaceX, which brought four astronauts to the International Space Station in November 2020 aboard the Crew Dragon. SpaceX is also developing the Starship rocket, a reusable space vehicle. However, SpaceX was unable to successfully land Starship.
