STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. – The last planned Space Shuttle Main Engine test will be July 29 at 2 p.m. CDT at this South Mississippi NASA center. The 520-second test ends a 34-year era of space shuttle main engine testing at Stennis. The first shuttle mission was in 1981 and there have been 126 since then, with all the main engines tested at Stennis. Seven flights remain before the space shuttle fleet is retired. The center is now helping NASA prepare for the next era of human spaceflight. Between 2007 and 2008, Stennis conducted component testing as part of early development of the J-2X engine for the Constellation Program. The J-2X will be tested at simulated altitudes up to 100,000 feet on the 300-foot A-3 test stand currently under construction at the center. (Source: NASA, 07/21/09)
