RS-25 tested at high level

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. - NASA tested an RS-25 engine Thursday at its highest power level for an extended period of time. The 500-second test was conducted on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis Space Center (SSC) in south Mississippi. For the fourth time, NASA powered the engine to 113 percent of its original thrust design, this time for more than 430 seconds, about four times longer than any previous hot fire at that thrust level. The hot fire concluded a series of nine tests that began last August, using RS-25 developmental engine No. 0525. As with previous tests in the series, the Feb. 28 hot fire featured an RS-25 flight engine controller that will be used on a Space Launch System mission. The controller is the "brain" and a key component of engine modifications made to help power SLS, being built as the world’s most-powerful rocket to carry humans deeper into space than ever. The RS-25, originally used in the Space Shuttle, is being modified for SLS. Four RS-25s will provie 2 million pounds of thrust during SLS's launch and ascent. (Source: NASA/SSC, 02/28/19) Previous