SSC chalks up new RS-25 test

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. – NASA stayed right on schedule Tuesday with the third in a series of scheduled RS-25 rocket engine tests at Stennis Space Center. The successful hot fire of RS-25 developmental engine No. 0525 on the A-1 stand met all test objectives and featured several key elements, most notably an acceptance test of an engine flight controller for use by NASA’s new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The hot fire also represented the seventh test of a 3D-printed pogo accumulator and the third test of a main combustion chamber fabricated using a bonding technique designed to save time and money. The flight controller units are a key component of the RS-25 engine, serving as the “brain” to help it communicate with the rocket and to provide control of its operation and internal health diagnostics. Engineers are testing RS-25 engines to help power the new SLS rocket, built to carry humans deeper into space than ever before, including to the Moon and Mars. Four RS-25 engines will help power the SLS at launch, providing 2 million pounds of combined thrust. (Source: NASA/SSC, 09/25/18) Previous