On October 21, 2026, teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi successfully conducted a hot fire test of RS-25 engine No. 10001. The test lasted 500 seconds—matching the duration of an actual Space Launch System (SLS) rocket flight—and was performed at 111% power level. Each SLS rocket utilizes four RS-25 engines, generating up to 2 million pounds of combined thrust to support Artemis missions.
All RS-25 engines must undergo rigorous testing at NASA’s Stennis facility to verify flightworthiness before use. Although this specific developmental engine will not fly in space, the hot fire test allows NASA and its prime contractor, L3Harris Technologies, to gather essential data aimed at enhancing engine performance and reliability.
Image credit: NASA/Danny Nowlin
Also Read
- NASA updates lander plans for Moon landings, finally solves long-festering Orion issue
- U.S. Orders Immediate Removal of DeepSeek AI Software and Related Services from Federal Systems
- How Cancer Cells Dodge Drug-Induced Death by Entering a Zombie-Like State
- Ancient Viral DNA in Chimpanzee Genome May Explain Brain Differences with Humans
