NASA has conducted the first full-duration firing test of the RS-25E engine [space news]

NASA has conducted the first successful full-duration firing test of the RS-25E rocket engine designed for use in Space Launch System (#SLS) rockets as part of the Artemis lunar program.

The #RS-25 engine was first used in the space shuttle in 1981, but since then NASA has upgraded it several times and continued to use it even after the shuttle program was phased out.

The RS-25E version is a simplified version of the rocket engine used in the space shuttles of the 1980s. First, the engines for the shuttles were intended to be reusable, and in the case of the SLS rocket it was not necessary, which allowed for a simplified design. Secondly, the RS-25E got a new nozzle and controllers, which used new technologies, including 3D printing, in its production.

During firing tests, the engine ran as long as it should run on the launch of the SLS rocket, i.e. 8.5 minutes (510 s). The first such test was conducted in December 2022, but the test was aborted after 3.5 minutes (209 s).

The RS-25E engine has a thrust of 182 tons when the rocket is launched and 222 tons in a vacuum. It is the most powerful rocket engine in the U.S. and the most efficient. #NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne modified 16 engines from the Space Shuttle program that were deemed suitable for Artemis missions.

The firing tests were conducted at the Fred Hayes Stand, a facility that is a 60-meter-high structure. Each engine that will be used to launch the SLS will be tested at this test site.

In addition to testing the engines, NASA is simultaneously building three rockets for the Artemis program missions. As with the first launch, the SLS rockets that will go to the moon on the Artemis II and III missions will use a Block 1 configuration with an intermediate cryogenic stage (ICPS). Beginning with the Artemis IV mission, the SLS rocket will be used in a more powerful configuration called Block 1B, in which the cryogenic stage will be replaced by the more dynamic Exploration Upper Stage (EUS).

Boeing, the lead contractor for the SLS main stage, is manufacturing the
the main stage for the #Artemis 2 mission at NASA's Michoud Assembly Facility in New Orleans. At the same time, technicians continue all work on fabrication and production of the main elements for the main stage for Artemis III and IV missions.

And at NASA's Stennis Space Center, Aerojet Rocketdyne is working on the RS-25 engines. The company has already completed engine tests for Artemis III and Artemis IV.

The cryogenic stage for Artemis II is in final assembly at the horizontal integration facility at contractors Boeing and United Launch Alliance (ULA) in Florida. ULA is also completing production of the ICPS cryogenic stage for Artemis III at its Decatur, Alabama, facility.

Two five-segment solid rocket boosters are being manufactured by Northrop Grumman. And all 10 engine segments for each of the Artemis II and Artemis III mission launch vehicles have already been completed.