spacetoday.net: NASA tests Shuttle-era engine for SLS

Posted: Wed, Jan 14, 2015, 7:41 AM ET (1241 GMT)
RS-25 engine test at Stennis, Jan 2015 (NASA)

NASA successfully tested an engine originally built for the Space Shuttle in a milestone for the development of the Space Launch System (SLS) heavy-lift rocket. NASA test-fired the engine, designated RS-25, for 500 seconds on January 9 at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. The test was the first for the engine since NASA completed tests of the original Space Shuttle Main Engine in 2009. The RS-25 has undergone some modifications to accommodate its use on the SLS, including changes in liquid oxygen temperature and inlet pressure. The SLS will use four RS-25 engines, mounted at the base of its core stage, along with two five-segment solid rocket boosters to carry payloads of up to 70 metric tons into orbit. The first SLS launch, of an Orion spacecraft on an uncrewed mission to the vicinity of the Moon, is now planned for 2018.