{"id":18630,"date":"2018-02-21T23:05:58","date_gmt":"2018-02-21T15:05:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/nasa-fires-shuttle-rocket-engine-to-the-max-during-test-for-space-launch-system\/"},"modified":"2018-02-21T23:05:58","modified_gmt":"2018-02-21T15:05:58","slug":"nasa-fires-shuttle-rocket-engine-to-the-max-during-test-for-space-launch-system","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/nasa-fires-shuttle-rocket-engine-to-the-max-during-test-for-space-launch-system\/","title":{"rendered":"NASA fires shuttle rocket engine to the max during test for Space Launch System"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_399498\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-399498\" style=\"width: 630px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full-width wp-image-399498\" src=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/180221-rocket-630x387.jpg\" alt=\"RS-25 rocket engine\" width=\"630\" height=\"387\" srcset=\"https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/180221-rocket-630x387.jpg 630w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/180221-rocket-768x472.jpg 768w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/180221-rocket-1260x775.jpg 1260w, https:\/\/cdn.geekwire.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/180221-rocket.jpg 1757w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 630px) 100vw, 630px\"><figcaption data-nosnippet=\"\" id=\"caption-attachment-399498\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Exhaust billows out from a rocket test tower at NASA\u2019s Stennis Space Center during a test firing of an RS-25 rocket engine. (NASA via YouTube)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Like a \u201cSpinal Tap\u201d guitarist, NASA turned the dial up to 11 today on a souped-up rocket engine from the bygone space shuttle program.<\/p>\n<p>The 260-second engine firing at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi represented the toughest test yet for hardware that\u2019s destined to go on the Space Launch System, NASA\u2019s heavy-lift rocket.<\/p>\n<p>NASA plans to use sets of Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25 rocket engines left over from the shuttle program in the main propulsion systems on the first four SLS rockets, four at a time. Fourteen of the 16 hydrogen-fueled engines were previously installed on the shuttle orbiters, which were retired in 2011 and are now on display in museums.<\/p>\n<p>The recycled RS-25s have been upgraded with new seals as well as 3-D printed parts that are designed to serve as shock absorbers during the engines\u2019 thunderous firings.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"RS-25 Engines Powered to Highest Level Ever During Stennis Test\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/hFEJuC_4IVY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>Stennis\u2019 test firings are aimed at certifying that the upgrades work as planned, and that the engines can perform at the higher power ratings required by the SLS. Today\u2019s test hit 113 percent of the engine\u2019s original design thrust level,&nbsp;the highest mark ever achieved.<\/p>\n<p>Computer modeling already had determined that the engines can reach those levels, but today\u2019s test provided valuable ground truth&nbsp;\u2014 and will guide Aerojet Rocketdyne as it makes more RS-25s.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIncreased thrust requirements for the RS-25 are just one of the many changes in the SLS rocket\u2019s performance that will facilitate our nation\u2019s deep-space exploration goals and objectives,\u201d Dan Adamski, RS-25 program director at Aerojet Rocketdyne, said in a news release.<\/p>\n<p>The first SLS flight, known as Exploration Mission 1, aims to send an uncrewed Orion capsule to the far side of the moon and back in 2020. Astronauts are due to get on board for a similar round-the-moon odyssey in 2023.<\/p>\n<p>The SLS has been controversial because of its estimated $10 billion development cost, its operational cost of roughly $1 billion per launch, and a relatively low projected flight rate of one to two launches per year.<\/p>\n<p><iframe title=\"The RS-25 Engine Will Power the Space Launch System\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Hkh5OAzQsfw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen=\"\" data-ratio=\"0.5625\" data-width=\"800\" data-height=\"450\" style=\"display: block; margin: 0px; width: 800px; height: 450px;\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>In comparison, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk estimates the cost of creating his company\u2019s Falcon Heavy rocket at upwards of $500 million. The list price for a Falcon Heavy launch is $90 million.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX\u2019s Falcon Heavy, which made its debut this month, is currently the world\u2019s most powerful rocket in operation with 5 million pounds of liftoff thrust. But the SLS is designed to exceed that performance.<\/p>\n<p>The initial version, known as SLS Block 1, aims to deliver 8.8 million pounds of liftoff thrust \u2014 more than the 7.5 million pounds that the Saturn V rocket mustered for Apollo moon shots. SLS Block 2 would turn the dial even higher, to 9.2 million pounds.<\/p>\n<p>In terms of payload lift capacity, Block 1 could put 70 metric tons in low Earth orbit, and Block 2 takes that figure up to 143 tons. Falcon Heavy\u2019s comparable lift capacity is 64 metric tons.<\/p>\n<p>NASA intends to use the SLS for missions to the moon, Mars and other deep-space destinations. But the rocket\u2019s critics say other heavy-lift launch vehicles such as the Falcon Heavy or Blue Origin\u2019s yet-to-be-built New Glenn could be configured to do what needs to be done less expensively and more frequently.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Exhaust billows out from a rocket test tower at NASA\u2019s Stennis Space Center during a test firing of an RS-25 rocket engine. (NASA via YouTube) Like a \u201cSpinal Tap\u201d guitarist, NASA turned the dial up to 11 today on a souped-up rocket engine from the bygone space shuttle program. The 260-second engine firing at Stennis [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[190,787],"class_list":["post-18630","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-nasa","tag-space-launch-system"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18630"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=18630"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/18630\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=18630"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=18630"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=18630"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}