Stennis successfully test fired second RS-25 engine

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. (WXXV)- NASA and L3 Harris Technologies have successfully test-fired the second RS-25 engine.

The RS-25 engine is the one that will support the core stage of the Space Launch System rocket for NASA’s Artemis V mission.

L3 Harris’s RS-25 rocket engineers are critical to the Artemis program’s success, with four of the engines powering every SLS rocket, enabling the US to help establish a sustainable presence on the moon and prepare for future missions to Mars.

NASA conducted the test at its Stennis Space Center, which demonstrated the engine’s performance and reliability during a 500-second firing that reached 111 percent of its rated power level.

This test marked the second flight-ready RS-25 engine produced using modern manufacturing techniques, including 3D printing, which reduced production costs by 30 percent compared to earlier RS-25 engines that powered the space shuttle.

The first four Artemis missions used upgraded RS-25 engines originally designed for the space shuttle program and the fifth mission will debut the newly produced RS-25 engines.