NASA Gives RS-25 Engine Thumbs Up with Successful Hot Fire Test
The United States Space Agency has successfully completed a hot fire test of its RS-25 engine No. 2063 at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, marking a significant milestone for the Artemis IV mission.
As part of the preparations for this ambitious lunar-bound launch, NASA engineers have been working tirelessly to rectify issues discovered during the Artemis II mission. In 2025, Engine No. 2063 was initially installed on the SLS core stage, but it was subsequently removed after a hydraulic leak was detected in its main oxidizer valve actuator.
Following standard procedures, the engine has undergone extensive repairs, and teams at NASA Stennis have now fired it for five minutes, pushing it to 109% of its rated power level. This confidence test not only demonstrates the engine's readiness for flight but also provides critical data that will be invaluable to L3Harris Technologies, the prime engines contractor.
With this successful hot fire test complete, Engine No. 2063 is now set to be reinstated on the SLS core stage as part of the Artemis IV mission. A total of four RS-25 engines will be used for the launch, working in tandem with a pair of solid rocket boosters to generate an impressive 8.8 million pounds of thrust.
The Artemis campaign is a major undertaking aimed at returning humans to the Moon and ultimately paving the way for crewed missions to Mars. The agency's next steps include launching four astronauts around the Moon on Artemis II, with the mission slated for as early as February.
The United States Space Agency has successfully completed a hot fire test of its RS-25 engine No. 2063 at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, marking a significant milestone for the Artemis IV mission.
As part of the preparations for this ambitious lunar-bound launch, NASA engineers have been working tirelessly to rectify issues discovered during the Artemis II mission. In 2025, Engine No. 2063 was initially installed on the SLS core stage, but it was subsequently removed after a hydraulic leak was detected in its main oxidizer valve actuator.
Following standard procedures, the engine has undergone extensive repairs, and teams at NASA Stennis have now fired it for five minutes, pushing it to 109% of its rated power level. This confidence test not only demonstrates the engine's readiness for flight but also provides critical data that will be invaluable to L3Harris Technologies, the prime engines contractor.
With this successful hot fire test complete, Engine No. 2063 is now set to be reinstated on the SLS core stage as part of the Artemis IV mission. A total of four RS-25 engines will be used for the launch, working in tandem with a pair of solid rocket boosters to generate an impressive 8.8 million pounds of thrust.
The Artemis campaign is a major undertaking aimed at returning humans to the Moon and ultimately paving the way for crewed missions to Mars. The agency's next steps include launching four astronauts around the Moon on Artemis II, with the mission slated for as early as February.
news about NASA's RS-25 engine and I gotta say, 5-minute hot fire test is impressive 
! Now that it's passed the confidence test, Engine No. 2063 is good to go 
on the SLS core stage for Artemis IV mission 
. That's a huge milestone in the journey to return humans to the Moon and potentially Mars 
... I'm hyped to see how this mission unfolds 
!
and i wonder whats gonna happen next in this whole mission? will they actually make it 2 mars?! 
... and now that the RS-25 engine has passed its hot fire test, I'm really feeling the excitement for Artemis IV - can't wait to see those astronauts set foot on the Moon again 
You gotta love the dedication of those engineers working behind the scenes to make this mission happen. The fact that it had to go through repairs and whatnot only shows how thorough they are. Now, I'm sure many of us can't wait to see humans back on the moon soon - Artemis IV is definitely going to be a milestone moment! 
! I mean, it's not easy to fix those hydraulic leaks and get the engine up to speed, but our space agency has been working tirelessly to make sure everything is on point. Five minutes of intense power testing at 109% capacity? That's like doing a marathon run in your mind, you know? 
! Eight point eight million pounds of thrust is no joke, and I have faith in those RS-25 engines to get us where we need to go. It's all about that Artemis campaign, folks – humans back on the Moon by 2025, and then who knows? Mars, here we come 
Just heard about NASA's successful hot fire test of the RS-25 engine 
Can't wait for Artemis II and the next step towards Mars 
so they're good now? seems like a huge relief for NASA that they were able to fix all the issues from the last mission 
So they were able to fix that engine issue & it passed the hot fire test without any major problems! I'm all about space exploration 
, but can we talk about the impact of this on the job market? With NASA investing so much in their Artemis program, are we gonna see a rise in STEM jobs & apprenticeships for young folks? 
That'd be awesome to see a generation of skilled engineers & scientists ready to take on the next big challenge in space travel! 
it's like they're finally getting their act together after those issues with artemis ii 
i mean, 5 minutes of running that engine at 109% power is a BIG DEAL!!! 
can't wait for this journey to begin!!
. Five minutes at 109% power isn't exactly a walk in the park either, but I guess it shows they've put in some serious work to fix those issues 
. Still can't help but wonder what kind of stress test would be required for an astronaut's sanity when dealing with all these 'successful' engine tests 
. Can't wait to see this baby take off on Artemis IV and send humans back to the Moon in no time. It's like we're finally making progress towards that Mars mission... fingers crossed everything falls into place 
guess that's not exactly what u call "successful hot fire test"... they got lucky lol, might wanna rethink their whole Artemis IV plan 