Saturday afternoon, NASA tested four RS-25 rocket boosters north of Bay St. Louis. The test is apart of the final rounds of tests for the new Artemis mission to return to the Moon. This was considered a “Green Run” and is the final test of the rockets.
Unfortunately, the eight-minute long test was not completed in its entirety.
From NASA:
The test plan called for the rocket’s four RS-25 engines to fire for a little more than eight minutes – the same amount of time it will take to send the rocket to space following launch. The team successfully completed the countdown and ignited the engines, but the engines shut down a little more than one minute into the hot fire. Teams are assessing the data to determine what caused the early shutdown, and will determine a path forward.
NASA.GOV
“Saturday’s test was an important step forward to ensure that the core stage of the SLS rocket is ready for the Artemis I mission, and to carry crew on future missions,” NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in a NASA press release. “Although the engines did not fire for the full duration, the team successfully worked through the countdown, ignited the engines, and gained valuable data to inform our path forward.”
The numbers and some science
The test included a 212-foot core stage producing 1.6 million pounds of thrust by combining 244,333 pounds of liquid oxygen with 488,667 pounds of liquid hydrogen. The deflector plate on teh ground was soaked with more than 330,000 gallons of water per minute to protect it from the heat being put of by the rocket.
Amazing how simple it is!
According to NASA one tank is loaded with hydrogen, cooled to -423-degrees Fahrenheit to make it a liquid, a few hours before launch. Another tank is loaded with oxygen, cooled to -297-degrees to make it a liquid, a few hours before launch. The Hydrogen tank has twice as much in it as the Oxygen tank. Why?
2H2 + O2 = 2H2O + Energy
But where does the energy come from? Take a look:
Five years ago….
Some of you may recall back in 2015 when I had the opportunity to cover NASA running a test on the RS-25 rocket.
I was close enough to the point where I had to wear earplugs and I could feel the rumble in my chest.
The first burst when the rocket started definitely took my breath away.
What’s next?
The – literal – rocket scientists will spend the next few weeks and months analyzing the data collected from the test. In the near-term, NASA will inspect the four RS-25 engines before determining the next steps. The end goal is for NASA is working to land the first woman and the next man on the Moon in 2024.
