Preparations for conducting the final Green Run test for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket are proceeding as planned, and the core stage is on schedule for a hot fire test tomorrow igniting all four of its RS-25 engines.
NASA is targeting a two-hour test window that opens at 5 p.m. EST Saturday, Jan.16, for the hot fire test at the agency’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Live coverage will begin at 4:20 p.m. on NASA Television and the agency’s website, followed by a post-test briefing approximately two hours after the test concludes.
The hot fire is the eighth and final test of the Green Run series to ensure the core stage of the SLS rocket is ready to launch Artemis missions to the Moon, beginning with Artemis I. The core stage includes the liquid hydrogen tank and liquid oxygen tank, four RS-25 engines, and the computers, electronics, and avionics that serve as the “brains” of the rocket. During the test, engineers will power up all the core stage systems, load more than 700,000 gallons of cryogenic, or supercold, propellant into the tanks, and fire all four engines at the same time to simulate the stage’s operation during launch, generating 1.6 million pounds of thrust.
Learn more about Green Run, and check back at this blog for updates on the SLS core stage hot fire test.