NASA has performed a test firing of its RS-25 powerplant, a rocket engine dubbed by propulsion engineer Kathryn Crowe in a CNET piece as the “Ferrari of rocket engines.” The engine was designed with the intention to launch the Orion spacecraft and physically push humanity to Mars. Thursday’s test firing at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi was the sixth of seven tests.
Two rocket boosters coupled with four RS-25 engines will be launching a 70-metric ton rocket into deep space. Rocket engines of the past will no longer suffice for the type of manned space exploration NASA intends to facilitate.
A member of the Space Launch System’s communications team, Martin Burkey, said, “The RS-25 makes a modern race car or jet engine look like a wind-up toy.” Such a comparison clearly states that NASA has taken their firepower to the next level. A manned mission to the moon is now, at least to NASA, child’s play. “At the rate the four SLS core stage engines consume propellants,” he added, “they could drain a family swimming pool in 1 minute.”
The RS-25 makes a modern race car or jet engine look like a wind-up toy.
With over 12 million horsepower, the RS-25 is being tested thoroughly in an attempt to avoid all hiccups that could possibly occur during a manned mission. The Register quoted NASA as saying, “The tests also support the development of a new controller, or ‘brain’, for the engine, which monitors engine status and communicates between the vehicle and the engine, relaying commands to the engine and transmitting data back to the vehicle.”
According to CBS News, the propellants for this piece of machinery burn hot enough to melt lead, over 6000 degrees. Some of those who witnessed the test firing of the RS-25 insisted that hearing protection was important, but the engine’s power could also be felt physically even when standing at a safe distance and watching the smoke from afar.
