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yesterday

NASA Completes Full-Duration Hot Fire Test of RS-25 Engine

The nearly 500-second firing at the Fred Haise Test Stand validated engine performance for the April 2026 crewed lunar mission.

NASA tested RS-25 engine No. 20001 on June 20, at the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center at Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. (Handout/NASA)

Overview

  • NASA fired RS-25 engine No. 20001 for almost eight-and-a-half minutes on June 20 at Stennis Space Center’s Fred Haise Test Stand, matching the duration needed for an SLS launch.
  • The engine reached 111 percent power level, demonstrating the thrust required to lift the Orion spacecraft into orbit.
  • This marked the first full-duration hot fire of the new production RS-25 engines since their certification was completed in 2024.
  • RS-25 engines are built by L3Harris Technologies with support from Syncom Space Services and will deliver up to two million pounds of combined thrust per SLS launch.
  • The successful test clears a key milestone for the Artemis II crewed lunar flyby in April 2026 and paves the way for the Artemis III moon landing in 2027.