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yesterday

Nozzle Shatters During First Static Fire of NASA’s BOLE Booster

Test data will drive booster redesigns just as Congress decides whether to fund SLS beyond Artemis 3

© Northrop Grumman
Watch: Rocket tasked with launching humans to the Moon explodes during testing
Debris scatters on June 26, 2025, during a static fire test of a new solid rocket motor at a Northrop Grumman facility in Utah. The motor is supposed to be used in later Artemis moon missions.
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Overview

  • The first full-scale static fire of the BOLE five-segment solid rocket booster at Promontory, Utah, ended with the nozzle disintegrating within the final ten seconds of the two-plus-minute burn.
  • Following nozzle failure, the booster continued firing to depletion and its exhaust ignited a hillside fire near the stand.
  • Jim Kalberer, Northrop Grumman’s vice president of propulsion systems, said the anomaly yielded crucial late-burn data to refine the booster design.
  • NASA awarded a $3.2 billion BOLE contract in 2021 to build solid rocket boosters for Artemis IV–VIII and develop the next-generation design for Artemis IX.
  • A fiscal year 2026 funding clash over ending SLS after Artemis 3 or extending it through Artemis 5 leaves the BOLE program’s operational future uncertain.