NASA tested RS-25 engine No. 10001 on Oct. 21, 2026, on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The developmental engine was fired for almost eight-and-a-half minutes in support of future Artemis missions.
Engine Test Details
NASA tested RS-25 engine No. 10001 on Oct. 21 on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. Test teams fired the developmental engine for almost eight-and-a-half minutes, matching the duration required during the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System rocket.
During the test, operators fired the engine up to the 111% power level. This matched the thrust needed for new production engines to launch the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft to orbit.
Mission Objectives and Contractors
NASA stated that the main objectives of the test were to acceptance test RS-25 flight components for future Artemis missions and validate a new thermal protection system. This system protects the RS-25 engine nozzle from the thermal environment surrounding SLS during launch.
The hot fire test provides NASA and prime contractor L3Harris Technologies with the capability to capture critical data to improve engine performance and reliability. Tests at NASA Stennis are conducted by a team of operators from NASA, L3Harris, and Nova Space Solutions.
Key facts and where they come from
- NASA tested RS-25 engine No. 10001 on October 21, 2026, at Stennis Space Center.
NASA tested RS-25 engine No. 10001 on Oct. 21 on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
- The developmental engine was fired for 500 seconds, matching the duration of an SLS rocket launch.
Test teams fired the developmental engine for almost eight-and-a-half minutes (500 seconds), the same amount of time RS-25 engines fire during launch of NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket.
- Operators fired the engine up to the 111% power level during the test.
operators also fired the engine up to the 111% power level, matching the thrust needed for new production engines to launch the SLS rocket and the Orion spacecraft to orbit.