NASA's 2024 RS-25 certification series kept each of 12 hot fires at 500 seconds or longer, a benchmark repeated in a later test supporting future Artemis missions.
The campaign ran from October 2023 through April 2024. Developmental engine E0525 fired 12 times, accumulating 6,465 seconds in the series.
Developmental engine No. 10001 was used in the Oct. 21 RS-25 test at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. It ran for 500 seconds, matching the duration NASA says RS-25 engines operate during an SLS launch.
Operators brought No. 10001 to 111% power, the level NASA says new-production engines are designed to reach when sending the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft to orbit.
NASA said the firing put flight hardware for future Artemis missions through acceptance checks and tested a new shield intended to protect the nozzle from SLS launch heat.
No. 10001 is a developmental engine and will not fly. NASA said it and prime contractor L3Harris Technologies can use the test data to improve engine reliability and performance.
NASA says four RS-25 engines can supply up to 2 million pounds of combined thrust for an Artemis mission. The agency tests every engine at Stennis before clearing it for flight.
NASA reference material says L3Harris is contracted to build 24 new engines, with the first expected to fly on Artemis V.
