CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – NASA completed an engine test firing of its moon rocket Thursday, after the first attempt in January ended prematurely.
This time, the four main engines of the rocket’s core stage remained ignited for the full eight minutes. Applause broke out in the control room at Mississippi's Stennis Space Flight Center once the engines shut down on the test stand. “Success!” tweeted Kathy Lueders, head of NASA’s human exploration and operations office.
On the first test firing, the engines fired for just a minute, automatically cut short by strict test limits that were relaxed for the redo.
Valve issues also had to be resolved prior to Thursday's countdown. The SLS or Space Launch System rocket is what NASA intends to use to