Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream
The Orion spacecraft is scheduled to travel to Mars and other deep space destinations, but before that happens, NASA is working on the launch vehicle for this vessel - the Space Launch System (SLS). On Thursday, Aug. 13 the SLS is scheduled to be tested for the penultimate time.
This the sixth test out of seven of the SLS RS-25 engine. The SLS RS-25 will be placed atop an A-1 testing rig at NASA's Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi, the same one that was used for the Space Shuttle program.
The A-1 testing rig has been refabricated for the development of SLS. What this means is that engine won't go anywhere. Such a test gives engineers an opportunity to monitor the engine's performance.
While this test will be of a single engine, the final SLS first-stage configuration, the most powerful launch vehicle in the world, will require four RS-25 engines, according to Extreme Tech.
From 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. EDT, NASA TV will broadcast the proceedings at Stennis live, which you can watch right here with HNGN! Viwers will see engineers and managers discussing the SLS rocket, Orion, ground systems and the RS-25 engine. Questions are welcome via social media using the hashtag #askNASA, says a press release from NASA.
The SLS engine has been fired for 44 minutes across the five previous tests, and Thursday's test will add another 535 seconds to the total, according to The Planetary Society.
