NASA’s testing for redesigned RS-25 engines to be used on future Space Launch System (SLS) missions continued with a March 8 full-duration hot fire at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi. The test, conducted on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, was
NASA conducts an RS-25 hot fire test on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi on March 8, 2023. Credit: NASA/Danny Nowlinmissions continued with a March 8 full-duration hot fire at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.
“Early indications are that the nozzle is working well,” said Mike Lauer, deputy program manager of RS-25 engines at Aerojet Rocketdyne. “Even though we changed manufacturing methods, we did not want to radically change the performance of the nozzle. We are very pleased that the nozzle appears to be performing very much in line with our previous history.”
The nozzle, or bell-shaped part at the bottom of the RS-25 engine, helps generate thrust by ejecting the engine’s exhaust at maximum speed to propel SLS to space. It is one of multiple upgraded components on the redesigned engine and also critical in ensuring efficiency by using a minimum amount of propellants, or fuel, to generate thrust and help propel the rocket to space. The nozzle is one reason the RS-25 is one of the most fuel-efficient rocket engines in the world.
For redesigned RS-25 engines, however, a team focused on re-engineering every part of the nozzle. This included using precision machining to improve production of the more than 1,000 tubes that comprise the nozzle wall. These tubes are critical in flowing super-cold liquid hydrogen to keep the nozzle cool. The team also is using 3D printing to manufacture selected nozzle parts.
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