NASA tests booster rocket for future Artemis missions to the moon
The Space Launch System (SLS) rocket was tested in Promontory, Utah
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NASA has tested the booster rocket technology that will be used to power future Artemis missions to the moon.
The space agency conducted a full-scale booster test for its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket in Promontory, Utah, on Wednesday. “NASA and Northrop Grumman, the SLS booster lead contractor, will use data from the test to evaluate the motor’s performance using potential new materials and processes that can be incorporated into future boosters,” NASA said, in a statement.
The test, which lasted a little over two minutes, produced more than 3 million pounds of thrust.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NASA and lead contractor Northrop Grumman completed the Flight Support Booster-1 (FSB-1) test in Promontory, Utah. (NASA)
NASA also tweeted video footage of the test.
The test is an important milestone for NASA’s Artemis program, which aims to land American astronauts on the moon by 2024 and establish a sustainable human presence on Earth’s natural satellite. Some lawmakers, however, have urged NASA to delay putting US boots on the moon until 2028.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A key element of the Artemis program is landing the first woman on the moon.
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“Landing the first woman and the next man on the Moon is just the beginning of NASA’s Artemis Program,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, in a statement Wednesday. “The SLS flight support booster firing is a crucial part of sustaining missions to the Moon. NASA’s goal is to take what we learn living and working on the Moon and use it to send humans on the first missions to Mars.”
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Last year, NASA revealed details of its vision for the Artemis Moon Lander that will return American astronauts to the lunar surface.
NASA recently reached another milestone when astronauts Doug Hurley and Bob Behnken splashed down in the Gulf of Mexico in a SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft, ending a historic two-month trip to space.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}The mission marked the first time that astronauts have launched from American soil since the final Space Shuttle flight in 2011.
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