NASA concludes fire-test on rocket booster (Video)

NASA has successfully tested its booster for the most powerful rocket in the world. The booster test was conducted for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS), the rocket that will take us to Mars in the future. The booster was fired up for its last qualification ground test at the Orbital ATK’s test facility in Promontory, Utah on Tuesday, June 28th.

During flight, the boosters will provide 75 percent of the thrust needed to escape the gravitational pull of the Earth. The two-minute test provided NASA with critical data to be evaluated by engineers to see if the booster is certified for flight.

After engineers evaluate the data and if the booster is approved for flight, it should move on to be used on SLS’s first unmanned test flight with NASA’s Orion spacecraft in late 2018. That test flight will be a key milestone to NASA’s Journey to Mars.

“Seeing this test today, and experiencing the sound and feel of approximately 3.6 million pounds of thrust, helps us appreciate the progress we’re making to advance human exploration and open new frontiers for science and technology missions in deep space,” said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for NASA’s Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate.

Agencies/Canadajournal