FULL BURN! NASA fires RS-25 engine for about 8 minutes in test for Artemis Moon missions

NASA fired RS-25 engine No. 10001 in a hot-fire test on October 21, 2026, on the Fred Haise Test Stand at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. NASA said the developmental engine ran for 500 seconds, the same time RS-25 engines fire during an SLS launch, and operators fired it up to 111% power, matching the thrust needed for new production engines to launch SLS and Orion to orbit. The test acceptance-tested RS-25 flight components for future Artemis missions and validated a new thermal protection system for the engine nozzle, NASA said. The engine will not fly, but the data will help NASA and L3Harris Technologies improve engine performance and reliability. Video Credit: NASA