Universe

NASA Successfully Tested The Rocket Booster That Will Take Us to Mars

July 1, 2016 | Johannes Van Zijl

Photo credit: NASA's Marshall Center

The milestone brings us one step closer to an ultimate journey to Mars!

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.

See also: NASA’s Retro Posters Invite Red Planet Recruits

This was the last test for the booster before SLS’s first test flight with NASA’s Orion spacecraft, which will occur in late 2018.

"Today's test is the pinnacle of years of hard work by the NASA team, Orbital ATK and commercial partners across the country," said John Honeycutt, SLS Program manager at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in a media release. “SLS hardware is currently in production for every part of the rocket. NASA also is making progress every day on Orion and the ground systems to support a launch from Kennedy Space Center in Florida. We're on track to launch SLS on its first flight test with Orion and pave the way for a human presence in deep space."

Watch the test in the video above.

The booster was tested in cold motor conditioning with the propellant cooled to 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4 degrees Celsius). Once ignited, temperatures inside the booster soared to 6,000 degrees Fahrenheit (3,100 degrees Celsius), according to NASA. Data captured from 530 instruments on the booster are now being analyzed to make sure everything was functioning as it’s supposed to.

“This final qualification test of the booster system shows real progress in the development of the Space Launch System,” said William Gerstenmaier, associate administrator for the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate. “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.”