Huge NASA SLS rocket faces critical test firing before moon mission
By William Harwood
January 15, 2021 / 6:59 PM
/ CBS News
A critical test firing Saturday of the four main engines powering the first stage of NASA's gargantuan Space Launch System moon rocket is the final major hurdle before the fully assembled booster's costly, oft-delayed launch late this year on an unpiloted test flight.
Bolted in place atop the massive B-2 test stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, the upgraded Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25 engines are scheduled to fire for a full eight minutes starting around 5 p.m. EST, the same duration needed for an actual flight.