By Andy Pasztor and Andrew Tangel
NASA and Boeing Co. suffered a potentially major setback in their deep-space ambitions when the engines for a giant new rocket shut down prematurely Saturday during a key test on the ground.
The engines were supposed to produce power for eight minutes but shut down after about 60 seconds while fastened to a stand at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Program officials had said four minutes would be the minimum time to gain confidence in the reliability of the engines, fuel system and surrounding structures.
National Aeronautics and Space Administration officials said they couldn't immediately determine the cause of the premature shutdown, and therefore it was too early to determine what fixes would be necessary or even if the test needed to be repeated. They said engineers didn't know whether it was a hardware, software or sensor malfunction.