SLS – Spaceflight Now

NASA to attempt second full fueling test of its Space Launch System rocket

February 17, 2026 Will Robinson-Smith

The operation comes a week after NASA conducted a so-called ‘confidence test’ on Feb. 12, which was the process of loading some liquid hydrogen on the rocket’s core stage.

NASA plans Artemis 1 moon rocket retest around June 19

May 27, 2022 William Harwood

NASA plans to haul its huge Space Launch System moon rocket back to the launch pad June 5-6 for a fourth attempt to load it with 730,000 gallons of supercold propellants in a dress-rehearsal countdown to clear the way for a maiden test flight later this summer, officials said Friday.

Rocket engine fires up in latest test for behemoth booster

August 13, 2015 Stephen Clark

A hydrogen-fueled rocket engine ignited with a bone-rattling sonic wave Thursday at NASA’s test facility in Southern Mississippi, throttling up to more than a half-million pounds of thrust to verify upgrades to the space shuttle’s main engines can power a humongous new launcher off the planet.

Shuttle-era rocket engine primed for test firing

August 13, 2015 Stephen Clark

NASA plans to fire up a space shuttle-era rocket engine in Mississippi on Thursday for nearly nine minutes to validate upgrades to the powerplant for the Space Launch System, a new mega-rocket under development to boost astronauts on missions to deep space.

New name for Space Launch System gets backing of lawmakers

May 3, 2015 Stephen Clark

A push to give NASA’s Space Launch System a new name is garnering support from lawmakers, who have written into legislation provisions that would order NASA to rename the heavy-lift rocket through a competition among schoolchildren.

Powerful solid rocket motor fired in Utah

March 11, 2015 Stephen Clark

A solid-fueled rocket booster fired for more than two minutes in Utah on Wednesday, spewing a torrent of glowing hot flame against a hillside in a key test for the Space Launch System, a behemoth rocket NASA is developing to send astronauts on long-distance voyages into space.

Stationary rocket to be test-fired in Utah for NASA

March 10, 2015 Justin Ray

The largest solid rocket booster in the world, an extended version of the space shuttle motor, will be test-fired in Utah on Wednesday to check its qualifications to be part of NASA’s new heavy-lift Space Launch System.

Video: Former shuttle engine test-fired

January 19, 2015 Justin Ray

A former space shuttle main engine is tested at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi in preparation for its use on the Space Launch System rocket.

NASA kicks off SLS engine testing in Mississippi

January 13, 2015 Stephen Clark

A powerful space shuttle-era rocket engine ignited for more than eight minutes on a test stand in Mississippi last week, kicking off hotfire testing for NASA’s Space Launch System mega-rocket after contamination and computer woes kept the engine silent several months longer than planned.

Despite budget boost, Space Launch System will not fly before 2018

December 16, 2014 Stephen Clark

NASA’s heavy-lifting mega-rocket and its ground support systems at Kennedy Space Center in Florida will not be ready for launches until at least mid-2018, even with extra funding approved by Congress, the space agency’s senior human spaceflight official told lawmakers.