September 24, 2024
NASA conducts an RS-25 hot fire test on the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi on June 22, 2023.
NASA uses rocket propulsion test (RPT) sites to see how engines and components will react in launch conditions and in space and address any issues before launch. Much of NASA’s RPT infrastructure is aging and requires significant funding to maintain, while demand for NASA’s large-scale RPT facilities is in decline and funding is insufficient to address major maintenance projects.
