Space News by Mike Wall 7/25/2019
NASA will indeed perform a lengthy, involved "green run" test of its new Space Launch System (SLS) megarocket ahead of the vehicle's first flight next year, agency chief Jim Bridenstine announced today (July 25).
Bridenstine told Congress in March that NASA might skip the green run, a months-long series of tests that culminates with the firing of the SLS core stage's four RS-25 engines for 8 minutes — the duration they'll burn during a launch to the moon.
This fast-track approach could shave 6 months off the SLS' development schedule, potentially keeping the rocket on target for its debut launch in mid-2020, Bridenstine explained at the time. That uncrewed first flight, known as Artemis 1, will send NASA's Orion capsule on a trip around the moon, helping pave the way for a planned crewed landing near the lunar south pole by 2024.
But today, Bridenstine announced that the SLS green run is definitely on.
More:
https://www.space.com/nasa-sls-megarocket-green-run-test.html
