If you're out in New Orleans on Saturday and hear a strange rumbling sound, don't fret. It may simply be NASA testing the world's most powerful engines at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.
NASA is preparing for its Artemis Program, which aims to send another man and the first woman to the surface of the moon in 2024. On Saturday (January 16), the space program will test its Space Launch System (SLS) for the final time before it heads to space.
“We’re all excited to be part of this mission,” said Gary Benton, director of Safety and Mission Assurance at Stennis Space Center.
Benton said this will be the biggest test at the center in the last 40 years, and that it will the world's largest and most powerful rocket. The four RS-25 engines will generate 1.6 million pounds of thrust, and that much power will create quite a bit of sound.
“It can travel farther and faster than any other rocket and because of its capacity, it can carry things like large aperture telescopes and deep space exploration probes, so it can enable more science sooner,” said Jeff Zotti, RS-25 Engine Program Director, Aerojet Rocketdyne. “It’s a key milestone for the program, it’s a key milestone for NASA.”
Zotti said the engines are so powerful that they could be heard up to 60 miles away, including in New Orleans.
If the final test is successful, the engines will be sent to Kennedy Space Center next month, and possibly be launched as early as November.
Photo: Getty Images