14 DAY TRIAL // Officials at the NASA John C. Stennis Space Center, in Mississippi, announce the successful completion of a new series of rocket firings, meant to test the performances of the J-2X motor.
The engine will power up the upper stage of the American space agency's Space Launch System (SLS), a heavy-lift rocket that will be the largest ever created at NASA since the Saturn V delivery system.
The SLS is currently scheduled to conduct its maiden flight no earlier than 2017. Officials say that the project is currently making steady progress, and the successful testing of the J2-X was a critical step forward. The engine is being developed by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne.
NASA plans to use the SLS to conduct space exploration beyond Earth orbit. It will take the Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle to a near-Earth asteroid by 2025, and to the surface of the Red Planet by the early 2030s.