Science & Technology

NASA tests out world's most powerful rocket

By T.K. Randall
March 12, 2015

Image: Space Launch System Artist Concept
Credit: NASA Part of NASA's new Space Launch System (SLS), the huge rocket was taken to the Utah desert, placed on its side and fired for a period of two minutes to simulate an actual launch. The heat it managed to generate during the test was so intense that it was enough to turn the desert sand in to glass.

The space agency is planning to use the new rocket to achieve its future goals of sending astronauts both to Mars in the 2030s and to an asteroid located in near-Earth orbit within the next decade."The work being done around the country today to build SLS is laying a solid foundation for future exploration missions, and these missions will enable us to pioneer far into the solar system," said NASA associate administrator William Gerstenmaier.

"The teams are doing tremendous work to develop what will be a national asset for human exploration and potential science missions."


Source: Independent

Tags: NASA, Space Launch System