SSME Test Live on the Internet

The test firing is completed. All indications are that it was a successful test.

When the Space Shuttle lifts off, two solid rocket motors and three main engines generate enough power to lift it to orbit. Without a doubt, the Shuttle is an impressive machine! Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSME) have been flying for more than 20 years, yet those flying today are much more capable and reliable than those that lifted STS-1 on April 12, 1981.

This increased capability and reliability and the fact that these engines are used to lift people and not just cargo, requires a continuous program of testing to assure the safety of the astronauts and their cargo. The Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi is responsible for testing and flight certifying the SSME.

Occasionally, SSME testing is open to the public. Such a public test was held Friday, November 8, 2002. For the first time, the test firing was streamed live on the Internet at this site, sponsored by Science@NASA, Stennis Space Center, and the SSME Project Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center.

The test was a 520 second firing of an advanced SSME. The streaming includes audio and video of the test stand and from inside the Test Control Center.