Space Shuttle Main Engine/RS-25

Space Shuttle Main Engine/RS-25. . Development for use for the Space Shuttle, the Space Shuttle Main Engine or RS-25 powered 30 years of spaceflight during 135 missions. The Space Shuttle used three Main Engines, along with two Solid Rocket Boosters, for lift-off. After the solid rockets were jettisoned, the main engines provided thrust which continued to accelerate the shuttle from 3,000 miles per hour (4,828 kilometers per hour). The engine created a combined maximum thrust of more than 1.2 million pounds (5,337,866 Newtons). The engines were designed to be reused and have a lifetime of 55 missions. The power generated by all three engines was the equivalent of roughly 23 Hoover Dams. , The RS-25 has a new life with the Space Launch System in the Artemis program, helping power NASA's journey back to the Moon. The Space Launch System uses four RS-25s plus two Solid Rocket Boosters at lift-off, making the Space Launch System the most powerful launch vehicle created by NASA. The engines have been adapted and upgraded for the Artemis missions, with new control systems, and increased the engine's throttle limit. Artemis will work to land the next people, including the first woman, on the Moon during the Artemis III mission. , Length: 14 feet (4.27 meters) , Nozzle Diameter: 7.5 feet (229 meters) , Weight: 7,775 pounds (3,536.68 kilograms) , Thrust: 375,000 pounds (1,668,083 Newtons) , Propellants: Liquid Oxygen and Liquid Hydrogen , Contractor: Rocketdyne , , Captions , Artemis I launched with historic RS-25 engines previously flown on Shuttle missions. Credit: Aerojet Rocketdyne , Launch of Atlantis from the Kennedy Space Center launch pad on April 8, 2002 for the STS-110 Mission. Credit: NASA , On loan from Marshall Space Flight Center