Astronaut Describes the Power of Artemis Rocket Solid Rocket Boosters

NASA Astronaut Randy Bresnik talks about the power created when the twin five-segment solid rocket boosters light up to produce more than 3 million pounds of thrust to send NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket to space. He talks about his experience riding similar space shuttle boosters to space and describes the SLS boosters, which have been updated to be even more powerful. The twin boosters along with the four RS-25 engines produce more than 8 million pounds of thrust to send the rocket to space. The SLS rocket will be the most powerful rocket in the world and will send the Orion spacecraft on missions to the Moon as part of NASA’s Artemis program. Bresnik explains why NASA’s test-like-we-fly approach works best and the importance of ground testing the boosters that produce more than 75 percent of the rocket’s thrust during the first two minutes of flight. On Sept. 2, in Promontory, Utah, NASA plans to complete a two-minute hot fire test of a flight support booster like the ones that will launch the SLS on missions beyond Artemis III. NASA and Northrop Grumman, the SLS booster lead contractor, will use data from the test to evaluate the motor’s performance using potential new