See what a rocket engine’s 512K pounds of thrust looks like up close — and in 360

By Hillary K. Grigonis Published March 13, 2017

Smoke and Fire with a 360 View of RS-25 Engine Test

NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) vehicle is expected to boast an unprecedented 2 million pounds of thrust to explore deeper into space — but watching just one of the four engines being tested is quite impressive by itself. Earlier this month, NASA

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shared a 360 video offering a glimpse at just how powerful the RS-25 engine is.

Four of the RS-25s will eventually be used to carry an unmanned Orion spaceship deeper into the solar system, including on a possible mission to Mars. The launch system is based on three decades of research. For added power, the new RS-25 uses 25 percent more fuel than the one that powered the space shuttle. The SLS is designed to launch only once, unlike a shuttle.

The test shows just how much smoke the heat of the engine creates. Multiple 360 cameras were used to record the testing from a number of different vantage points, including one camera that was placed right inside the flame trench, which helps to direct the exhaust away from the launch pad, and ends up surrounded by smoke and water. The water in the trench is even vaporized enough to make a double rainbow.

The hot fire test was conducted at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi in February. The entire test lasted more than six minutes, but the video was trimmed to a little over two minutes.

The Space Launch System is NASA’s largest rocket to date, designed to be adaptable for both unmanned and crewed missions. The RS-25 is the engine that powered the space shuttle during 30 years of operation. It’s one of the most tested large rocket engines in history, with more than 3,000 starts and more than 1 million seconds of total ground test and light ring time. NASA is upgrading the engines for the SLS with electronic controllers and new nozzle insulation. While the SLS is expected to have two variations with different boosters, the system uses four of the RS-25 engines in both cases.

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Hillary K. Grigonis

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Hillary never planned on becoming a photographer—and then she was handed a camera at her first writing job and she's been…

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The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) is concerned that Tesla’s use of social media and its website makes false promises about the automaker’s full-self driving (FSD) software.
The warning dates back from May, but was made public in an email to Tesla released on November 8.
The NHTSA opened an investigation in October into 2.4 million Tesla vehicles equipped with the FSD software, following three reported collisions and a fatal crash. The investigation centers on FSD’s ability to perform in “relatively common” reduced visibility conditions, such as sun glare, fog, and airborne dust.
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Meanwhile, “Tesla’s X (Twitter) account has reposted or endorsed postings that exhibit disengaged driver behavior,” Gregory Magno, the NHTSA’s vehicle defects chief investigator, wrote to Tesla in an email.
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In one of a number of Tesla posts on X, the social media platform owned by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, a driver was seen using FSD to reach a hospital while undergoing a heart attack. In another post, a driver said he had used FSD for a 50-minute ride home. Meanwhile, third-party comments on the posts promoted the advantages of using FSD while under the influence of alcohol or when tired, NHTSA said.
Tesla’s official website also promotes conflicting messaging on the capabilities of the FSD software, the regulator said.
NHTSA has requested that Tesla revisit its communications to ensure its messaging remains consistent with FSD’s approved instructions, namely that the software provides only a driver assist/support system requiring drivers to remain vigilant and maintain constant readiness to intervene in driving.
Tesla last month unveiled the Cybercab, an autonomous-driving EV with no steering wheel or pedals. The vehicle has been promoted as a robotaxi, a self-driving vehicle operated as part of a ride-paying service, such as the one already offered by Alphabet-owned Waymo.
But Tesla’s self-driving technology has remained under the scrutiny of regulators. FSD relies on multiple onboard cameras to feed machine-learning models that, in turn, help the car make decisions based on what it sees.
Meanwhile, Waymo’s technology relies on premapped roads, sensors, cameras, radar, and lidar (a laser-light radar), which might be very costly, but has met the approval of safety regulators.