Chuck Bednar for redOrbit.com - @BednarChuck Earlier this week, NASA successfully tested the largest and most powerful booster ever created, the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket that will ultimately help the US space agency travel into deep space, reach and capture an asteroid, and eventually send astronauts to Mars. In case you missed it, here’s video of the test-firing: NASA travelled to the Promontory, Utah home of Orbital ATK on Wednesday to fire-up their shiny new booster for a period of two minutes, roughly the same amount of time it will take the rocket to lift the SLS off the launch pad and into space. It produced 3.6 million pounds of thrust during the ground test, one of two planned to verify its performance. Pioneering far into the solar system In a statement, the agency explained that it took months to heat the 1.6 million pound booster to the 90 degree Fahrenheit temperature required to confirm its ability to function at the high end of its accepted propellant temperature range.
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