NASA Tests RS-25 Flight Controller

NASA engineers conducted a successful 500-second test of RS-25 flight controller for use on the new Space Launch System (SLS) deep space rocket on the A-1 Test Stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Mississippi, on July 25, 2017. The test involved installing the controller unit on an RS-25 development engine and firing it in the same manner, and for the same length of time, as needed during launch. The controller is the key modification to the engines and is characterized as the "brain" that provides precision control of engine operation and internal health diagnostics, and allows communication between the RS-25 engine and the SLS. NASA/UPI