NASA Administrator and 2019 Wash100 Award winner Jim Bridenstine said in a statement that the agency will push through with static-fire tests of the Space Launch System which will support the planned 2024 moon mission, Space News reported Thursday. “The Green Run acceptance test gives NASA the confidence needed to know the new core stage will perform again and again as it is intended,†noted Lisa Bates, SLS deputy stages manager at NASA.
Bridenstine didn’t disclose the schedule for the SLS core stage’s eight-minute test known as “Green Run†at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, said Bridenstine’s decision to move forward with SLS testing is “a vote of confidence in Stennis Space Center and its dedicated workforce.â€
