NASA is going to light up the most powerful rocket it’s ever built Saturday (Jan. 16), though it won’t go anywhere.
The test, scheduled for sometime between 5:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. EST, will be the first test of the core of the Space Launch System (SLS). That’s the rocket NASA hopes will one day carry a new generation of astronauts to the moon and handle other missions beyond the scope of existing commercial crew vehicles. As Live Science reported, it’s a bit shorter than the Saturn V rockets that carried Apollo astronauts to the moon, but it’s more powerful. It will produce 15% more thrust during liftoff and ascent compared with the Saturn V.
