HANCOCK COUNTY, MISS. - U.S. Senator Roger Wicker, R-Miss., today attended the final 'Green Run' test of the Space Launch System (SLS) core stage at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Hancock County, Mississippi.

“Seeing and hearing all four engines of the SLS core stage fire together for the first time was thrilling,” Wicker said. “Despite an early engine shutdown, NASA engineers will have a wealth of information to use to improve future tests of the SLS system.

“I commend NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine for his stewardship of NASA and the SLS program. We are still on track to take the first woman to the moon by 2024 and complete a Mars landing by 2029. I know that bipartisan support for this program and space exploration will certainly continue.”

This hot fire test was the eighth test of the Green Run series to evaluate the safety and performance of the SLS rocket.  During the test, NASA engineers powered up the core stage systems, generating 1.6 million pounds of thrust.

This historic hot fire test at Stennis Space Center is critical to ensure the SLS rocket is ready to launch the next generation of space missions, known as the Artemis program.

The Artemis program will take American astronauts back to the Moon and eventually on to Mars.

For more information on the test, visit NASA’s webpage here.