NASA's Space Shuttle Program Blasting Off Into History

NASA's Space Shuttle Program conducted the final test firing of a reusable solid rocket motor Feb. 25 in Promontory, Utah. The flight support motor, or FSM-17, burned for approximately 123 seconds--the same time each reusable solid rocket motor burns during an actual space shuttle launch. Preliminary indications show all test objectives were met.

After final test data are analyzed, results for each objective will be published in a NASA report.

The test--the 52nd conducted for NASA by ATK Launch Systems, a unit of Alliant Techsystems Inc.--marks the closure of a test program that has spanned more than three decades. The first test was in July 1977. The ATK-built motors have successfully launched the space shuttle into orbit 129 times.

Image Credit: NASA.

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