Four RS-25 engines, built by Aerojet Rocketdyne, plus two solid rocket boosters, will propel NASA's new Space Launch System (SLS) rocket off of Earth and onward into deep space. The rocket is NASA's chosen vehicle to reach Mars. The new test is shown in full in a new NASA video.

Previously, RS-25 engines were used as the main engines for space shuttle flights, but they will need to fire at higher performance levels for use with the SLS, NASA officials said in a statement. This test collected data on how the engine works at that level, and also tested an engine controller unit that will allow it to communicate with the rest of the SLS setup.

This was the third test in a six-test series; NASA will keep gathering data on the engine's performance in more tests this fall. NASA will also install four engines on the SLS core stage and blast all four at once.