A Look Back at NASA Stennis in 2025

5 min read

NASA Stennis Communications

Contents

• Artemis II in early 2026, with the first crewed mission to the Moon in over 50 years, NASA Stennis continues its frontline work.

  Every RS-25 engine used to help launch NASA’s SLS (Space Launch System) rocket to the Moon is tested in south Mississippi.

  NASA Stennis teams provided data to lead engines contractor L3Harris Technologies by successfully testing two new production RS-25 flight engines.

  NASA tested RS-25 engine No. 20001 at the Fred Haise Test Stand in June, and RS-25 engine No. 20002 in November. Each engine fired for 500 seconds, reaching 111% of its rated power, while simulating launch conditions.

  Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18, 2025.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18, 2025.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18, 2025.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18, 2025.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18, 2025.NASA/Danny Nowlin Teams at NASA’s Stennis Space Center deliver, lift, and install the first new production RS-25 engine on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18, 2025.NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA tests RS-25 engine No. 20001 on June 20, 2025, at the Fred Haise Test Stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center at Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.NASA/Danny Nowlin

  Supporting Commercial Propulsion

  The commercial aerospace industry is growing, and NASA Stennis is a secure location providing support for it. Companies that have conducted work at NASA Stennis include Blue Origin, Boeing, Evolution Space; Launcher, a Vast company; Relativity Space and Rolls-Royce.

  Three companies – Relativity Space, Rocket Lab, and Evolution Space – have established, or continue progress to establish, production and/or test operations at NASA Stennis.

  Infrastructure upgrades and planning efforts across the test complex are laying the foundation for future propulsion test projects as well.

  “As the commercial space industry continues to accelerate their development, NASA Stennis is adapting to meet their propulsion testing needs,” said Joe Schuyler, director of the NASA Stennis Engineering and Test Directorate. “We are proud that our proven experience makes us a trusted partner.”

  Honoring the Past

  In 2025, NASA Stennis honored a defining era of space shuttle main engine testing. An image shows the first space shuttle main engine installed on May 8, 1975, at the Fred Haise Test Stand (formerly A-1).NASA

  While NASA Stennis operates as the nation’s largest rocket propulsion test site, the NASA Stennis Federal City also is home to more than 50 federal, state, academic, and commercial tenants.

  This year marked the birth of the federal city concept 55 years ago. The unique operating approach serves as a model of government efficiency and a powerful economic engine for the Gulf Coast region.

  Meanwhile, the 50th anniversary of space shuttle main engine testing honored a defining era for NASA Stennis.

  From May 1975 to July 2009, NASA Stennis tested space shuttle main engines that enabled 135 shuttle missions and notable space milestones, like deployment of the Hubble Space Telescope and construction of the International Space Station.

  Both the federal city model and the decades of propulsion excellence continue to inform work at NASA Stennis.

  Engineering the Future

  Innovation extended beyond the test stands. The versatile testing environment at NASA Stennis is uniquely positioned to support unmanned systems testing across air, land, and water. With restricted airspace, a closed canal system, and vast protected terrain, the site offers a safe, flexible environment for range operations.

  In addition to physical infrastructure, NASA Stennis progressed in digital innovation with the release of its first open-source software tool to streamline propulsion test data collection and collaboration across NASA and industry. The peer review tool is designed to facilitate more efficient and collaborative creation of systems applications, such as those used in frontline government and propulsion test work.

  U.S. Naval Research Laboratory personnel conduct a field experiment involving an unmanned aerial system at NASA Stennis in March 2024.NASA/Danny Nowlin U.S. Naval Research laboratory personnel conduct tests on The Blue Boat made by Blue Robotics, an unmanned surface vessel, at NOAA’s National Data Buoy Center basin at NASA Stennis on Dec. 19, 2024. NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA software engineer Brandon Carver updates how the main data acquisition software processes information on March 5, 2025, at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, where he has contributed to the creation of the center’s first-ever open-source software.NASA/Danny Nowlin Syncom Space Services software engineer Shane Cravens, the chief architect behind the first-ever open-source software at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, verifies operation of the site’s data acquisition hardware.NASA/Danny Nowlin

  Community and Inspiration

  NASA Stennis connected with communities in creative ways in 2025.

  During Super Bowl week, NASA Stennis representatives inspired future explorers by bringing Artemis mission displays and hands-on activities to families at the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans.

  In March, NASA Stennis supported the third annual FIRST Robotics Magnolia Regional as a lead sponsor with employees and interns volunteering at the event. The competition in Laurel, Mississippi, brought together 37 teams from eight U.S. states (Alabama, California, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, and Tennessee) and Mexico. The FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics event joined NASA’s Robotics Alliance Project to combine the excitement of sport with the rigors of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in field games using industrial-sized robots.

  That same spirit of hands-on learning continues at INFINITY Science Center, the official visitor center of NASA Stennis. A new interactive exhibit has provided visitors a chance to become a test conductor and simulate RS-25 engine tests for the engines that will help power NASA’s Artemis missions.

  A pair of young visitors to INFINITY Science Center carry out the steps of a simulated RS-25 engine hot fire on Dec. 19, 2024. The engine test simulator exhibit provided by NASA’s Stennis Space Center takes users through the hot fire process just as real engineers do at NASA Stennis.NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA Stennis representatives inspire the Artemis Generation at the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans on Feb. 7-8, 2025, with activities and displays highlighting space exploration, including NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon.NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA Stennis representatives inspire the Artemis Generation at the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans on Feb. 7-8, 2025, with activities and displays highlighting space exploration, including NASA’s Artemis missions to the Moon.NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA serves as a lead sponsor, along with NASA Stennis employees and interns volunteering, for the third annual FIRST Robotics Magnolia Regional Competition on March 14, 2025. The event in Laurel, Mississippi, welcomed 37 teams from eight states (Alabama, California, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, and Tennessee) and one team from Mexico. The FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics event joined NASA’s Robotics Alliance Project to combine the excitement of sport with the rigors of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in field games using industrial-sized robots.NASA/Danny Nowlin NASA serves as a lead sponsor, along with NASA Stennis employees and interns volunteering, for the third annual FIRST Robotics Magnolia Regional Competition on March 14, 2025. The event in Laurel, Mississippi, welcomed 37 teams from eight states (Alabama, California, Florida, Louisiana, Minnesota, Missouri, Mississippi, and Tennessee) and one team from Mexico. The FIRST (For the Inspiration and Recognition of Science and Technology) Robotics event joined NASA’s Robotics Alliance Project to combine the excitement of sport with the rigors of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in field games using industrial-sized robots.NASA/Danny Nowlin

  A Winter Wonderland

  Hancock County, where NASA Stennis is located, received five to seven inches of snow on Jan. 21, 2025, according to the National Weather Service. It marked the most snow Hancock County, Mississippi, has received in 61 years. The Dec. 31, 1963, snowfall holds the record at 10 inches of snow for Bay St. Louis, Mississippi.

  A series of cell phone and stationary camera images record snowfall at NASA’s Stennis Space Center on Jan. 21, 2025.NASA/Stennis A series of cell phone and stationary camera images record snowfall at NASA’s Stennis Space Center on Jan. 21, 2025.NASA/Stennis A series of cell phone and stationary camera images record snowfall at NASA’s Stennis Space Center on Jan. 21, 2025.NASA/Stennis A series of cell phone and stationary camera images record snowfall at NASA’s Stennis Space Center on Jan. 21, 2025.NASA/Stennis A series of cell phone and stationary camera images record snowfall at NASA’s Stennis Space Center on Jan. 21, 2025.NASA/Stennis A series of cell phone and stationary camera images record snowfall at NASA’s Stennis Space Center on Jan. 21, 2025.NASA/Stennis A series of cell phone and stationary camera images record snowfall at NASA’s Stennis Space Center on Jan. 21, 2025.NASA/Stennis A series of cell phone and stationary camera images record snowfall at NASA’s Stennis Space Center on Jan. 21, 2025.NASA/Stennis A series of cell phone and stationary camera images record snowfall at NASA’s Stennis Space Center on Jan. 21, 2025.NASA/Stennis

  Looking Ahead

  All in all, the year closes with members of the NASA Stennis team focused on what is to come.

  “As we close out 2025, NASA Stennis looks forward to the next chapter of our center as NASA sends astronauts to the Moon to prepare for future human exploration of Mars through the agency’s Artemis campaign,” said NASA Stennis Deputy Director Christine Powell. “We are ready for what’s next.”

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