The Rocketdyne XRS-2200 aerospike liquid oxygen/ liquid hydrogen engine was fired for 4min 50s at NASA's Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, on 12 May. Although it was the longest static firing so far, the test was cut short by 35s after a flexible seal in the exhaust system began to erode. The test was the last in a series of 14 planned for the engine, before test firings of a double-engine combination are started as part of the Lockheed Martin/NASA X-33 technology demonstrator programme.
Source: Flight International