Space Shuttle RS-25 Engines
The Space Shuttle came with three engines, each of which would produce 400,000 lbs of thrust for 8.5 minutes. The engines were fuel with liquid hydrogen and oxygen producing an exhaust of little more than water vapor. Weighing in at just under 4 tons, the RS-25 engines were a little over 14 feet tall with a diameter of 8 feet.
Since the retirement of the shuttle fleet, the engines have been stored for later use in the new Artemis 1 and 2 missions to the moon. Eighteen new RS-25s have been ordered for later missions of the SLS, Space Launch System.
Pictured is the Atlantis at the Kennedy Space Center
photo: © 2020, Mike Smithwick
