Photo provided by NASA/SSC 
Photo provided by NASA/SSC 
Photo provided by NASA/SSC 
Photo provided by NASA/SSC 
Photo provided by NASA/SSC
Stennis Space Center, MS — A giant, and we mean giant, rocket is now in place for testing at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, and it’s just one of three phases of a rocket that will return astronauts to space, the moon, and perhaps Mars.
Over the next several months, engineers at the space center will conduct a series of tests on the rocket. The final test will be a full eight minute burn of the rocket’s four engines that create two million pounds of thrust.
The goal is to carry Americans back to the moon, including the first American woman, by 2024.
The rocket was built at the Michoud facility in eastern New Orleans and was floated by barge to the Stennis facility in Mississippi. It’s 212 feet tall and will need 733 thousand gallons of fuel to complete its mission.
Tuesday and Wednesday of this week, Stennis workers were able to lift and carry the rocket to its stand at the testing facility.
After testing is complete, the rocket will be transported to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida where it will be joined with other pieces of the rocket. Once it’s in place there, the next time it will fire will be for a true launch.
The folks at Stennis took some fantastic photos of the rocket which we’ve put together in a photo gallery at the top of this page.