NASA resumes testing shuttle engines.NASA NASA: see National Aeronautics and Space Administration. NASA in full National Aeronautics and Space Administration Independent U.S. resumes testing shuttle engines In a landmark of sorts as NASA attempts to recove from the wide-ranging effects of the Challenger explosion, the agency on June 25 test-fired a space shuttle space shuttle, reusable U.S. space vehicle. Developed by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), it consists of a winged orbiter, two solid-rocket boosters, and an external tank. engine for the first time since the disaster. Conducted at the National Space Technology Laboratories (NSTL (National Software Testing Lab, Blue Bell, PA, www.nstl.com) An independent organization established in 1983 that evaluates computer hardware and software in the PC, mobile and gaming markets. It adheres to controlled testing methods to ensure objective results. ) in Bay st. Louis, Mo., the test lasted only 1.5 seconds, primarily as a check of the engine and its components on the test stand in preparation for a 250-second firing expected to take place within the next two weeks. All shuttle engines are ground-tested before they are used in a launching, and NSTL has been conducting such tests since 1975, six years before the shuttle first blasted off. Although there had been no layoffs since the accident, says an NSTL official, the brief firing symbolized a "return to normalcy nor·mal·cy n. Normality. Noun 1. normalcy - being within certain limits that define the range of normal functioning normality ." The test itself, says the official, went "just fine." |
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