NASA officials: Antares rocket ‘hot fire test’ scheduled

The first stage test for an Orbital ATK Antares 230 rocket has been scheduled, NASA officials announced Wednesday.

The engine test, also known as “hot fire” test, is set for May 31 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport’s (“MARS”) Pad-0A located on NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility.

Keith Koehler, public information officer for the facility, says the rocket’s engine will fire for 30 seconds at maximum power while the rocket is held down on the pad during the test. This is expected to demonstrate the readiness of the rocket’s first stage and the launch pad fueling systems to support upcoming flights.

The window for the test is between 5 p.m. to 8:15 p.m. We’re told it will be visible and audible in the Wallops Island local area.

Backup test dates run through June 5. 

The next flight of the Antares rocket is targeted for later this summer.

According to Koehler, this will be first time a rocket will be launching from the MARS pad since an Antares rocket exploded seconds after take-off in October 2014.