Our Solar System

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The gravitationally bound system of the Sun and the objects that orbit it. The Solar System formed 4.6 billion years ago from the gravitational collapse of a giant interstellar molecular cloud. The vast majority of the system's mass is in the Sun, with most of the remaining mass contained in the planet Jupiter. The four inner system planets—Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars—are terrestrial planets, being composed primarily of rock and metal. The four giant planets of the outer system are substantially larger and more massive than the terrestrials. The two largest, Jupiter and Saturn, are gas giants, being composed mainly of hydrogen and helium; the next two, Uranus and Neptune, are ice giants, being composed mostly of volatile substances with relatively high melting points compared with hydrogen and helium, such as water, ammonia and methane. All eight planets have nearly circular orbits that lie close to the plane of the Earth's orbit, called the ecliptic

April 22, 2021 The first core stage of NASA's Space Launch System rocket departs Stennis Space Center aboard the agency's Pegasus barge, bound for Kennedy Space Center where it will be prepared for launch on the Artemis I mission to the Moon. Departure of the stage closes a historic chapter of work at the nation's largest propulsion test site, where the flight unit underwent a comprehensive series of Green Run tests of its integrated systems. The series of tests on the B-2 Test Stand at Stennis culminated with a historic hot fire of the stage's four RS-25 engines, just as during an actual launch.

"NASA's Kennedy Space Center" , April 22, 2021 by Tiffany Fairley

NASA conducts a full-duration hot fire of more than 8 minutes of its Space Launch System core stage on March 18 on the B-2 Test Stand at Stennis Space Center. All four RS-25 engines fire successfully, producing a combined 1.6 million pounds of thrust, just as during an actual launch. The hot fire marks the culmination of a Green Run series of tests on the stage and its integrated systems. It also represents the most powerful test conducted at Stennis in more than 40 years.

"NASA Mega Moon Rocket" , Mar 18, 2021 by Robert Markowitz

NASA conducts the first hot fire in a new RS-25 single-engine test series on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis Space Center. The test of RS-25 developmental engine No. 0528 marks the beginning of a seven-test series designed to provide valuable data to Aerojet Rocketdyne, lead contractor for SLS engines, as the company begins production of new RS-25 engines. NASA's Space Launch System rocket is powered, in part, by four RS-25 engines generating 1.6 million pounds of combined thrust at launch.

"NASA Conducts 1st Hot Fire" , Jan 28, 2021 by Valerie Buckingham