NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration

June Malone
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
(Phone: 256.544.0034)
Photo release: 05-019


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Smoke rises above the rolling hills of Promontory, Utah, following the successful test firing of NASA’s first Flight Verification Motor -- a test to further validate the five-year lifespan of the Space Shuttle's Reusable Solid Rocket Motor. The Feb. 17 test of the four-segment motor further substantiates a certification established by NASA more than 20 years ago at the beginning of the Space Shuttle Program. Shuttle Solid Rocket Motors are certified for flight for five years. The test was performed at ATK Thiokol Inc., an Alliant Techsystems company, in Promontory, north of Salt Lake City. ATK Thiokol manufactures the Shuttle's Solid Rocket Motor. The four right-hand segments of the flight set Reusable Solid Rocket Motor number 89, or RSRM-89, were used for the test. (Credit: ATK Thiokol)

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