J-2X Powerpack Test Lights Up the Sky

A burst of flame from a J-2X Powerpack test-firing lights up the sky on Dec. 5, 2012 at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. For the first time, the Space Launch System team invited Twitter followers behind-the-scenes for an all-day Tweet Chat, allowing the public to track test day activities and ask questions during this 1,286-second test.

The J-2X engine, built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., will power the upper stage of NASA's Space Launch System, managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The new heavy-lift rocket system will launch the Orion spacecraft and enable humans to explore new destinations beyond low Earth orbit.

Image credit: NASA/SSC