Incredible footage shows a booster rocket that will help send Americans back to the Moon in 2024 being fired up as part of a critical test ahead of the mission.
The booster expelled a huge column of fire and smoke as it was powered up while secured to the ground at a test site in Utah on Wednesday evening.
These Solid Rocket Boosters (SRBs) will provide most of the thrust for the rocket in the first two minutes of the space flight in 2024.
It’s the largest and most powerful solid propellant booster ever built, measuring 54m in length and 4m in width.
Engineers are evaluating potential improvements for the boosters, with the test designed to try out the performance of their motors.
The boosters will form part of Nasa's massive Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, the biggest launcher built since the Saturn V in the 1960s.
NASA plans to launch the giant rocket on its maiden flight next year in a loop around the Moon.
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