B-2 TEST

STAND
www.nasa.gov http://www.nasa.gov/centers/stennis/

l The B-1/B-2 Test Stand is a dual-position, 

vertical-firing facility built in the 1960s to test 

Saturn V rocket stages that carried humans to 

the Moon during the Apollo Program. The 

B-1 side is equipped for single-engine tests. 

The B-2 side is designed to test rocket stages.

l NASA conducted the first-ever hot fire 

test on the B-2 Test Stand, a 15-second firing 

of the Saturn S-IC-T stage, on March 3, 1967. 

l Twelve S-IC flight stages were tested on 

the B-2 Test Stand from April 1967 to October 

1970. S-IC-4 through S-IC-12 powered Apollo 

9 through Apollo 17 missions to the Moon. 

S-IC-13 launched Skylab into orbit. S-IC-14 

and S-IC 15 never flew to space.

l The space shuttle main propulsion test 

article, consisting of an external tank and 

three main engines linked together with 

a simulated shuttle orbiter, was tested on 

the B-2 Test Stand from April 1978 through 

January 1981.

l The RS-68 powered Delta 4 Common 

Booster Core was tested on the B-2 Test 

Stand from November 1999 to May 2001.

l The B-2 Test Stand was modified to test the 

core stage of the new Space Launch System, 

the cornerstone vehicle for NASA’s Artemis 

Program that will return humans to the Moon 

by 2024. The core stage that will launch the 

Artemis I mission arrived at Stennis in January 

2020. Testing of the stage and its integrated 

systems culminated in March 2021 with the 

simultaneous firing of four RS-25 engines, just 

as will occur during an actual mission.

l The B-1/B-2 Test Stand is anchored in the 

ground with 144 feet of steel and concrete. 

As constructed, the soft core of the B-2 

side was about 290 feet tall. The new steel 

superstructure added for testing of the Space 

Launch System core stage extends that 

height to almost 350 feet, ranking the stand 

as one of the tallest structures in the state of 

Mississippi. 

l The main derrick crane atop the B-2 Test 

Stand was extended 50 feet with an increased 

load rating of 195 tons in order to lift the 

Space Launch System core stage, which is 

larger and heavier than the earlier Saturn V 

stages. The core stage stands 212 feet tall

with a diameter of 27.6 feet.

l The simultaneous firing of the Space Launch 

System core stage’s four RS-25 engines 

generates 1.6 million pounds of thrust at 

sea-level, increasing to more than 2 million 

pounds at altitude during a launch.

l More than 32,500 5/32-inch holes in the B-2 

Test Stand flame deflector direct more than 

240,000 gallons of water a minute to cool 

engine exhaust during a test. Another 92,000 

gallons of water per minute was sprayed 

through 92 nozzles to provide vibro-acoustic 

suppression protection to the core stage 

during testing. 

l More than 100 water nozzles were arrayed 

across the test stand to provide a curtain 

of water over the length of the core stage 

and across the facility, if needed, to prevent 

damage in the event of a fire or cryogenic spill. 

l The average U.S. home uses about 100,000 

gallons of water a year. For the Space Launch 

System core stage test, the B-2 Test Stand 

used that amount every 18 seconds.

l The B-2 stand is serviced by the Stennis

High Pressure Industrial Water Facility. The 

original water system has been upgraded due 

to age and in order to increase the water flow 

needed for core stage testing. The system 

now is capable of delivering 335,000 gallons 

per minute of water to the B-2 Test Stand 

via 96-inch pipes. The capacity represents an 

increase of 25,000 gallons per minute from 

the original system. 

l The B-1/B-2 Test Stand originally was rated for 

a maximum thrust load of 11 million pounds. 

However, the stand flame deflectors currently 

are limited to 3 million pounds of thrust.