NASA fired up its Space Launch System (SLS) rocket booster motor in a rain of fire on June 28. The SLS is the most powerful rocket ever built, and NASA plans to use it to take astronauts to deep space missions, including Mars. This was the last ground test for the 17-story-tall booster before the SLS takes its first test flight into space in 2018. The rocket will eventually have two of these boosters to shoot it into space. Each one burns six tons of solid fuel propellant every second, generating a thrust of 3.6 million pounds.

Produced by Matt Stuart and Rebecca Harrington. Video courtesy of NASA.

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