NASA Demonstrates Mars Rocket Test in 360-Degree Video

NASA has long discovered YouTube and other social medias and they’re using the quite a lot. A new video released is quite different and interesting as it is a 360-degree video of a hot-fire test of the main RS-25 engine.

The Space Launch System is being designed to send humans to Mars for the first time, and maybe even with its first launch. The powerful rocket behind it all is a little bit behind schedule as it was originally supposed to launch this year, and it is also slightly over budget. But isn’t that normal in space engineering?

The liquid-fueled RS-25 is an updated version of the Space Shuttle’s main engines that, in total, will pump out about a quarter of the SLS’s 8.8 million pounds of thrust. When the rocket is launched, the motors will fire non-stop for about 8.5 minutes, powering the Orion capsule into and well beyond earth’s orbit.

The impressive force is clearly shown in the video below where one of the four vantage points is right in the flame trench of the engine. The whole thing is best experienced in full screen and you’ll see the camera get completely drenched in water, smoke, and dirt.

360-degree videos are a lot of fun to watch and try out different view angles with, but sadly the 360 degree refers to the camera and not the subject. It would be way cooler if you could rotate 360 degrees around the object being filmed – but that’s a whole other setup and not really practical for a setup as large as this one.