Watch Incredible Video of NASA Pouring 450000 Gallons of Water on Rocket Launchpad in Under One Minute

NASA has released an incredible video which captures the moment when 450,000 gallons of water were released onto the Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Pad 39B over the course of a minute.

Officials were testing the launchpad’s “Ignition Overpressure Protection and Sound Suppression water deluge system” in preparation for the launch of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS)—a next-generation super-heavy lift rocket—and subsequent missions.

When SLS takes off, its engines and boosters will produce a combined 8.4 million pounds of thrust, generating huge amounts of heat, noise and energy. To help protect the rocket, the mobile launcher and the launchpad from the sound pressure and temperature extremes, vast amounts of water will be sprayed onto the area during ignition and lift-off.

Modifications were made to the pad after a previous water flow test, increasing the performance of the system. The upgrades included corrosion control, refurbishment of the elevated water storage tank, and replacement of much of the piping, valves, nozzles and other components.

"Test of the upgraded and new portions of the system and a new controls system went very smoothly," Regina Spellman, pad senior project manager at Kennedy, said in a statement.

The first phase of the test involved 150,000 gallons of water being pumped at high speed from a holding tank through all of the new and modified areas of the launchpad. During the second phase, more than double that amount was released—around 450,000 gallons—producing a giant fountain which, at its peak, reached around 100 feet into the air.

About 450,000 gallons of water flowed at high speed from a holding tank through new and modified piping and valves, the flame trench and mobile launcher interface risers during a wet flow test at Launch Pad 39B at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA/Kim Shiflett

"A geyser occurred because the mobile launcher was not present at the pad," said Nick Moss, pad deputy project manager. "When the mobile launcher is sitting on its pad surface mount mechanisms, the rest of the system is connected to the pad supply headers and the water will flow through supply piping and exit through the nozzles."

“Additional water flow tests are scheduled to occur when the mobile launcher returns to the pad for integrated testing this summer,” Moss said.

The SLS, and the upcoming Orion Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle, are part of NASA’s future deep space exploration plans, which include crewed missions to the Moon and Mars. The SLS, which will be the most powerful rocket ever built when measured by total thrust, is designed to replace the retiring Space Shuttle program.

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