--- title: "NASA Continues Testing Multi-Billion Dollar Rocket While Trump Is Actively Trying to Cancel It" description: "Despite president Donald Trump's plans to phase out the Space Launch System rocket — but the agency seems to have other plans." date: "2025-06-29" modified: "2025-06-29" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/trump-nasa-sls-tests" categories: - "NASA" - "Space" tags: - "artemis" - "donald trump" - "NASA" - "Space Launch System" --- # NASA Continues Testing Multi-Billion Dollar Rocket While Trump Is Actively Trying to Cancel It ![Despite president Donald Trump's plans to phase out the Space Launch System rocket — but the agency seems to have other plans.]() *\Image: Patrick van Katwijk / Getty / Futurism\* Despite president Donald Trump's plans to phase out Boeing's [mega-expensive Space Launch System]() rocket for NASA, the agency is currently trundling ahead with the original plan. As [*Ars Technica* reports](), NASA and Northup Grumman tested an experimental hydrogen-based propulsion engine this week that's slated to launch the world's first crewed trip to the Moon as part of the agency's long-awaited Artemis mission. Unfortunately, this week's SLS engine test — the [second such test launch]() in a week — experienced an anomaly during its firing at a facility in Utah. As video of the incident shows, a plume of debris rained down after the rocket's exhaust nozzle shattered. https://youtu.be/T3TfNZsCxDU Along with the test failure, other outstanding circumstances are threatening the mission, too. The hydrogen engine from that test isn't supposed to be used until the fifth flight of the SLS — something that won't happen if the Trump Administration gets its way and [kiboshes the SLS after just three launches]() so it can pursue cheaper options. A new bill in Congress aims to push it to at least five — but that's going to be a pretty expensive endeavor. While the current government initially [wanted to cancel the SLS]() so that Elon Musk's SpaceX rockets can take its place, there's good reason for concern about how expensive the rocket has become. In the many years it's taken to bring the SLS to fruition, NASA has spent at least $23 billion worth of taxpayer dollars on building it — and as *Ars* notes, future missions will cost $4.2 billion *per launch*, too. With so much uncertainty surrounding the Artemis mission, NASA appears to be powering on with the SLS tests. We can't say how far the mission will go — but either the rocket's going to have a longer life than we thought, or this is all an expensive, bureaucratic mess. **More on NASA**: [*NASA Is in Full Meltdown*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()