NASA's rocket charged with taking the agency back to the moon fired its four main engines Saturday afternoon, but the test in Mississippi was cut short after a malfunction caused an automatic abort.

The 212-foot Space Launch System core stage fired its four RS-25 main engines at Stennis Space Center just before 5:30 p.m. EST, sending a plume of exhaust towering above the test stand. The NASA center is located about 30 miles northeast of New Orleans.

"We did get an MCF on engine four," a control room member said less than a minute into the test fire, using an initialism that stands for "major component malfunction."

"Copy that, but we're still running," another official said. "Still have four good engines, right?"