Scott Nicholas
Aerojet Rocketdyne has been selected to build the main propulsion system for a reusable hypersonic aircraft being developed by the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency and Boeing.
Aerojet Rocketdyne said Wednesday that it will produce two AR-22 engines using parts from previous versions of the space shuttle main engine that has remained in the company and NASA‘s inventories.
Boeing and DARPA entered into an agreement to build, design and test a technology demonstrator earlier this week as part of the agency’s Experimental Spaceplane program.
The XS-1Â spaceplane will be designed to rapidly deploy small satellites into orbit.
“As threats to our nation’s space systems increase, it is imperative that we have the ability to rapidly deploy replacement assets,” said Eileen Drake, president and CEO of Aerojet Rocketdyne.
Aerojet Rocketdyne will conduct assembly and ground testing work on the two engines at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.
