Jane Edwards
An Aerojet Rocketdyne-built propulsion system helped to launch a Orbital ATK-made Cygnus space vehicle onboard a United Launch Alliance-made Atlas V rocket to transport cargo to the International Space Station.
The OA-6 flight’s launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida Tuesday represents Orbital ATK’s fifth cargo delivery mission to the ISS under the company’s Commercial Resupply Services contract with NASA, Aerojet Rocketdyne said Wednesday.
Aerojet Rocketdyne’s propulsion system consists of a company-built RL10C-1 upper-stage engine, 32 MR-106M monopropellant hydrazine thrusters, six helium pressurization tanks and 12 Centaur upper-stage thrusters.
Aerojet Rocketdyne’s Arde subsidiary also supplied the pressure vessels used on the spacecraft and the rocket’s first and second stages.
The propulsion system’s MR-106M thrusters will work to help space vehicle perform in-orbit navigation in order for it to attach to the space station.
