NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne have completed a second ground-based assessment of an engine controller for the Space Launch System exploration rocket. Aerojet Rocketdyne said Monday the RS-25 engine underwent eight minutes of test firing as part of an effort to verify its flight readiness and the performance of its modified components. The engine features modernized …
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Aerojet Rocketdyne, Sierra Nevada Complete Solar Electric Propulsion Concept Study; Eileen Drake Quoted
Aerojet Rocketdyne and Sierra Nevada Corp. have concluded a four-month study that focused on modifying advanced solar electric propulsion vehicle concepts for future human exploration missions and deep space habitation. Sacramento, Calif.-based Aerojet said Wednesday it supplemented Sierra Nevada’s Lunar Gateway concept with an SEP module for the Power and Propulsion …
Read More »Aerojet Rocketdyne Tests Electric Propulsion Tech for NASA’s Deep Space Plans
Aerojet Rocketdyne has completed an early systems integration test of an electric propulsion technology designed to help NASA conduct deep space missions in the near future. The company said Tuesday it developed a 13-kilowatt Hall thruster string as part of the space agency’s Advanced Electric Propulsion System program and demonstrated the subsystem’s power …
Read More »Aerojet Rocketdyne Plans Rocket Motor Production Hub Expansion; Eileen Drake Comments
Aerojet Rocketdyne has announced a $50 million project to expand the company’s manufacturing facility in Southern Arkansas for solid rocket motors and warheads. The rocket manufacturer said Wednesday it plans to invest in infrastructure at the site and aims to create as many as 140 positions through the expansion. Eileen Drake, president …
Read More »Aerojet Rocketdyne Test-Fires Engine for NASA SLS Rocket
Aerojet Rocketdyne has conducted a hot-fire test of an engine technology the company built for NASA’s Space Launch System rocket. The company said Tuesday it performed the RS-25 engine test at the agency’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and assessed the performance of the main combustion chamber during the 319-second engine …
Read More »Aerojet Rocketdyne Ships Mars 2020 Rover Power Generator to DOE Lab
Aerojet Rocketdyne and its partner Teledyne have delivered an electric generator system that would help power NASA’s Mars 2020 rover to an Energy Department facility. The Idaho National Laboratory will fuel, test and evaluate the flight readiness of the the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator, Aerojet Rocketdyne said Tuesday. MMRTG is designed to convert plutonium-238 heat …
Read More »Aerojet Rocketdyne Completes Hot-Fire Tests of Tactical Booster Motor; Eileen Drake Comments
Aerojet Rocketdyne has concluded two hot-fire tests of air-launch motors at the Air Force Research Laboratory, under the firm’s advanced tactical booster program. The company said Monday it designed the solid rocket motors to simulate extreme cold- and hot-soak launch conditions. The tested motors demonstrated the capacity to accelerate vehicles …
Read More »Aerojet Rocketdyne Begins Engine Firing Tests Under DARPA Experimental Spaceplane Program
Aerojet Rocketdyne has started a series of 10 firing tests of an engine designed for use on Boeing’s Phantom Express unmanned vehicle as part of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s Experimental Spaceplane program, SpaceNews reported Tuesday. The company performs the 100-second test firings of the AR-22 engine at NASA’s Stennis …
Read More »Aerojet Rocketdyne to Continue Rocket Engine Development for Air Force EELV Program
Aerojet Rocketdyne has received a $69.8 million modification under the company’s “other transaction” agreement with the U.S. Air Force to produce engines for the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program. The Defense Department said Friday it expects the engine manufacturer to complete work on the AR1 booster engine on Dec. 31, 2019, …
Read More »Aerojet Rocketdyne Tests 3D-Printed Engine Thrust Chamber; Eileen Drake Comments
Aerojet Rocketdyne has completed hot-fire tests of a RL10 engine thrust chamber assembly that was built using three-dimensional printing technology. The company said Wednesday the latest test series follows an initial demonstration of a 3D-printed copper alloy thrust chamber and nickel alloy main injector last year. Eileen Drake, president and CEO of …
Read More »Aerojet Rocketdyne Tests New In-Space Engine for Future Lunar Operations; Eileen Drake Comments
Sacramento, Calif.-based firm Aerojet Rocketdyne has tested a new in-space engine that will potentially be used for future robotic operations on the moon. Aerojet Rocketdyne said Wednesday the ISE-100 engine accumulated 75 individual tests, 774 pulses and over 500 seconds of hot-fire time during the evaluation period. ISE-100 will now …
Read More »Aerojet Rocketdyne to Build Upper Stage Engine for ULA’s Vulcan Centaur Rocket
United Launch Alliance has selected Aerojet Rocketdyne to provide an upper stage engine technology to help power ULA’s Vulcan Centaur rocket. The space launch company said Friday Aerojet Rocketdyne will build RL10 propulsion systems and develop an RL10C-X variant as part of a 10-year partnership agreement between the companies. “Key determining factors to …
Read More »Aerojet Rocketdyne Delivers Crew Module Engines for Boeing CST-100 Spacecraft
Aerojet Rocketdyne has produced and delivered engines that Boeing will integrate into spacecraft the latter company is building under NASA‘s Commercial Crew Program. Boeing will install MR-104J engines on the CST-100 Starliner crew module inside the Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility located at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, Aerojet Rocketdyne said Thursday. Each Starliner capsule …
Read More »AFRL Tests New Explosive Co-Developed With Aerojet Rocketdyne
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has conducted a test to validate the sympathetic reaction of a new safety-oriented explosive co-developed with Aerojet Rocketdyne. The MNX-770 Mod 1 explosive is being developed for use in 500-pound BLU-111 and 1000-pound BLU-110 general purpose bombs, which are also referred to as the Mk-82 and the Mk-83, respectively, …
Read More »Report: Aerojet Rocketdyne, USAF Restructure Rocket Engine Devt Agreement
Aerojet Rocketdyne and the U.S. Air Force have begun to renegotiate an agreement over the development of the company’s rocket engine, SpaceNews reported Friday. The company develops the AR1 engine under a potential $115.3 million “other transaction” agreement the service branch awarded in 2016. The service’s space and missile systems center said …
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