Initial RS-25 Certification Campaign of 12 Hot-Fire Tests Complete
23 Giugno 2023 - 8:03PM
Aerojet Rocketdyne and NASA completed a certification test series
yesterday for the new RS-25 production engines that will propel
NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) exploration rocket for Artemis
missions, beginning with Artemis V. This test series ensures
the new engines will perform with the same reliability and
robustness of their predecessors.
“With the completion of this 12-test campaign, we have cleared a
major milestone in our RS-25 production restart program,” said
Eileen P. Drake, Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and president. “The test
series went very smoothly, raising our level of confidence that the
new hardware designs and manufacturing processes will yield highly
producible, reliable engines.”
The SLS core stage is powered by four Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25
engines, each capable of generating more than 500,000 pounds of
thrust. Like Artemis I, the next three SLS flights are using
heritage Space Shuttle Main Engines that have been upgraded with
modern flight controllers, while subsequent missions will have
newly built RS-25 engines that have been redesigned for improved
performance and lower costs, and feature simplified component
designs that take advantage of 3D printing and other manufacturing
advances. The RS-25 is the only high-performance, liquid hydrogen,
staged combustion cycle engine operational worldwide.
The recently completed test series, which began Feb. 8 and
wrapped up June 22 on the historic Fred Haise Test Stand at
NASA’s Stennis Space Center, involved firings ranging in duration
from 500 seconds—matching the nominal SLS flight profile—to 720
seconds. During the test series, the engine was tested across the
full range of power level settings required for flight—from 80% to
111% rated power—and even some time at 113% rated power, to
demonstrate operational safety margin.
The certification campaign also tested the engine’s redesigned
nozzle, demonstrated engine gimballing at angles ranging from 1 to
6 degrees off center, and showcased the new optimized flexible fuel
and oxidizer feed lines that result in more cost-effective hardware
components. The longer-duration tests and gimbal demonstrations are
relevant to certain flight scenarios and help expand the RS-25
performance database.
NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne will begin a similar 12-test series
on a different engine later this summer to complete the
certification process. The newly manufactured engines are scheduled
to begin delivery to NASA in 2024 and will make their debut on the
Artemis V mission.
About Aerojet Rocketdyne: Aerojet Rocketdyne, a
subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AJRD), is a
world-recognized aerospace and defense leader that provides
propulsion systems and energetics to the space, missile defense and
strategic systems, and tactical systems areas, in support of
domestic and international customers. For more information, visit
www.Rocket.com and www.AerojetRocketdyne.com. Follow Aerojet
Rocketdyne and CEO Eileen Drake on Twitter at @AerojetRdyne and
@DrakeEileen.
Media Contacts:Mary Engola, Aerojet Rocketdyne,
571-289-1371Mary.Engola@rocket.comTodd McConnell, Aerojet
Rocketdyne, 561-882-5395Todd.McConnell@rocket.com
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