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Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Successfully Completes Hot-Fire Tests on New RS-68A Rocket Engine

Written by thomas · Filed Under Aeronautics News 

September 26, 2008

thomas

LOS ANGELES, Sept. 25 /PRNewswire/ — Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a
United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company, has begun a series of
hot-fire tests on the new RS-68A rocket engine, designed to power heavier
payloads than currently possible on the Delta IV Heavy launch vehicle.

The RS-68A is a modified version of the RS-68, a liquid hydrogen-liquid
oxygen booster engine used on United Launch Alliance’s Delta IV family of
launch vehicles. Like the RS-68, three RS-68A engines will be used to boost
a Delta IV Heavy rocket, but each RS-68A engine will provide 702,000 pounds
of thrust, or 39,000 more pounds of thrust than a single RS-68 engine.

“We are extremely pleased with the results from the initial tests.
Completion of the total test series will provide engineers the data needed
to fully analyze engine performance, to verify compliance with
requirements, and to ensure 100-percent mission success,” said James
Tibble, RS-68A engine project manager, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. “We look
forward to the RS-68A engine powering launch vehicles into space with even
greater power and performance.”

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Inc., a part of Pratt & Whitney, is a
preferred provider of high-value propulsion, power, energy and innovative
system solutions used in a wide variety of government and commercial
applications, including the main engines for the space shuttle, Atlas and
Delta launch vehicles, missile defense systems and advanced hypersonic
engines.

Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and
service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas
turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., is a diversified
company providing high technology products and services to the global
aerospace and building industries.

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