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Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne’s Heritage Lunar Engine Fired Up Once Again – This Time With Liquid Methane

Written by thomas · Filed Under Aeronautics News 

September 2, 2008

thomas

CANOGA PARK, Calif., Sept. 2 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Engineers from
NASA and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne successfully completed a series of
hot-fire altitude tests using liquid methane on the RS-18 engine. The
tests, conducted at White Sands test facility in New Mexico, are part of
the technology development for NASA’s Constellation program, and gathered
important data on ignition, performance measurement, and rapid start and
stop. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX)
company.

The RS-18 engine, which was last used to lift astronauts off the moon’s
surface 36 years ago, was originally flown with storable hypergolic
propellants during the Apollo moon missions. It was later modified to burn
liquid oxygen and liquid methane, providing increased safety and
performance to future space vehicles.

“We’re extremely proud to be part of this history-making milestone,”
said Terry Lorier, RS-18 program manager, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. “It’s
tremendously gratifying to know our engine technology is being tested for
the NASA Constellation Program. We literally pulled an engine off the
museum shelf and were the first to prove that liquid methane could be used
on hardware previously rated for storable propellants.”

The cryogenic propellant-fueled RS-18 engine was modified under NASA’s
Exploration Technology Development Program (ETDP), which develops new
technologies that will enable NASA to conduct future human exploration
missions while reducing mission risk and cost. ETDP’s Propulsion and
Cryogenic Advanced Development Project, is developing rocket engine and
propulsion technologies for future missions to the moon, Mars and beyond.

These propulsion systems would have higher performance than current
storable propellant systems and may have the potential to use reactants
mined from lunar and Martian environments.

The recent liquid methane tests on the RS-18 demonstrated reliable
ignition over a wide range of mixture ratios in vacuum conditions; obtained
performance data, chamber pressure data, combustion efficiency and chemical
kinetics effects, and combustion stability data; demonstrated rapid engine
start and shutdown; and measured specific impulse.

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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