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Aerojet Completes Additional Risk Reduction Engine Testing for NASA’s Orion Crew Module

Written by thomas · Filed Under Aeronautics News 

September 5, 2008

thomas

SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 4 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Aerojet, a
GenCorp (NYSE: GY) company, successfully completed a hot-fire testing
program of NASA’s Orion Crew Module’s 160 lb. thrust mono-propellant
engine. Test program objectives were met by demonstrating pulse mode
operation of the engine at expected Orion flight conditions.

The altitude/pulse mode hot fire test program consisted of 87 engine
starts (exceeding the specification requirement), 2,118 engine pulses
(exceeding the previous qualification and nearly three times the
specification requirement), and more than 400 lbs. of propellant throughput
(approximately two and half times the specification requirement). The
testing concluded not only with the objectives met but with life remaining
on the engine, indicating that the MR-104G, with upgraded thrust, will meet
the required Orion pulse mode operating conditions. “Risk reduction testing
of the Orion thrusters continues to be a highly successful collaboration
between NASA, Lockheed Martin and Aerojet. This will result in early
retirement of key program risks,” said Doug Cosens, Aerojet’s Project Orion
Program director. “The data derived from this test series will allow
mission designers to anchor their models with very high confidence.”

Aerojet will provide propulsion for NASA’s Orion Crew Module as well as
all engines aboard the Orion Service Module to prime contractor Lockheed
Martin. The current Orion Crew Module flight configuration includes 12
MR-104G engines operating at 160 lbs. thrust. The MR-104G engine family
originally provided in-space propulsion for the Voyager 1 and 2 and
Magellan missions. Subsequent MR-104G variants provided propulsion for
Landsat and NOAA satellites as well as other U.S. government programs.

The Orion crew exploration vehicle will be the flagship of NASA’s
Constellation Program, which is comprised of the spacecraft and systems
that will carry astronauts to the International Space Station and conduct
sustained human exploration of the moon and Mars. The first crewed mission
of Orion is currently scheduled for spring 2015.

Aerojet is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader principally
serving the missile and space propulsion, defense and armaments markets.
GenCorp is a leading technology-based manufacturer of aerospace and defense
products and systems with a real estate segment that includes activities
related to the entitlement, sale, and leasing of the company’s excess real
estate assets. Additional information about Aerojet and GenCorp can be
obtained by visiting the companies’ Web sites at http://www.Aerojet.com and
http://www.GenCorp.com.

SOURCE Aerojet

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