Новости Aerojet Rocketdyne

[silentpom]

он не "настолько эффективен для военных", просто ничего другого в общем-то не было. ну и после гениального хода юлы с отказом выставлять дельту на конкурс - теперь надо 2 ракеты чтобы заменить 1 атлас.

[Apollo13]

Apollo13 пишет:
Первый кандидат понятно Орбитал. Второй какой-нибудь Дайнетикс для жидкосного бустера SLS?

Таки Дайнетикс.

http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/organizations/ula/race-replace-rd-180-goes-full-throttle/

Immediately after the Air Force announcement, Aerojet Rocketdyne released a statement confirming a partnership similar to ULA and Blue Origin. Aerojet Rocketdyne has with Dynetics, a Huntsville Alabama-based engineering firm, to complete development of the AR1.

"We are proud to be able to use Dynetics proven hardware fabrication capabilities and engineering expertise to join Aerojet Rocketdyne in this important endeavor", said Steve Cook, vice president for Corporate Development at Dynetics. "Our large-scale manufacturing capabilities and extensive aerospace systems expertise, combined with Aerojet Rocketdyne's leading rocket engine technology, offer a fast and low risk way to end U.S. reliance on Russian space launch propulsion systems."

Under the agreement, Aerojet and Dynetics will increase their cooperation on the development of the AR1. The two companies have been working on some components of the engine design for the last 18 months. Under the agreement, Dynetics will provide support in three key areas including the AR1 engine's main propulsion system, the ignition system and ground support equipment. Dynetics will also provide analysis support to Aerojet Rocketdyne.

"The AR1 engine is the right catalyst for moving our nation away from Russian reliance and returning America's preeminence as a propulsion leader," said Jim Simpson, senior vice president of Strategy and Business Development at Aerojet Rocketdyne. "Our collaboration with Dynetics in developing key AR1 components is an essential element to having a certified engine in 2019."

The two firms have been working together to develop and test 3D printing or additive manufacturing for key components of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS). That component will be used in the one million pound thrust booster as part of the Advanced Booster Engineering Demonstration and/or Risk Reduction (ABEDRR) contract.

Both teams have invested heavily into their engine designs. Despite financing from the Air Force, both teams will have to pay a combined $268 million. The U.S. Air Force intends to initially obligate $115.3 million. The total potential government investment, including all options, is $536 million.

[Salo]

http://spacenews.com/ula-intends-to-lower-its-costs-and-raise-its-cool-to-compete-with-spacex/

ULA intends to lower its costs, and raise its cool, to compete with SpaceX
by Peter B. de Selding — March 16, 2016
...
ULA is now working with Kent, Washington-based Blue Origin, owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos; and Aerojet Rocketdyne of Rancho Cordova, California, on RD-180 replacements.
Aerojet Rocketdyne's AR1 engine uses liquid oxygen and kerosene. Blue Origin's BE-4 uses liquid oxygen and methane.
Tobey said Bezos has invested $500 million of his own money in Blue Origin and, as demonstrated during the explosion of a Blue Origin engine on a test stand, is willing to "open his checkbook" to pursue what for Bezos is more a passion than a quest for business profit.
Compared to Bezos, Aerojet Rocketdyne's AR1 is working off a relatively small government budget, Tobey said. He did not reference a recent U.S. Defense Department announcement that substantially more funds would be arriving to develop the AR1.
Comparing the two engine developments – Aerojet Rocketdyne pursuing the classic government funding route, while Blue Origin has a billionaire owner who can act lightning-fast – the two companies' situations do not favor Aerojet Rocketdyne.
"Compare it to having two fiancées, two possible brides," Tobey said of ULA's approach to the two. "Blue Origin is a super-rich girl, and then there is this poor girl over here, Aerojet Rocketdyne. But we have to continue to go to planned rehearsal dinners, buy cakes and all the rest with both.
"We're doing all the work on both, and the chance of Aerojet Rocketdyne beating the billionaire is pretty low. Basically we're putting a whole lot more energy into BE-4 for Blue Origin."
Using methane would be new for the U.S. space sector, imposing risks, but Tobey said the BE-4 engine is only 60 percent of the cost of the AR1, a clear advantage in today's cost-driven market.
Of both engines, he said: "They are never going to outperform the RD-180."

[Seerndv]

Прочитав сравнения, так и хочется сказать что ULA надо "жениться" на обоих, и продолжать "ходить налево" 

[Apollo13]

Дедушка ругает!

[Salo]

http://spacenews.com/aerojet-rocketdyne-pitches-ar1-as-the-only-direct-replacement-for-rd-180/

Aerojet Rocketdyne pitches AR1 as the only direct replacement for RD-180
by Brian Berger — April 12, 2016
  Aerojet Rocketdyne's Julie Van Kleeck doing a television interview following an April 12 media roundtable at the 32nd Space Symposium. Credit: SpaceNews/Brian Berger  
 
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. — Aerojet Rocketdyne's Julie Van Kleeck pitched the AR1 rocket engine to a roomful of reporters Tuesday morning as the only direct replacement for the reliable but politically polarizing Russian engine that powers the Atlas 5 rocket.
The U.S. Air Force awarded Aerojet Rocketdyne a contract in February worth up to $534 million over five years to certify and start delivering flight-ready AR1 engines in 2019. Aerojet Rocketdyne says it already has kicked in $70 million, with its total investment expected to exceed $250 million over the life of the contract.
Van Kleeck, vice president of Aerojet Rocketdyne's advanced space and launch business unit, said the Air Force contract — the largest of several propulsion-related awards the service has made in recent months — is a sign of the Air Force's confidence in the AR1's ability to provide an expedient replacement for the RD-180 engine the Defense Department is under pressure from Congress to stop using.
United Launch Alliance, however, has anointed Blue Origin's methane-fueled BE-4 engine as the front runner to replace the RD-180 by serving as the main engine for the Denver company's next-generation rocket Vulcan.
"The AR1 engine can fly both on an Atlas and Vulcan and it's the only engine that can do so," Van Kleeck said.
While ULA continues to work with Aerojet Rocketdyne on the AR1, ULA executives have said the BE-4, whose development is being bankrolled by Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos, is several years closer to flight readiness.
Van Kleeck challenged that assertion.
"When you introduce new propellants such as methane to the solution you not only have to have a totally different vehicle architecture but you also have to make costly changes to ground infrastructure and operations and in the end you have no more capability than you had with Atlas and have substantially increased cost and decreased reliability," she said.
ULA has said it expects to make a decision on Vulcan's engine sometime around the end of the year. If ULA chooses BE-4 over AR1, will Aerojet Rocketdyne continue to fund the engine's development?
"We believe the AR1 is going to fly," Van Kleeck said.
On Atlas 5, Vulcan or something else?
"We believe the AR1 is going to fly," Van Kleeck repeated.

[Salo]

http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-works-to-improve-solar-electric-propulsion-for-deep-space-exploration

April 19, 2016
 RELEASE 16-044  
 
 NASA Works to Improve Solar Electric Propulsion for Deep Space Exploration  

Advanced solar electric propulsion will be needed for future human expeditions into deep space, including to Mars. Shown here is a 13-kilowatt Hall thruster being evaluated at NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland. Hall thrusters trap electrons in a magnetic field and use them to ionize the onboard propellant. It uses 10 times less propellant than equivalent chemical rockets.
Credits: NASA
 
NASA has selected Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc. of Redmond, Washington, to design and develop an advanced electric propulsion system that will significantly advance the nation's commercial space capabilities, and enable deep space exploration missions, including the robotic portion of NASA's Asteroid Redirect Mission (ARM) and its Journey to Mars.
The Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) contract is a 36-month cost-plus-fixed-fee contract with a performance incentive and total value of $67 million. Work performed under the contract could potentially increase spaceflight transportation fuel efficiency by 10 times over current chemical propulsion technology and more than double thrust capability compared to current electric propulsion systems.
"Through this contract, NASA will be developing advanced electric propulsion elements for initial spaceflight applications, which will pave the way for an advanced solar electric propulsion demonstration mission by the end of the decade," said Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator of NASA's Space Technology Mission Directorate (STMD) in Washington. "Development of this technology will advance our future in-space transportation capability for a variety of NASA deep space human and robotic exploration missions, as well as private commercial space missions."
Aerojet Rocketdyne will oversee the development and delivery of an integrated electric propulsion system consisting of a thruster, power processing unit (PPU), low-pressure xenon flow controller, and electrical harness. NASA has developed and tested a prototype thruster and PPU that the company can use as a reference design.
The company will construct, test and deliver an engineering development unit for testing and evaluation in preparation for producing the follow-on flight units. During the option period of the contract, if exercised, the company will develop, verify and deliver four integrated flight units – the electric propulsion units that will fly in space. The work being performed under this contract will be led by a team of NASA Glenn Research Center engineers, with additional technical support by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) engineers.
This work will directly complement recent advanced solar array systems work, also funded by STMD. NASA anticipates the electrical power to operate this advanced electric propulsion flight system in space will be generated by solar arrays using structures similar to those that were developed under the solar array systems contracts.
NASA has been refining development of spaceflight electric propulsion technology for more than five decades, the first successful ion electric propulsion thruster being developed at Glenn in the 1950s. The first operational test of an electric propulsion system in space was Glenn's Space Electric Rocket Test 1, which flew on July 20, 1964.
Since then, NASA has increasingly relied on solar electric propulsion for long-duration, deep-space robotic science and exploration missions to multiple destinations, the most recent being NASA's Dawn mission. The Dawn mission, managed by JPL, surveyed the giant asteroid Vesta and the protoplanet, Ceres, between 2011 and 2015.
The advanced electric propulsion system is the next step in NASA's Solar Electric Propulsion (SEP) project, which is developing critical technologies to extend the range and capabilities of ambitious new science and exploration missions. ARM, NASA's mission to capture an asteroid boulder and place it in orbit around the moon in the mid-2020s, will test the largest and most advanced SEP system ever utilized for space missions.
For more information about NASA technology, visit:
 

http://www.nasa.gov/technology

[Apollo13]

http://spacenews.com/draft-house-bill-would-scramble-air-forces-rocket-engine-plan/

Draft House bill would scramble Air Force's rocket engine plan

by Mike Gruss — April 25, 2016


House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (above) and Rep. Mike Rogers , the chairman of the strategic forces subcommittee, have traded a series of letters with Air Force leaders this year explaining their preference for a so-called engine-only approach to end reliance on the RD-180. Credit: House Republican Conference


WASHINGTON – The House Armed Services Committee is set to take up an authorization bill this week that would insist the Pentagon invest in a new main stage engine  — not an upper stage engine, strap-on motors or launch vehicles as the Air Force has planned — as the cornerstone of its effort to wean itself from the Russian RD-180 rocket engine.
The proposed restrictions essentially would forbid the Air Force from funding several recently announced co-investment deals with Orbital ATK, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance beyond this year. The Air Force doled out $317 million worth of contracts to help fund Orbital ATK's development of  a new solid-fueled launcher,  SpaceX's  development a new upper-stage engine, and ULA's development of  Vulcan, a potentially reusable successor to the RD-180 powered Atlas 5 rocket.
The Air Force's only other partnership is with Aerojet Rocketdyne, which stands to receive up to $536 million to develop AR-1, a kerosene-fuled engine that the Sacramento, California-company is pitching as an RD-180 replacement that would also be suitable for Vulcan if ULA drops plans to use Blue Origin's methane-fueled BE-4 engine instead.
The proposed funding restrictions are part of the House Armed Services Committee's version of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2017, which will be released April 25 ahead of a planned April 27 session to amend and vote on the bill.
Rep. Mac Thornberry (R-Texas.), the committee chairman, and Rep. Mike Rogers (R-Ala.), the chairman of the strategic forces subcommittee, have traded a series of letters with Air Force leaders this year explaining their preference for a so-called engine-only approach to end reliance on the RD-180.
The Air Force relies on the RD-180 engines ULA imports from Russia's NPO Energomash through Florida-based RD AMROSS to launch the lion's share of U.S. national security satellites. Following Russia's 2014 annexation of Ukraine's Crimea region, a chorus of U.S. lawmakers and senior Pentagon officials have been calling for ending use of the RD-180. But figuring out exactly how and when to make the transition away from an RD-180-powered Atlas 5 has been a repeated point of contention.

"The Committee shares the concern of many members that reliance on Russian-designed rocket engines is no longer acceptable," the committee said April 25. "The Chairman's Proposal, as recommended by Chairman Rogers of the Subcommittee on Strategic Forces, denies the Air Force's request to pursue the development, at taxpayer expense, of new commercial launch systems. It instead focuses on the development of a new American engine to replace the Russian RD-180 by 2019 to protect assured access to space and to end reliance on Russian engines. The Mark also holds the Air Force accountable for its awards of rocket propulsion contracts that violated the FY15 and FY16 NDAAs."

In its budget request for fiscal year 2017, the Air Force said it plans to spend $1.2 billion over the next five years, including $296 million in 2017, on what they described as a next-generation launch system. Their plan calls for investing in upgrades to existing rockets or investing in entirely new systems from domestic launch providers including SpaceX, Orbital ATK and ULA.
But Rogers has repeatedly said the Air Force's plan violates the 2015 National Defense Authorization Act by focusing on new launch systems instead of developing a domestic alternative to the RD-180.
"The funds would not be authorized to be obligated or expended to develop or procure a launch vehicle, an upper stage, a strap-on motor, or related infrastructure," says a draft of the 2017 defense authorization bill. Industry officials expect several launch-related amendments to come up when the full committee meets to markup the bill April 27,
The bill, as drafted, would leave Aerojet Rocketdyne's AR1 engine as the only piece of the Air Force's portfolio of rocket-propulsion partnerships that meets the new criteria. The proposed restrictions would also require any unobligated money from 2015 or 2016 follow the same guidelines.

[Apollo13]

Многоходовка:

1. Даем деньги SpaceX и Orbital ATK - все радуются
2. Даем деньги Aerojet - никто не протестует
3. Забираем деньги у SpaceX и Orbital ATK - они делают не то что нужно
4. PROFIT!

[Seerndv]

AR1 testing on E-1 Test Stand. Aerojet Rocketdyne signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA last year to test the preburner and main injector for its new AR1 rocket engine at Stennis. The company is scheduled to conduct a series of subscale tests on Cell 2 of the E-1 stand later this spring. Full-scale testing of the AR1 components is planned during the summer on Cell 1 of the E-1 stand. The AR1 is being developed as an American booster engine that could help end the U.S. dependence on foreign engines to launch payloads into space.

- что-то тишина, весна уж скоро кончится. :|

[Apollo13]

http://www.edwards.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123473528

Air Force demonstrates key rocket engine technologies for next generation launch systems

Posted 5/13/2016   Updated 5/16/2016 

from Air Force Research Laboratory Aerospace Systems Directorate

5/13/2016 - EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. -- The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory and contractor Aerojet Rocketdyne (subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, NYSE: AJRD) achieved a major milestone under the Hydrocarbon Boost program, which is advancing domestic rocket engine technologies in support of next generation launch. The Hydrocarbon Boost (HCB) program completed full power, full duration tests of the oxygen-rich staged combustion (ORSC) sub-scale preburner. Testing was conducted at the historic rocket Test Stand 2A at Edwards Air Force Base; the facility was first utilized to test the F-1 engine used to power Saturn V rockets in the Apollo program to reach the moon.

The sub-scale preburner test campaign accomplished the first demonstrations of several key rocket engine technologies, including the first use of Mondaloy 200 superalloy in a rocket engine environment and the first operation of a diluent type preburner. Demonstration of Mondaloy 200, which was co-developed by Aerojet Rocketdyne and the AFRL Materials Directorate, was a critical step to proving the unique combination of high-strength and burn resistance necessary for hardware survival in the harsh ORSC rocket environment.

"These tests are a significant milestone for our program, but also just the beginning of an effort to develop and transition the tools, components and knowledge needed for our customer and the U.S. rocket industry," said Dr. Shawn Phillips, chief of the AFRL Rocket Propulsion Division.

The U.S. has a limited technology base in the high-performance ORSC rocket engine cycle. The United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle is powered by Russian RD-180 rocket engines, which were developed based on decades of ORSC research and development in the former Soviet Union. Tensions with Russia spurred limits on future use of the RD-180 engines for national security launches and triggered increased U.S. government investment in ORSC technology for industry to use to provide future launch services for National Security Space launch needs.

A key goal of the Hydrocarbon Boost Technology Demonstrator is to mature the technology readiness of ORSC engine components to advance the U.S. rocket technology base. This is also a key goal of the Booster Propulsion Technology Maturation (BPTM) projects led by the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center at Los Angeles Air Force Base.

"The DOD is absolutely committed to transitioning off the RD-180 as quickly as possible, while ensuring no impacts to national security. Programs such as BPTM are essential to achieving that objective while solidifying U.S. assured access to space and supporting the U.S. launch industry's viability in the global market," said Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, SMC commander and Air Force program executive officer for Space.
 
Technology maturation and risk reduction efforts are part of a comprehensive Air Force plan to transition off of the RD-180 engine. One of the BPTM project areas is to advance technology readiness through critical rocket engine component design, integration, and test. To this end, SMC augmented HCB program funding to accelerate development of the HCB full-scale preburner and enable near-term U.S. demonstrations that are critical to overcome key ORSC challenges. These critical ORSC challenges include combustion instability, oxygen compatibility of materials in severe high pressure and temperature environments, and complex preburner startup and shutdown transients. The improved knowledge base, test results, and lessons learned in the HCB program and other BPTM activities are shared with the entire U.S. rocket propulsion community.

"An objective of this program is to help eliminate the United States' reliance on foreign rocket propulsion technology," commented Maj. Gen. Tom Masiello, AFRL commander. "This is key to ensuring our national security, and the people of the Rocket Propulsion Division are making impressive strides in achieving our goal."

The highly instrumented HCB sub-scale preburner tests generated critical data for design and development of the full-scale preburner. Design and fabrication of the full-scale ORSC Hydrocarbon Boost preburner is underway. Preburner component level testing will be conducted at NASA Stennis Space Center prior to Hydrocarbon Boost integrated engine testing at AFRL in the 2020 timeframe. Successful program completion will demonstrate national goals for the Rocket Propulsion for the 21st Century program, which is co-chaired by the Office of the Secretary of Defense and NASA.

[Apollo13]

[silentpom]

какая связь между  Hydrocarbon Boost (HCB) program и AR-1?

[Apollo13]

Судя по участию Аэроджета и ввс самая прямая

[silentpom]

я почему-то думал, что газогенератор для AR-1 уже испытали в уменьшенной версии. получается что исследовательская программа идет позади продуктовой

[Salo]

http://www.rocket.com/article/ar1-testing-underway-nasas-stennis-space-center

AR1 Testing Underway at NASA's Stennis Space Center

SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 17, 2016 – Aerojet Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AJRD), achieved full-power during a critical preburner test series at NASA's Stennis Space Center earlier this month. The test series successfully verified key preburner injector design parameters for the company's AR1 engine that is being designed to end use of Russian engines for national security space launches.
"We remain laser focused on the delivery of an AR1 engine in 2019. We are convinced our AR1 engine is the fastest, lowest cost, lowest risk way for the United States to guarantee assured access to space, proof of which is our successful preburner test," said Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake. "The AR1 engine is the most advanced oxygen-rich, hydrocarbon engine in development in the United States."
Preburner testing is the latest AR1 program milestone achieved on the AR1 program and further demonstrates that the company has consistently met every milestone laid out in its plan since the program began in 2014. This testing is a continuation of earlier preburner testing at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center and Aerojet Rocketdyne's Sacramento, California location.
Aerojet Rocketdyne is an innovative company delivering solutions that create value for its customers in the aerospace and defense markets. The company is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader that provides propulsion and energetics to the space, missile defense and strategic systems, tactical systems and armaments areas, in support of domestic and international markets. Additional information about Aerojet Rocketdyne can be obtained by visiting our websites at www.Rocket.com and www.AerojetRocketdyne.com.  

Aerojet Rocketdyne tests the AR1 subscale preburner at NASA's Stennis Space Center

[Salo]

http://www.rocket.com/article/aerojet-rocketdyne-supports-launch-national-security-payload-orbit-us-government-worlds-most

Aerojet Rocketdyne Supports Launch of National Security Payload into Orbit for U.S. Government with World's Most Powerful Hydrogen-Fueled Engines

SACRAMENTO, Calif., June 11, 2016 – In a spectacular display of power, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Inc. (Aerojet Rocketdyne), a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AJRD), successfully supported the launch of a national security payload into orbit for the U.S. government today using three of the world's most powerful hydrogen-fueled booster engines. The mission was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket. Aerojet Rocketdyne propulsion included three RS-68A booster engines, an RL10B-2 upper-stage engine, multiple attitude control thrusters and 26 helium pressurization tanks.
"As a military veteran, I can personally attest to the importance of national security satellites for our nation's troops deployed at home and overseas," said Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake. "It's an honor and a privilege to know our company's propulsion is playing such a critical role in their safety and improved operations. Congratulations to everyone for another successful launch."
During launch, three RS-68A engines ignited to boost the Delta IV Heavy off the pad, each providing 702,000 pounds of lift-off thrust. The RS-68A is the world's most powerful liquid-hydrogen/liquid-oxygen engine, and has now flown 32 commercial and government missions with 100 percent mission success.
After the upper stage separated from the launch vehicle, a single RL10B-2 ignited to provide 24,750 pounds of thrust to power the upper stage, using cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants during its operation. RL10B-2 is a liquid-fuel cryogenic rocket engine designed and developed from the RL10 family of upper-stage engines, which have accumulated one of the most impressive lists of accomplishments in the history of space propulsion. The RL10 has helped place numerous military, government and commercial satellites into orbit over the last 50 years, and has powered scientific space-probe missions to every planet in our solar system.
ARDÉ, a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne based in New Jersey, provides the pressure vessels on the first and second stages of the launch vehicle.
Aerojet Rocketdyne is an innovative company delivering solutions that create value for its customers in the aerospace and defense markets. The company is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader that provides propulsion and energetics to the space, missile defense and strategic systems, tactical systems and armaments areas, in support of domestic and international markets. Additional information about Aerojet Rocketdyne can be obtained by visiting our websites at www.Rocket.com and www.AerojetRocketdyne.com.

[Salo]

http://www.rocket.com/article/aerojet-rocketdyne-celebrates-key-apogee-thruster-milestones-space-systems-loral

Aerojet Rocketdyne Celebrates Key Apogee Thruster Milestones with Space Systems Loral

SACRAMENTO, Calif., May 25, 2016 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aerojet Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AJRD), and Space Systems Loral (SSL), a leading provider of commercial satellites, recently celebrated three key centennial milestones for the companies. This past year, SSL launched its 100th satellite built on the SSL 1300 platform; Aerojet Rocketdyne delivered 100 bipropellant apogee thrusters for those 100 SSL 1300 satellites; and coincidently, the 100th SSL 1300 also used Aerojet Rocketdyne's 100th High-Performance Apogee Thruster (HiPAT™).

The SSL 1300 was originally introduced in the 1980s and at that time used the Aerojet Rocketdyne R-4D-11 bipropellant apogee thruster, which was specifically developed and qualified for the SSL 1300. SSL has continually evolved the 1300 platform over the years to provide higher power, increased payloads, longer life and greater flexibility. As part of this evolution in capability, the HiPAT™ was first introduced into the SSL 1300 platform in 2002. The HiPAT™ is used on four different GEO Comsat platforms, and provides the highest performance of any bipropellant apogee thruster in the world.

"On behalf of all the women and men here at Aerojet Rocketdyne who contributed over the years, I would like to express our joy to have this opportunity to celebrate this triple centennial event with SSL, and express our pride in our continued achievement of 100 percent mission success with our valued customer partners," said Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake.

"SSL and Aerojet Rocketdyne have had a very productive and successful relationship over the past 30 years, and Aerojet Rocketdyne's apogee engines have been an important contributor to the success of the SSL 1300 platform," said Paul Estey, executive vice president of SSL.

Aerojet Rocketdyne is an innovative company delivering solutions that create value for its customers in the aerospace and defense markets. The company is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader that provides propulsion and energetics to the space, missile defense and strategic systems, tactical systems and armaments areas, in support of domestic and international markets.

[Salo]

http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/organizations/aerojet-rocketdyne/starliner-spacecraft-engines-successfully-hot-fire-tested/

Starliner spacecraft engines successfully hot-fire tested
Tomasz Nowakowski
July 27th, 2016

One of three Reaction Control System engines for Boeing's CST-100 Starliner recently completed hot-fire testing at NASA's White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico. Photo Credit: Aerojet Rocketdyne
 
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner spacecraft is one step closer to carrying astronauts to space from American soil as its engines have recently undergone a series of hot-fire development tests. The tests were carried out by Aerojet Rocketdyne at NASA's White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico.
The three Reaction Control System (RCS) engines successfully hot-fired are part of the spacecraft's service module propulsion system, being currently developed by Aerojet Rocketdyne. The Sacramento, California-based rocket propulsion manufacturer announced on Monday, July 25, each RCS engine was tested up to 4,000 pulses and 1,600 seconds. According to the company, it was the longest accumulated time ever conducted on a lightweight thruster with a composite chamber.

Artist depiction of CST-100 Starliner in orbit above Earth. Image Credit: Boeing
 
"The successful RCS engine tests demonstrated durability and long operational life capabilities meeting the Starliner requirements for composite thrust chambers, which are crucial to mission success and astronaut safety," Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake said in a press release. "We look forward to qualifying the engines and continuing our nation's legacy of delivering humans into space."
The RCS engines are designed to provide on-orbit maneuvering functions, as well as re-boost capabilities for the space station. Under its Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) subcontract to Boeing, Aerojet Rocketdyne is responsible for the design, development, qualification, certification and initial production of the Starliner's service module propulsion system, including the development and testing of 28 100-pound thrust class RCS engines.
The spacecraft's service module propulsion system will be necessary for Starliner's activities during a nominal flight to the International Space Station (ISS). It will provide all propulsion needs required for launch vehicle separation, docking and undocking from the ISS, as well as separation of the crew and service modules during the re-entry into Earth's atmosphere. The system will also provide integrated launch abort capability on the pad and during ascent.
"Aerojet Rocketdyne is leveraging adaptations of proven hardware and technologies to deliver an affordable reliable propulsion system that can be counted on to perform throughout the spacecraft's mission and ensure the safety of the astronauts and success of the mission," Terry Lorier, Aerojet Rocketdyne's CST-100 service module propulsion system program manager, said in November 2015.
Boeing's CST-100 Starliner is 16.5 feet (5.03 meters) long and 15 feet (4.56 meters) in diameter. It can carry up to seven passengers, or a mix of crew and cargo to ISS. The spacecraft is designed to remain on-orbit for up to seven months with reusability of up to ten missions.
First uncrewed orbital test flight of the Starliner spacecraft is currently scheduled for December 2017. The capsule will carry its first two astronauts to ISS in February 2018.

[Salo]

Ответ на мучивший многих вопрос:
https://www.reddit.com/r/ula/comments/5209fz/question_about_centaur_what_is_this_circled_red/

Question about Centaur. What is this? (circled red) (i.redd.it)
отправлено 9 часов назад автор Zorbane
 

za419  8 часов назад 
According to this pdf, the RL-10 on the Centaur used for the Atlas V pre-chills the hydrogen turbopump by flushing it with liquid hydrogen and then dumping it overboard. Could that be it?

ethan829  8 часов назад 
The RL10 is actually an expander cycle engine, so the turbopump exhaust is routed back into the combustion chamber.
That tube is part of the engine chilling system, as explained here.

https://www.reddit.com/r/ula/comments/3vl592/atlas_v_401_cygnus_oa4_launch_thread_take_four/cxpv5m5

Rocketgi 9 месяцев назад
Lurker, but decided to create an account in order to answer your question. The tube you are seeing is part of a vent system. The RL-10 must be cooled down prior to startup so LH2 is ran through the engine then vented overboard. You can see prior to separation the apparatus is actually connected to more tubing to vent before separation. What you are seeing coming out after separation is just the remaining LH2 in the tube. Source: I've worked in the area that builds the system.