. 24/7 Space News .
ROCKET SCIENCE
Aerojet Rocketdyne completes CST launch abort engine hot fire tests
by Staff Writers
Sacramento CA (SPX) Nov 02, 2016


File image.

Aerojet Rocketdyne has successfully completed a series of hot-fire tests on two Launch Abort Engines (LAE) featuring innovative new propellant valves for Boeing's Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 Starliner service module propulsion system. The tests were conducted in the Mojave Desert in California, and confirmed the ability for the new valves to modulate propellant flow and control peak LAE thrust in the event of a launch abort.

The LAEs, designed by Aerojet Rocketdyne, include a fuel valve and oxidizer valve, which were developed and tested under the company's Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) subcontract to Boeing. The Starliner will open a new era of spaceflight, carrying humans to the International Space Station once again from United States soil.

The LAEs, designed by Aerojet Rocketdyne, include a fuel valve and oxidizer valve, which were developed and tested under the company's Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) subcontract to Boeing. The Starliner will open a new era of spaceflight, carrying humans to the International Space Station once again from United States soil.

"These innovative valves successfully enabled the engine to demonstrate precise timing, peak thrust control and steady-state thrust necessary during a mission abort. This testing culminates a year of dedicated hard work by the LAE Integrated Product Team at Aerojet Rocketdyne," said Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake. "This is another important step forward as our nation prepares to safely and reliably send humans back to the space station from American soil."

Under the CCtCap subcontract to Boeing, Aerojet Rocketdyne will provide propulsion system hardware, which includes LAEs, Orbital Maneuvering and Attitude Control (OMAC) thrusters, Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters, and more. Boeing will assemble propulsion hardware kits into the service module section of the Starliner spacecraft at its Commercial Crew and Cargo Processing Facility at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

Aerojet Rocketdyne also provides hardware supporting service module hot-fire testing, which will take place at NASA's White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico; the pad abort and system qualification testing, which will occur at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico; and the orbital flight test, which will be launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

The Starliner service module propulsion system provides launch abort capability on the pad and during ascent, along with propulsion needs during flight - from launch vehicle separation, docking to and undocking from the space station, to separation of the crew and service modules when the spacecraft begins to re-enter the Earth's atmosphere. At separation, crew module monopropellant thrusters, also provided by Aerojet Rocketdyne, support re-entry control.

The Starliner service module and launch abort propulsion system is designed to rapidly "push" a crew capsule to safety if an abort is necessary. If unused for an abort, the propellant is used to complete the spacecraft's mission operations.

The Starliner service module propulsion system includes four 40,000-pound thrust launch abort engines used only in an abort; 1,500-pound thrust class OMAC thrusters that provide low-altitude launch abort attitude control; maneuvering and stage-separation functions along with high-altitude direct abort capability and large orbital maneuvers; and 100-pound thrust class RCS engines that provide high-altitude abort attitude control, on-orbit low delta-v maneuvering and space station re-boost capability.


Comment on this article using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


.


Related Links
Aerojet Rocketdyne
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com






Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
ROCKET SCIENCE
NASA Uses Tunnel Approach to Study How Heat Affects SLS Rocket
Huntsville AL (SPX) Nov 02, 2016
NASA's new rocket, the Space Launch System, will hit high temperatures as it reaches speeds of more than 17,000 mph in just 8.5 minutes. So, how does heat affect the world's most powerful rocket for human missions to deep space, including the journey to Mars? The answer just may be found in a special type of wind tunnel. NASA engineers have teamed with CUBRC Inc. of Buffalo, New York, to b ... read more


ROCKET SCIENCE
BRICS Space Agencies Sign Memorandum on Cooperation in Space Exploration

Next stop Baikonur for ESA astronaut Thomas Pesquet

Japan rocket with manga art launches satellite into space

Clearing the Air in Space

ROCKET SCIENCE
Aerojet Rocketdyne completes CST launch abort engine hot fire tests

China launches first heavy-lift rocket

NASA Uses Tunnel Approach to Study How Heat Affects SLS Rocket

SpaceX Aims to Resume Falcon 9 Flights in 2016, Blames Helium Tank for Explosion

ROCKET SCIENCE
Unusual Martian region leaves clues to planet's past

A record of ancient tectonic stress on Mars

Mars: How Will Humans Get There

Curiosity Mars Rover Checks Odd-looking Iron Meteorite

ROCKET SCIENCE
Kuaizhou-1 scheduled to launch in December

Nations ask to play part in space lab

China launches first heavy-lift rocket

China to launch Long March-5 carrier rocket in November

ROCKET SCIENCE
Optus achieves full certification of 4 teleports

ISRO's World record bid: Launching 83 satellites on single rocket

Shared vision and goals for the future of Europe in space

SSL delivers Sky Perfect JSAT satellite to Kourou

ROCKET SCIENCE
Testing AsiaSat 9 in a Simulated Space Environment

3-D-printed permanent magnets outperform conventional versions, conserve rare materials

Researchers bring eyewear-free 3-D capabilities to small screen

When it comes to atomic-scale manufacturing, less really is more

ROCKET SCIENCE
What happens to a pathogenic fungus grown in space?

How Planets Like Jupiter Form

Giant Rings Around Exoplanet Turn in the Wrong Direction

Preferentially Earth-sized Planets with Lots of Water

ROCKET SCIENCE
Mystery solved behind birth of Saturn's rings

Last Bits of 2015 Pluto Flyby Data Received on Earth

Uranus may have two undiscovered moons

Possible Clouds on Pluto, Next Target is Reddish









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.