Mary-Louise Hoffman
Aerojet Rocketdyne has finished a design review of its engine offering to power United Launch Alliance rockets such as Atlas V and Vulcan as well as other launcher platforms for national security satellites of the U.S.
The company designed and proposed its AR1 technology as a potential alternative to the Russian-built RD-180 engine that ULA uses to send satellites into space for U.S. government clients, Aerojet Rocketdyne said Thursday.
Eileen Drake, president and CEO of Aerojet Rocketdyne, said the company aims to complete the development of its new rocket engine offering by 2019.
AR1 will employ liquid oxygen and kerosene propellants that can work to generate up to 500,000 pounds of thrust, Aerojet Rocketdyne noted.
The company evaluated the system’s 18 components and subsystems as part of the design assessment and plans to begin full-scale tests in 2017 before the company will submit the technology for U.S. government certification sometime in 2019.
