Ramona Adams
Aerojet Rocketdyne has conducted a series of hot-fire tests on three reaction control system engines for the propulsion system of Boeing‘s Crew Space Transportation-100 service module.
The CST-100 Starliner engines were tested up to 4,000 pulses and 1,600 seconds at NASA‘s White Sands Test Facility in New Mexico, Aerojet Rocketdyne said Monday.
Eileen Drake, Aerojet Rocketdyne president and CEO, said the tests aimed to evaluate the RCS engines against CST-100’s requirements for composite thrust chambers that will work to support space missions and astronaut safety.
Aerojet Rocketdyne is responsible for the design, development, qualification, certification and initial production of CST-100 propulsion system under the company’s contract with Boeing.
The agreement calls for Aerojet Rocketdyne to produce shipsets of service module propulsion system hardware that will comprise launch abort, orbital maneuvering, attitude control and RCS engines.
RCS engines are designed to have on-orbit maneuvering functions and re-boost support for the space station.
Boeing is developing CST-100 in partnership with NASA to provide crew transportation to and from the International Space Station as part of the agency’s Commercial Crew Program.
