Aerojet Rocketdyne has developed four engines that will support NASA‘s maiden flight for the Space Launch System. The company said Wednesday that the RS-25 engines are now ready to be integrated on the SLS rocket’s core stage in preparation for the Exploration Mission-1 mission. “These four EM-1 engines have … powered 21 shuttle flights with the […] More

Aerojet Rocketdyne will offer propulsion system support to help Boeing conduct technology maturation and risk reduction work for the Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent acquisition program. Aerojet Rocketdyne said Thursday that the GBSD program looks to create a replacement for the U.S. military’s current Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile units. Boeing received a potential three-year, $349.1 million contract […] More

Aerojet Rocketdyne supplied the propulsion systems for United Launch Alliance‘s Atlas V rocket that launched a Boeing-built communications satellite Friday to join NASA‘s Space Network. The Tracking and Data Relay Satellite blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida atop Atlas V equipped with six helium pressurization tanks, an RL10C-1 upper-stage engine and 12 Centaur reaction control system […] More

Aerojet Rocketdyne has been selected to build the main propulsion system for a reusable hypersonic aircraft being developed by the Defense Advance Research Projects Agency and Boeing. Aerojet Rocketdyne said Wednesday that it will produce two AR-22 engines using parts from previous versions of the space shuttle main engine that has remained in the company and NASA‘s inventories. Boeing and […] More

Aerojet Rocketdyne has tested a fuel boost kick pump engine component as part of an Air Force Research Laboratory program that aims to demonstrate an oxygen-rich staged combustion technology for rockets. The company said Friday it developed and tested the kick pump at full power under AFRL’s Hydrocarbon Boost Technology Demonstrator program. “What we’ve learned through this program will be instrumental as […] More

Aerojet Rocketdyne has completed a critical design review of the company-built AR1 rocket engine. The company said Monday it aims to obtain flight certification for the AR1 technology in 2019 to help the Defense Department move away from foreign-made engines. Independent government and industry experts attended the review, which assessed whether AR1’s design meets performance requirements ahead of full-scale manufacturing, Aerojet Rocketdyne added. The […] More

Aerojet Rocketdyne has conducted hot-fire qualification tests on a hydrazine monopropellant engine the company designed to help address reusability requirements for the propulsion system of a Boeing-built crew module. Aerojet Rocketdyne said Thursday it built and tested the MR-104J engine technology for Boeing’s Crew Space Transportation-100 Starliner as part of a subcontract awarded through NASA‘s Commercial Crew Transportation Capability program. The spacecraft’s propulsion system will be equipped […] More

The U.S. Navy has awarded Aerojet Rocketdyne a $1.6 million contract to mature a power and energy management system designed to remotely recharge underwater unmanned vehicles while undersea. The company said Friday it will also mature and demonstrate the system’s software in an effort to help the Navy prioritize and schedule UUVs that need wireless recharging. Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake said the […] More

Aerojet Rocketdyne has provided the rocket engines that Intelsat‘s Boeing-built 33e communications satellite currently uses to perform in-flight maneuvers as the satellite begins operations. The rocket and missile propulsion manufacturer said Friday the satellite, which is part of the Intelsat Epic Next Generation series, is equipped with its 100-volt electric propulsion thrusters and the MR-111C and MR-106L monopropellant hydrazine engines. Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and […] More

Aerojet Rocketdyne has conducted a series of tests on its AR1 liquid oxygen/kerosene-based propulsion system and RS-25 liquid propellant engine at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. AR1 recorded the highest chamber pressure of any U.S. developed main combustion system during firing tests that evaluated the performance and design parameters of the engine’s injector, Aerojet Rocketdyne said Wednesday. The company […] More

NASA‘s Glenn Research Center has named Aerojet Rocketdyne the “Large Business Prime Contractor of the Year” for the company’s development of the gridded ion thruster system for the Next Evolutionary Xenon Thruster-Commercial propulsion technology. The aerospace and defense firm said Monday its work on the system is part of an $18 million contract from 2015 for the completion of NEXT-C and […] More

Aerojet Rocketdyne has decided to build its AR1 rocket engine technology in Huntsville, Alabama, and create as many as 100 jobs to support production work. The company said Monday it is developing AR1 to help end U.S. dependence on foreign-made engines for national security and civil space launch programs. Eileen Drake, president and CEO of Aerojet Rocketdyne, said Huntsville is the “logical choice” for AR1 […] More