posted July 16, 2007 08:43 PM               

NASA has signed a $1.2 billion contract with Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne Inc., of Canoga Park, Calif., for design, development, testing and evaluation of the J-2X engine that will power the upper stages of the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles.

The contract includes ground and test flight engines. It continues work that began on June 2, 2006, under a preliminary letter contract with Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne.

NASA awarded the cost-plus-award fee contract to Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne on a sole-source basis, NASA determined that no other existing capability meets its architecture requirements and is able to be extended to future exploration missions to the moon and beyond.

The contract performance period extends through Dec. 31, 2012. Engines for operational missions will be purchased through a separate contract.

The J-2X is an evolved version of two historic predecessors: the powerful J-2 engine that propelled the Apollo-era Saturn IB and Saturn V rockets, and the J-2S, a simplified version of the J-2 that was developed and tested in the early 1970s. Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne designed and developed both the J-2 and the J-2S and has been responsible for producing, refurbishing and improving them. The J-2X engine will incorporate significant upgrades to meet higher performance and reliability requirements for the Ares vehicles.

Ares I is an in-line, two-stage rocket that will transport the Orion crew exploration vehicle to low Earth orbit. Orion will accommodate as many as six astronauts. The first stage will consist of a single reusable solid propellant rocket booster similar to those used on the space shuttle, with an additional fifth segment. The second, or upper, stage will consist of a J-2X liquid oxygen- and liquid hydrogen-fueled main engine and a new upper stage fuel tank.

Ares V will enable NASA to launch a variety of science and exploration payloads, as well as key components needed to go to the moon and later to Mars. Ares V, a heavy lift launch vehicle, will use five RS-68 liquid oxygen- and liquid hydrogen-fueled engines mounted below a larger version of the space shuttle's external tank and two five-segment solid propellant rocket boosters for the first stage. The upper stage will use the same J-2X engine as the Ares I.

The J-2X upper stage engine is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., for NASA's Constellation Program.

posted December 17, 2007 07:05 PM               

Image above: A vintage 1960 J-2 thrust chamber is fitted with brackets and pumps at the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne assembly facility in Stennis Space Center's Building 9101. Together, the parts comprise the J-2X Powerpack 1A test article. Credit: NASA

In December, NASA will begin testing core components of a rocket engine from the Apollo era. Data from the tests will help NASA build the next generation engine that will power the nation's new Ares launch vehicles on voyages that will send humans to the moon.

NASA will test the engine's powerpack, a gas generator and turbopumps that perform the rocket engine's major pumping and combustion work. These components originally delivered propellants to the Apollo-era J-2 engine that fueled the second stage of the Saturn V rockets.

NASA is using these heritage parts to develop a new engine, known as the J2-X, to power the upper stages of both the Ares I crew launch vehicle and the Ares V cargo launch vehicle. Results from the tests will help engineers modify the machinery to meet the higher performance requirements of these two next-generation rockets.

"The J-2X engine will incorporate significant upgrades to meet higher thrust and efficiency requirements for Ares," said Mike Kynard, manager of the upper stage engine in the Ares Projects Office at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "That's why we're taking a new look at these components -- to gather performance data, test their limits, and reduce risks down the road when we're building and testing the engine."

The powerpack tests will be conducted at NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Miss., where the components were installed in late September 2007.

"The final checkouts of the test article and facility are in work," said Gary Benton, test project manager of the Ares upper stage engine at Stennis. "The test team at Stennis has put a lot of effort into this project and looks forward to getting these first tests completed."

During the initial trials, engineers will run propellants through the powerpack, monitoring its ducts, valves and lines while simulating conditions as if it were attached to a rocket upper stage and main combustion chamber. Engineers will be able to preview conditions that might be present during an engine test fire.

The first test in the series will be a chill test, during which engineers will verify the tightness of seals in the fuel lines and pumps at propellant temperatures as low as minus 425 degrees Fahrenheit. Engineers also will verify accuracy of the chill procedure and determine the amount of time required to chill the pumps.

Later tests in the series will progress to include test fires at a variety of power levels and durations ranging from 12 seconds to 550 seconds. Testing is set to continue through February 2008.

The Ares rockets support NASA's goal of providing safe, reliable, affordable transportation to support sustainable, long-term exploration. The Ares I is an in-line, two-stage rocket that will transport the Orion crew vehicle to low Earth orbit. Orion will accommodate as many as six astronauts on missions to the International Space Station or as many as four crew members on lunar missions. The Ares V, a heavy-lift launch vehicle, will enable NASA to launch a variety of science and exploration payloads and key components needed to go to the moon.

The J-2X is an evolved version of two historic predecessors: the J-2 engine that propelled the Saturn IB and Saturn V rockets, and the J-2S, a simplified version of the J-2 that was developed and tested in the early 1970s.

Marshall manages the J-2X upper stage engine for NASA's Constellation Program, based at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Under a contract awarded in July 2007, Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne Inc., of Canoga Park, Calif., will design, develop, test and evaluate the engine.

posted May 09, 2008 01:17 AM               

NASA Successfully Completes First Series of Ares Engine Tests

NASA engineers Thursday successfully completed the first series of tests in the early development of the J-2X engine that will power the upper stages of the Ares I and Ares V rockets, key components of NASA's Constellation Program. Ares I will launch the Orion spacecraft that will take astronauts to the International Space Station and then to the moon by 2020. The Ares V will carry cargo and components into orbit for trips to the moon and later to Mars.

NASA conducted nine tests of heritage J-2 engine components from December to May as part of a series designed to verify heritage J-2 performance data and explore performance boundaries. Engineers at NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Miss., conducted the tests on a heritage J-2 "powerpack," which, in a fully assembled engine, pumps liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the engine's main combustion chamber to produce thrust. The test hardware consisted of J-2 components used from the Apollo program in the1960s through the X-33 program of the 1990s.

"This series of tests is an important step in development of the J-2X engine," said Mike Kynard, manager of the upper stage engine for the Ares Projects at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "We started with a number of objectives and questions we needed answers to as we work to complete designs of the J-2X engine. The data we have gained will be invaluable as we continue the design process."

Data obtained from the tests will be used to refine the design of the J-2X pumps and other engine components to provide the additional performance required of this new engine. The J-2X engine is being designed to produce 294,000 pounds of thrust; the original J-2 produced 230,000 pounds of thrust.

The main objectives of the series were to resolve differences in heritage turbopump performance data and recent component-level tests, and investigate vibration and pressure drops through the turbopump inlet ducts. Tests in the series ran for durations up to 400 seconds and at power levels up to 274,000 pounds of thrust.

After the data from the test series has been reviewed and objectives met, Stennis will begin readying the test stand for the next series of tests, said Gary Benton, the J-2X project manager at Stennis.

Marshall manages the J-2X upper stage engine for the Constellation Program, based at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Under a contract awarded in July 2007, Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne Inc., of Canoga Park, Calif., will design, develop, test and evaluate the engine.

posted August 18, 2008 11:58 PM               

Engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., completed a series of tests on a key component of the J-2X engine, which will propel the next-generation Ares I rocket on its journey to space. The test on Aug. 15 -- the last of 20 in this series -- concluded the second of four planned batteries of tests on the J-2X's workhorse gas generator, the driver for the turbopumps which start the engine. The third phase of testing will begin in July 2009. (Image credit: NASA)

Engineers at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., have completed a series of tests on a key component of the J-2X engine. The J-2X powers the upper stage of the Ares I rocket, which will launch human explorers to the International Space Station and to the moon.

The test on Aug. 15 was the last of 20 in this series, concluding the second of four planned sets of tests on the J-2X's workhorse gas generator, the driver for the turbopumps which start the engine.

The gas generator test program is designed to demonstrate the component's performance, durability and combustion environment, and to reduce risk in the design, fabrication and operation of flight hardware. The third phase of testing will begin in July 2009. The J-2X's workhorse gas generator is fabricated by Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif.

The primary objectives achieved in this series of tests were to regulate ignition timing and address stability issues in the gas chamber. During engine start, a pressurized helium system begins to turn the turbopumps, which draw liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants into the system. The propellants flow into the generator's combustion chamber, where they are sparked into life by pyrotechnic igniters installed in the side of the main combustion chamber.

Once combustion is initiated, hot gases flow into the turbine. The combustion gas provided by the generator drives the turbomachinery, which delivers high pressure propellants to the main injector during the J-2X burn. This testing allows engineers to address stability issues that can arise during operation of the combustion chamber and will allow engineers to develop a clean design for the J-2X engine.

Beginning in 2015, the Ares I rocket will carry the Orion crew capsule and as many as six astronauts and small payloads to the International Space Station. During the first two-and-a-half minutes of flight, the first stage booster will power the vehicle to an altitude of about 189,000 feet, or 36 miles, at a speed of Mach 4.8. After its propellant is spent, the reusable booster will separate, and the upper stage's J-2X engine will ignite -- powering the Orion to low Earth orbit at an altitude of about 425,328 feet, or roughly 80 miles.

The workhorse gas generator test series is an essential step in development of the J-2X engine. More than 50 tests have been performed on the generator to date. This generator was manufactured to be more durable than the generators that will be used in the J-2X engine, allowing it to withstand numerous tests.

NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston manages NASA's Constellation Program, which includes development of the Ares I rocket, the Ares V heavy launch vehicle for cargo launcher, the Orion crew capsule, and the Altair lunar lander. Marshall manages Ares projects for the agency.

posted September 09, 2008 10:14 PM               

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Contracted to Provide Additional J-2X Testing

NASA has awarded Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne a contract change to provide additional sea-level and simulated-altitude ground tests for the J-2X rocket engine. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is a United Technologies Corp. company.

Under the revised contract, engineers will conduct an additional 38 sea-level and 27 simulated-altitude tests on the J-2X engine at Stennis Space Center. The additional testing will increase data accuracy and reliability for development of the J-2X engine, which will power the new Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles. NASA's Ares vehicles will carry future astronauts to the International Space Station and the moon. Testing is expected to begin in late 2010.

"This contract will allow us to move from the development stage to the certification stage with a more mature engine design," said John Vilja, J-2X program manager, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. "Our goal is provide 100 percent mission success for the future Ares I and V launch vehicles."

The simulated-altitude ground tests will be conducted in a NASA test stand being built at Stennis Space Center specifically for the J-2X engine. The new test stand will allow engineers to simulate conditions at altitudes up to 100,000 feet by generating steam to reduce pressure in the test cell.

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Inc., a part of Pratt & Whitney, is a preferred provider of high-value propulsion, power, energy and innovative system solutions used in a wide variety of government and commercial applications, including the main engines for the space shuttle, Atlas and Delta launch vehicles, missile defense systems and advanced hypersonic engines.

Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and building industries.