AR completes SLS/Orion checks

Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. has completed all propulsion systems checks for the first manned flight of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft for the Artemis II mission to the moon. Aerojet’s four RS-25 engines will provide 2M pounds of thrust to power the core stage of the SLS. The upgrades to the RS-25 engines for Artemis II were completed in November 2019, and following testing at AR’s facility at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, Miss., all four engines have been readied to be integrated with the Artemis II’s core stage. CEO Eileen Drake said that with America sending humans beyond low-Earth orbit for the first time in nearly 50 years, it is exciting times for both the nation and NASA. The RS-25 engine is a staged-combustion engine cycle powered by liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen. The Artemis II mission is a key precursor to landing the first woman and next man on the moon,” Drake said in a media statement. In May, the company won a $1.8B NASA contract to produce an 18 more RS-25 engines for future deep space missions. (Source: San Fernando Valley Business Journal 07/20/20)