Energy News  
MOON DAILY
Aerojet Rocketdyne completes its propulsion for NASA's Artemis II mission
by Staff Writers
El Segundo CA (SPX) Jul 21, 2020

Aerojet Rocketdyne's flight-proven RL10 engine will power the upper stage of NASA's new Space Launch System deep space exploration rocket during the Artemis II mission that will carry astronauts around the Moon. The RL10 is built and tested at Aerojet Rocketdyne's facility in West Palm Beach, Florida.

Aerojet Rocketdyne recently completed all of its propulsion hardware for the first crewed flight of NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket and Orion spacecraft. The engines and motors, which Aerojet Rocketdyne produces at its major space operations sites across the country, will support NASA's Artemis II mission.

The Artemis II mission is the second flight of SLS and Orion and the first to send an astronaut crew to fly around the Moon.

"These are very exciting times for both NASA and the nation," said Eileen Drake, Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and president. "The United States is sending humans beyond low Earth orbit for the first time in nearly 50 years, and we are traveling even farther with Artemis than we did with Apollo."

Four Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-25 engines collectively provide two million pounds of thrust to power the core stage of SLS, the world's most powerful rocket. The company completed upgrading the Artemis II RS-25 engines with advanced components and controllers in November 2019. Engine assembly and testing was completed at Aerojet Rocketdyne's facility at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, and all four engines are ready for integration with the Artemis II core stage.

Aerojet Rocketdyne's RL10 engine powers the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS), or the second stage, of the SLS. This engine provides the power to accelerate the Orion spacecraft to speeds over 24,000 miles per hour and set it on a course for the Moon. Design, manufacture, assembly and test of the RL10 engine for the Artemis II mission took place at Aerojet Rocketdyne's West Palm Beach facility in Florida. The engine is ready for installation on the ICPS being manufactured by Boeing and United Launch Alliance in Decatur, Alabama.

Aerojet Rocketdyne provides a number of propulsion systems for the Lockheed Martin-built Orion crew module and the European Service Module that will be used on the Artemis II mission. The biggest of these is the jettison motor which generates 40,000 pounds of thrust for the Launch Abort System (LAS).

The jettison motor pulls the LAS off the crew module during both nominal operations and abort modes. Qualification testing was conducted at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama, and assembly of the Artemis II motor was completed in October 2019 at Aerojet Rocketdyne's facility in Orange, Virginia, and delivered to Lockheed Martin in February 2020.

Once in space, the Orion Main Engine (OME) on the service module will maneuver the spacecraft. Aerojet Rocketdyne is the original manufacturer of the OME, which was originally built and used for the space shuttle program. In March 2019, Aerojet Rocketdyne provided key valve and thermal components to NASA to complete the refurbishment of the Artemis II OME.

Also aboard Orion, Aerojet Rocketdyne is responsible for eight auxiliary engines on the service module and 12 reaction control thrusters on the crew module. The auxiliary engines, built in Redmond, Washington, each generate 110 pounds of thrust to provide position control while backing up the OME for required thrust. They were provided in March 2019 to Lockheed Martin for shipment to Europe for integration into the service module.

The reaction control system thrusters, also built in Redmond, each generating 160 pounds of thrust, will be used to control and properly orient the Orion crew module during its atmospheric reentry. Those thrusters were delivered in March 2020.

"The Artemis II mission will be the first time the Space Launch System and Orion will send astronauts into orbit around the Moon, and it is a key precursor to landing the first woman and the next man on the Moon," added Drake. "Aerojet Rocketdyne propulsion systems will play a critical role in making this endeavor a reality."


Related Links
Aerojet Rocketdyne
Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com
Lunar Dreams and more


Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only


MOON DAILY
Russia's Trailblazing Lunar Lander Mission to be Launch-Tested With US Equipment
Moscow (Sputnik) Jul 20, 2020
The involvement of foreign countries in the ambitious Russian lunar mission is not limited to testing equipment. A lunar mass spectrometer manufactured jointly with Switzerland will be installed on board the Luna-25 to study probes of lunar soil. The launch readiness of equipment installed on Luna-25, the first lunar lander mission from the Russian Federal Space Agency (Roscosmos) in the country's modern history, is to be assessed with the help of US and European equipment, according to the procur ... read more

Comment using your Disqus, Facebook, Google or Twitter login.



Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

MOON DAILY
New corporate initiatives aim for carbon neutrality

Delayed and downsized, but will Tokyo Olympics be greener?

Wealthier in U.S. have larger carbon footprints, energy use survey shows

Energy majors 'spend 90%' on fossil fuels despite climate pledges

MOON DAILY
New room-temperature liquid-metal battery could be the path to powering the future

Japan considers mothballing old coal-fired power plants

Lose weight of fusion reactor component

Simulation of high-pressure plasma for an economical helical fusion reactor

MOON DAILY
Trust me if you can

Ingeteam's advanced simulation models to ease wind power grid integration

Magnora ASA and Kustvind AB accelerate development of 500 MW offshore wind project in southern Sweden

Maryland offshore wind farm could become stop-over for migrating sturgeon, striped bass

MOON DAILY
Renewables now EU's biggest source of electricity: study

Pressure suppresses carrier trapping in 2D halide perovskite

NREL research points to strategies for recycling of solar panels

Princeton chemists resolve origin of perovskite instability

MOON DAILY
Framatome delivers first fuel reload to the largest power producer in the US

Framatome partners with Siteflow to support maintenance and operations digitization at nuclear facilities

Reducing radioactive waste in processes to dismantle nuclear facilities

Reducing the costs of nuclear power

MOON DAILY
Love-hate relationship of solvent and water leads to better biomass breakup

Milking algae mechanically: Progress to succeed petroleum derived chemicals

Coconut oil may be worse than palm oil for the environment

Algae as living biocatalysts for a green industry

MOON DAILY
US Navy carries out second 'freedom of navigation' op off Venezuela coast

Nigeria gunmen abduct 4 Chinese workers, kill policeman

Greek navy on 'heightened readiness' over Turkish activities

Black waters: Oil spills pollute northeast Syria creeks

MOON DAILY
'Climate refugee' complex for 4,500 Bangladeshi families

Using techniques from astrophysics, researchers can forecast drought up to ten weeks ahead

Sweden, a flawed climate awareness pioneer

Satellite images show Europe facing droughts









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.