NASA, Aerojet and Orbital Sciences Corp. tested the second AJ26 flight engine that will power the first stage of Orbital’s Taurus II launch vehicle.
The Taurus II medium-class system is being developed to launch payloads of up to 10,000 pounds into orbit for civilian and military customers.
The test Monday at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi follows two previous successful tests at the end of last year.
The vehicle is powered by Aerojet’s AJ26 engine, which is a staged-combustion LO2/Kerosene engine that achieves high power in a small, light package.
The test, conducted yesterday afternoon at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, follows the successful acceptance tests conducted on Engine 1 in November and December 2010. Following the test, Engines 1 and 2 will be delivered to the Wallops Flight Facility launch site in Virginia for integration into the Taurus II first-stage core, as a main engine assembly.
The Taurus II medium-class system is being developed to launch payloads of up to 10,000 pounds into orbit for civilian and military customers.
The test Monday at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi follows two previous successful tests at the end of last year.
The vehicle is powered by Aerojet’s AJ26 engine, which is a staged-combustion LO2/Kerosene engine that achieves high power in a small, light package.
The test, conducted yesterday afternoon at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, follows the successful acceptance tests conducted on Engine 1 in November and December 2010. Following the test, Engines 1 and 2 will be delivered to the Wallops Flight Facility launch site in Virginia for integration into the Taurus II first-stage core, as a main engine assembly.
