Electric Propulsion Module for NASA's Gateway Station Tested at Full Power

Aerojet Rocketdyne and NASA recently demonstrated an Advanced Electric Propulsion System (AEPS) thruster at full power for the first time, achieving an important program milestone. Aerojet Rocketdyne-developed AEPS thrusters are slated to be used on the Power and Propulsion Element of NASA’s Gateway, the agency’s orbiting lunar outpost for robotic and human exploration operations in deep space.

The state-of-the-art AEPS Hall thruster operated at 12.5 kilowatts (kW) as part of its final conditioning sequence during testing at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, California. The thruster demonstrated stable operation at power levels ranging from 4.2 kW to 12.5 kW. Full electric propulsion thruster string integration will take place early next year.

“Our AEPS thruster has demonstrated the high levels of power needed to operate the Power and Propulsion Element, and by extension, the entire Gateway,” said Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake. “With a successful full power test complete, Aerojet Rocketdyne is ready for the next phase of our advanced electric propulsion system in support of NASA’s Artemis program.”

The Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element is a high-power solar electric propulsion spacecraft capable of producing 60 kW – which is three times more powerful than current capabilities. Two Aerojet Rocketdyne AEPS thruster strings will be employed on the spacecraft. Each string is comprised of a Xenon Hall thruster, a power processing unit that controls the electric power to the thruster, and a Xenon flow controller which controls the flow of Xenon to the thruster.

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ESA Tests 5 kilowatt Ion Drive

European Space Propulsion (ESP), a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: AJRD), successfully completed testing of a five-kilowatt Hall Thruster with a Power Processing Unit (PPU) supplied by Thales Alenia Space (TAS) Belgium. The test programme was successfully conducted in the UK, and marks the first time a flight-proven five-kilowatt class Hall Thruster has been tested with a European-manufactured PPU. The achievement of this test being completed in less time than allocated was a reflection on the robustness of the design and the understanding and expertise of the team.

ESP, a UK-registered company located in Belfast focused on providing in-space chemical and electric propulsion products for the European space market, was awarded a contract valued at approximately €11 million from the European Space Agency (ESA) in March 2015 for the flight qualification of the five-kilowatt XR-5E Hall Thruster, under the ESA Advanced Research in Telecommunications Systems (ARTES) initiative, with targeted application on telecommunication satellites.

ESP is in the process of transferring production capability of the industry-leading XR-5 thruster, the only flight-proven five-kilowatt Hall Effect Thruster, from parent company Aerojet Rocketdyne. ESP will develop the XR-5E, building upon the proven satellite integration experience and extensive flight heritage of the XR 5 product line. The programme includes establishment of a lower-cost electric propulsion design, manufacturing and testing capability that takes advantage of the strong Northern Ireland engineering and business environment. ESP is also developing a new Thermo-Throttle based Xenon Flow Controller (XFC) that will be combined with the Belfast-built thruster to provide a strong offering into the expanding European market. The completion of the PPU coupling test with the XR-5 is the first major milestone to be completed under the ARTES programme.

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Aerojet Rocketdyne's AR-1 Rocket Engine Passes Design Milestone

Aerojet Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc., announced it completed a key design milestone for its AR1 rocket engine this week. AR1 is an American-made engine that is being developed as a direct replacement for the Russian-made RD-180 engines that currently power launches of the majority of national security satellites to orbit for the U.S. government.

“This is one of the most important design reviews the program will undergo during its development,” said Julie Van Kleeck, vice president of Advanced Space & Launch Programs at Aerojet Rocketdyne. “As the only company domestically producing large liquid rocket engines, we apply rigorous design reviews as part of our overall development program, minimizing risk and helping ensure that we will meet the delivery schedule on a program of such national significance as AR1.”

“United Launch Alliance and Aerojet Rocketdyne have enjoyed a long relationship that spans decades,” said United Launch Alliance President and CEO, Tory Bruno. “Aerojet Rocketdyne continues to be a valued supplier and is making excellent progress on the AR1 engine development.”

Aerojet Rocketdyne’s stringent design, model, test and review process is essential for an engine developed to launch our nation’s most important national security space assets. During this design review, each of the 18 components and subsystems on the AR1 engine were thoroughly analyzed to ensure that each works properly and that once integrated, will function together seamlessly. With this review successfully completed, the company will continue with AR1 development in preparation for full-scale engine testing in 2017, and delivery of a flight-qualified engine ready for certification by 2019.

To date, AR1 has undergone more than 155 staged-combustion tests, built and successfully hot-fire tested additively manufactured components, conducted turbomachinery and valve tests, and began procurements for long-lead items.

“Our experience and proven track record of delivering highly reliable large liquid rocket engines, like the RS-25 for NASA’s Space Launch System and the RS-68 for the Delta IV launch vehicle, protects U.S. national security,” said Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake. “We have achieved every milestone in our AR1 schedule to be ready for 2019 – we have in place the production facilities, tools, equipment, supply base and, most importantly, highly skilled employees to manufacture the AR1 engine to meet the national security needs of our nation.”

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Aerojet Rocketdyne Wins $200 Million Contract for Boeing CST-100 Starliner Rocket Engines

Aerojet Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc., has signed a contract with Boeing valued at nearly $200 million that supports a new era of spaceflight – one that will carry humans to the International Space Station (ISS) from American soil once again. Under its Commercial Crew Transportation Capability (CCtCap) subcontract to Boeing, Aerojet Rocketdyne is completing the design, development, qualification, certification and initial production of the Crew Space Transportation (CST)-100 “Starliner” service module propulsion system.

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Aerojet Rocketdyne Wins $1.16 Billion Contract to Modernize, Simplify Shuttle Engine for Space Launch System

NASA selected Aerojet Rocketdyne of Sacramento, California, to restart production of the RS-25 engine for the agency’s Space Launch System (SLS), the most powerful rocket in the world, and deliver a certified engine. SLS will use four RS-25 engines to carry the agency’s Orion spacecraft and launch explorers on deep space missions, including to an asteroid placed in lunar orbit and ultimately to Mars.

Part of NASA’s strategy to minimize costs of developing the SLS rocket was to leverage the assets, capabilities, and experience of the Space Shuttle Program, so the first four missions will be flown using 16 existing shuttle engines that have been upgraded.

Under the $1.16 billion contract, Aerojet Rocketdyne will modernize the space shuttle heritage engine to make it more affordable and expendable for SLS. The contract runs November 2015 and continues through Sept. 30, 2024.

The new RS-25 engine developed under this contract will have fewer parts and welds and will be certified to a higher operational thrust level. The new engine benefits from improvements in materials and manufacturing techniques such as five-axis milling machines, 3-D manufacturing and digital X-rays.

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Boeing: We're not Selling United Launch Alliance

Two senior Boeing executives, speaking Sept. 16 at conferences on separate continents, said the company is not seriously considering Aerojet Rocketdyne Holding’s $2 billion offer for United Launch Alliance, the government launch contractor Boeing jointly owns with Lockheed Martin.

“ULA is a huge part of our strategic portfolio going forward along with our satellites and manned space business. This bid we’ve really not spent much time on it at all because we’re focusing on a totally different direction,” Chris Chadwick, president and chief executive officer of Boeing Defense, Space & Security told reporters Sept. 16 at the Air Force Association’s annual technology expo in National Harbor, Maryland.

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Lockheed Wants to Sell United Launch Alliance, Boeing Does NOT

A $2 billion bid for the Pentagon’s primary rocket maker is running into complications, partly because Boeing Co. and Lockheed Martin Corp. differ on whether to sell their equal stakes in the joint venture, according to people familiar with the details.

Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc.’s bid for United Launch Alliance LLC, the joint venture, faces a situation in which Lockheed Martin’s executive suite seems more eager to negotiate a sale as part of a broader, companywide portfolio restructuring, these people said. On the other hand, Boeing’s leadership is more inclined to hang on to its stake, the people said.

After a report of Aerojet Rocketdyne’s bid in The Wall Street Journal jolted the aerospace industry earlier this week, analysts and space experts tried to assess how the company could finance its bid for the larger firm and then pay for development of a new generation of rockets, dubbed Vulcan, largely designed to blast U.S. military, spy and civilian government satellites into orbit.

But on Thursday, much of the focus shifted to questions about why Boeing and Lockheed—considered rivals in a host of other markets but partners in an effort to win a coming deal for a new Air Force bomber—don’t see eye to eye when it comes to divesting themselves of the rocket-making venture.

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Aerojet Offers $2 Billion for the United Launch Alliance

Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. has submitted a $2 billion offer to buy United Launch Alliance (ULA), a spacecraft launch services provider that is a joint venture of Lockheed Martin Corp. and Boeing Co. , according to sources familiar with the matter.

Aerojet Rocketdyne board member Warren Lichtenstein, the chairman and chief executive of Steel Partners LLC, approached ULA President Tory Bruno and senior Lockheed and Boeing executives about the bid in early August, the sources said.

Aerojet Rocketdyne spokesman Glenn Mahone said the company would not comment on any negotiations that it was involved in with any company. Lockheed declined comment. No immediate comment was available from Boeing.

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Aerojet Wants to Take Over Atlas V Rocket Production, Use its AR-1 Rocket Engine

Rocket engine builder Aerojet Rocketdyne, in partnership with two other companies, is interested in obtaining the production and launch rights to United Launch Alliance’s Atlas 5 rocket, currently the mainstay of the U.S. military fleet.

In theory, the consortium would use Aerojet’s AR-1 engine, currently in development, to replace the controversial Russian-made RD-180 engine used on the Atlas 5 today. The consortium includes Dynetics, the Huntsville, Alabama-based engineering company, and Shafer Corp., the Arlington, Virginia-based science and engineering contractor led by former NASA Administrator Mike Griffin.

Denver-based ULA said in a May 11 email to SpaceNews that the company has “no intention of selling or transferring” the Atlas 5 production rights, a move that would create a new competitor in the national security launch market.

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United Launch Alliance Unveils Vulcan Rocket

United Launch Alliance unveiled an incremental approach to replace its workhorse Atlas 5 rocket, an ambitious path forward that ultimately would include a new second stage and, later, reusable first-stage engines that would be captured midair by helicopter after each mission.

The plan would provide a competitive alternative to SpaceX’s low-cost Falcon 9 rocket but entails risk for ULA as it funds a significant development program for as many as nine years as its competition gains momentum.

Tory Bruno, ULA’s president and chief executive, declined to detail the company’s exact investment in the project but suggested that new rockets typically cost about $2 billion to develop, including the main engine. During an April 13 press conference on the eve the 31st Space Symposium here, he said that cost would be borne by ULA and its strategic partners, but that the company would not turn down government money if that becomes available.

The first step in the developing the newly named Vulcan rocket is developing a new first stage featuring the methane-fueled BE-4 engine by Blue Origin of Kent, Washington. ULA is also working with Aerojet Rocketdyne on the AR-1 engine, in case the BE-4 runs into delays.

The program is driven by the requirement to replace the Russian-built RD-180 engine that serves as the main powerplant for ULA’s Atlas 5. Congress imposed a ban on future use of Russian engines in U.S. national security missions following Russia’s annexation of Crimea from Ukraine last year.

In addition to the new engine, the Vulcan’s first stage would feature a stretch version of the tank used on ULA’s Delta 4 rocket, which the company is phasing out in 2018 because it is too expensive. The second stage of the initial Vulcan version, slated to debut around 2019, would feature the same Centaur upper stage and fairing now used on the Atlas 5, Bruno said.

The Vulcan could be augmented by up to six solid rocket boosters, giving it greater lift capability than the largest version of the Atlas 5 but not as much as the Delta 4 Heavy, which features three core stages in a side-by-side configuration. Bruno said he plans to issue a request for proposals within the next 12 months for the large boosters, which would likely be built by either Orbital ATK or Aerojet Rocketdyne.

ULA told the Air Force in February it plans to start two separate U.S. Air Force certification processes for the rocket later this year, one with the BE-4 and one with the AR-1. Certification is required for the Vulcan to carry U.S. national security payloads.

Bruno said ULA’s first choice is the BE-4 but that it continues to fund the AR-1 work as a backup option, and that ULA will make a final decision on in 2016.

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