The J-2X engine, developed for NASA by Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., is the first element of NASA's Constellation Program to pass this design milestone. The engine will power the upper stage of NASA's nexgen Ares I rocket and the Earth departure stage of the Ares V heavy cargo launch vehicle. The Constellation Program is responsible for developing this new fleet of rockets, as well as the Orion crew capsule and the Altair lunar lander that will send explorers to the International Space Station, the moon and beyond. The critical design review demo'd the maturity of the engine's design and concluded that the planned technical approach meets NASA's requirements for propulsion of the Ares I upper stage. Full-scale testing will begin in the fall of 2010.
Satnews Daily
November 15th, 2008
Engine For Ares I Upper Stage Passes Design Review
NASA's newest high-performance rocket engine, the J-2X, successfully completed its critical design review Thursday at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.
The J-2X engine, developed for NASA by Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., is the first element of NASA's Constellation Program to pass this design milestone. The engine will power the upper stage of NASA's nexgen Ares I rocket and the Earth departure stage of the Ares V heavy cargo launch vehicle. The Constellation Program is responsible for developing this new fleet of rockets, as well as the Orion crew capsule and the Altair lunar lander that will send explorers to the International Space Station, the moon and beyond. The critical design review demo'd the maturity of the engine's design and concluded that the planned technical approach meets NASA's requirements for propulsion of the Ares I upper stage. Full-scale testing will begin in the fall of 2010.
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The J-2X engine, developed for NASA by Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., is the first element of NASA's Constellation Program to pass this design milestone. The engine will power the upper stage of NASA's nexgen Ares I rocket and the Earth departure stage of the Ares V heavy cargo launch vehicle. The Constellation Program is responsible for developing this new fleet of rockets, as well as the Orion crew capsule and the Altair lunar lander that will send explorers to the International Space Station, the moon and beyond. The critical design review demo'd the maturity of the engine's design and concluded that the planned technical approach meets NASA's requirements for propulsion of the Ares I upper stage. Full-scale testing will begin in the fall of 2010.