[meteorite-list] Beating Heart of J-2x Engine Finishes Year of Successful NASA Tests

[Ron Baalke]

Dec. 14, 2012

Rachel Kraft 
NASA Headquarters, Washington 
202-358-1100 
rachel.h.kraft at nasa.gov 

Kim Henry 
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala. 
256-544-0034 
kimberly.h.henry at nasa.gov 

Rebecca Strecker 
Stennis Space Center, Bay St. Louis, Miss. 
228-688-3249 
rebecca.a.strecker at nasa.gov 

RELEASE: 12-436

BEATING HEART OF J-2X ENGINE FINISHES YEAR OF SUCCESSFUL NASA TESTS

WASHINGTON -- NASA on Thursday took another step toward human 
exploration of new destinations in the solar system. At the agency's 
Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, engineers conducted the final 
test-firing of the J-2X powerpack assembly, an important component of 
America's next heavy-lift rocket. 

The J-2X engine is the first human-rated liquid oxygen and liquid 
hydrogen engine developed in the United States in decades. Designed 
and built by NASA and industry partner Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of 
Canoga Park, Calif., the engine will power the upper stage of NASA's 
143-ton (130-metric-ton) Space Launch System (SLS) rocket. The 
powerpack is a system of components on top of the engine that feeds 
propellants to the bell nozzle of the engine to produce thrust. 

"The determination and focus by teams at NASA's Marshall Space Flight 
Center and Stennis on designing and perfecting the J-2X engine helps 
show the great strides of progress made on the overall program," said 
SLS Program Manager Todd May. "We are inspired to stay the course and 
pursue our goal of exploring deep space and traveling farther than 
ever before." 

The powerpack was worked out separately from the engine to more 
thoroughly test its limits. It also can be operated under a wider 
range of conditions. The tests provide a trove of data to compare 
with analytical predictions of the performance of several parts in 
the turbopump and flexible ducts. 

"These tests at Stennis are similar to doctor-ordered treadmill tests 
for a person's heart," said Tom Byrd, J-2X engine lead in the SLS 
Liquid Engines Office at Marshall in Huntsville, Ala. "The engineers 
who designed and analyze the turbopumps inside the powerpack are like 
our doctors, using sensors installed in the assembly to monitor the 
run over a wide range of stressful conditions. We ran the assembly 
tests this year for far longer than the engine will run during a 
mission to space, and acquired a lot of valuable information that 
will help us improve the development of the J-2X engine." 

The powerpack assembly burned millions of pounds of propellants during 
a series of 13 tests totaling more than an hour and a half in 2012. 
The testing team set several records for hot-firing duration at 
Stennis test stands during the summer. NASA engineers will remove the 
assembly from the test stand to focus on tests of the fully 
integrated engine. Installation on a test stand at Stennis will begin 
in 2013. 

The SLS will launch NASA's Orion spacecraft and other payloads from 
the agency's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, providing an entirely 
new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. The 
program is managed at Marshall. 

For more information about the J-2X engine and NASA's Space Launch 
System, including links to video and images of Thursday's test, 
visit: 

http://www.nasa.gov/sls 
	
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