NASA technology (24)

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J-2X — Back in the Saddle Again
NASA – A J-2X power pack assembly burns brightly during a hot fire test Nov. 27 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Engineers pulled the assembly from the test stand in September to install additional instrumentation in the fuel turbopump. The test, which ran for 278 seconds, verified the newly installed strain gauges designed to measure the turbine structural strain when the turbopump is spinning at high speeds that vary between 25,000 and 30,000 rotations-per-minute. The J-2X engine — built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif. — will power the upper stage of NASA’s Space Launch System, managed at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. The new heavy-lift rocket system will launch the Orion spacecraft and enable humans to explore new destinations beyond low Earth orbit Image credit: NASA/SSC

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SPACE WATCH

A Summer of Records for Engine Testing
NASA – As Olympic athletes converge on London with dreams of winning gold in the 2012 Summer Olympic Games, NASA is also setting records while testing the J-2X powerpack at the Stennis Space Center. The first time was June 8, when engineers went the distance and set the Test Complex A record with a 1,150-second firing of the developmental powerpack assembly. On July 24, engineers surpassed that record with a 1,350-second test of the engine component on the A-1 Test Stand at Stennis. The powerpack is a system of components on the top portion of the J-2X engine. On the complete J-2X engine, the powerpack feeds the thrust chamber, which produces the engine fire and thrust. The advantage of testing the powerpack without the thrust chamber is to operate over a wide range of conditions to understand safe limits.

The July 24 test specifically gathered data on performance of the liquid oxygen and fuel pumps during extreme conditions. The test data provides critical information for continued development of the turbopump for use on the J-2X engine, the first human-rated liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen rocket engine to be developed in four decades. The J-2X is being built by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne for NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

The J-2X engine will power the upper-stage of a planned two-stage Space Launch System, or SLS. The SLS will launch NASA’s Orion spacecraft and other payloads, and provide an entirely new capability for human exploration beyond low Earth orbit. Designed to be safe, affordable and flexible for crew and cargo missions, the SLS will continue America’s journey of discovery and exploration to destinations including nearby asteroids, Lagrange points, the moon and ultimately, Mars. Image Credit: NASA/SSC

Space Launch System (4)

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SPACE WATCH

J-2X Test, Control Room Monitoring
NASA – Engineers and technicians in the A-2 Test Control Center at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi monitor activities during a Nov. 9 test of a next-generation J-2X rocket engine. The 500-second test marked an important step in development of an upper stage for NASA’s new heavy-lift Space Launch System. The J-2X engine is being developed for NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif. Image credit: NASA/SSC

Installing RS-25D Engine Into Transportation Canister
Technicians oversee the installation of a Pratt Whitney Rocketdyne RS-25D engine into a transportation canister in the Engine Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The 15 engines used during the Space Shuttle Program will moved to Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi, where they will be stored for future use on NASA’s new deep space heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System. Credit: NASA/KSC

RS-25D Engines at Kennedy’s Engine Processing Facility
RS-25D engines line the wall of the Engine Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, Fla. The 15 engines used during the Space Shuttle Program are being transfered to Stennis Space Center, Miss., where they will be stored for future use on NASA’s new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System, which will carry NASA’s new Orion spacecraft, cargo, equipment and science experiments beyond low-Earth orbit. Credit: NASA/KSC

RS-25D Engine Awaits Shipment at Kennedy Space Center
A RS-25D engine in the Engine Processing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, Fla., is awaiting placement in a transportation canister for shipment to Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi. The 15 RS-25D engines used during the Space Shuttle Program will be stored at Stennis for future use on NASA’s new heavy-lift rocket, the Space Launch System, which will carry NASA’s new Orion spacecraft, cargo, equipment and science experiments beyond low-Earth orbit. Credit: NASA/KSC

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Space Launch System (3)

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SPACE WATCH

J-2X Powerpack on A-2 Test Stand
NASA – Stennis Space Center engineers and technicians watch as the J-2X powerpack is hoisted into place in the A-1 test stand Dec. 5. Image credit: NASA/SSC

 

J-2X Powerpack on the A-1 Test Stand
The J-2X powerpack is installed and ready for testing in the A-1 test stand at the Stennis Space Center. Image credit: NASA/SSC

 

 

J-2X Powerpack on the A-1 Test Stand
Stennis Space Center engineers and technicians install the J-2X powerpack into the A-1 test stand in preparation for testing Dec. 5. Image credit: NASA/SSC

 

Final J-2X Engine Test for 2011
On Dec. 14, NASA engineers conducted their final J-2X engine test for 2011 — the 10th in a series — at the A-2 test stand at the Stennis Space Center. The upper stage engine is a key component of the Space Launch System, a new heavy-lift launch vehicle capable of missions beyond low-Earth orbit. Image credit: NASA/SSC

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Space Launch System (2)

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SPACE WATCH

NASA Tests Deep Space J-2X Rocket Engine                  
NASA – NASA conducted a 40-second test of the J-2X rocket engine Sept. 28, the most recent in a series of tests of the next-generation engine selected as part of the Space Launch System architecture that will once again carry humans into deep space. It was a test at the 99 percent power level to gain a better understanding of start and shutdown systems as well as modifications that had been made from previous test firing results.

The test at NASA’s John C. Stennis Space Center in south Mississippi came just two weeks after the agency announced plans for the new SLS to be powered by core-stage RS-25 D/E and upper-stage J-2X engines. The liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen J-2X is being developed for NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. Image credit: NASA/SSC

Successful J-2X Rocket Engine 500-Second Test
NASA conducted a successful 500-second test firing on the A-2 test stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center. Image credit: NASA/SSC

Successful J-2X Rocket Engine 500-Second Test
NASA conducted a successful 500-second test firing of the J-2X rocket engine on Wednesday, Nov. 9, marking another important step in development of an upper stage for the heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS). Image credit: NASA/SSC

First J-2X Stability Test
During the Dec. 1 80-second duration J-2X test firing, NASA began characterizing the rocket engine’s combustion stability to understand more about the engine’s performance and robustness. Image credit: NASA/Stennis

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