Important Step Towards Development Of J-2X Motor
NASA engineers Thursday successfully completed the first series
of tests in the early development of the J-2X engine that will
power the upper stages of the Ares I and Ares V rockets, key
components of NASA's Constellation Program. Ares I will launch the
Orion spacecraft that will take astronauts to the International
Space Station and then to the moon by 2020. The Ares V will carry
cargo and components into orbit for trips to the moon and later to
Mars.
NASA conducted nine tests of heritage J-2 engine components from
December to May as part of a series designed to verify heritage J-2
performance data and explore performance boundaries.
Engineers at NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, MO,
conducted the tests on a heritage J-2 "powerpack," which, in a
fully assembled engine, pumps liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen
into the engine's main combustion chamber to produce thrust. The
test hardware consisted of J-2 components used from the Apollo
program in the1960s through the X-33 program of the 1990s.
"This series of tests is an important step in development of the
J-2X engine," said Mike Kynard, manager of the upper stage engine
for the Ares Projects at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in
Huntsville, AL. "We started with a number of objectives and
questions we needed answers to as we work to complete designs of
the J-2X engine. The data we have gained will be invaluable as we
continue the design process."
Data obtained from the tests will be used to refine the design
of the J-2X pumps and other engine components to provide the
additional performance required of this new engine. The J-2X engine
is being designed to produce 294,000 pounds of thrust; the original
J-2 -- used to launch the Saturn V moon rockets of the late-1960s
and early-1970s -- produced 230,000 pounds of thrust.
The main objectives of the series were to resolve differences in
heritage turbopump performance data and recent component-level
tests, and investigate vibration and pressure drops through the
turbopump inlet ducts. Tests in the series ran for durations up to
400 seconds and at power levels up to 274,000 pounds of thrust.
After the data from the test series has been reviewed and
objectives met, Stennis will begin readying the test stand for the
next series of tests, said Gary Benton, the J-2X project manager at
Stennis.