Rolls-Royce has formally opened a new outdoor jet engine testing facility at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

This new facility will be used to test development and prototype jet engines for performance, noise, validation of safety systems and other factors. Initially, it will test the company’s latest, high-thrust Trent engines, the Trent 1000 and Trent 900, being developed for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and Airbus A380 respectively. This is the first Rolls-Royce test facility of its kind outside the UK and the first built from the ground-up in the US. There are only three such testing facilities in the world. Including business yet to be announced, orders have been placed for over 600 Trent 1000 engines by 18 operators and five leasing companies - approximately half the Boeing 787 customers who have made an engine decision. Producing a range of thrusts from 53,000 - 75,000lb, a single version of the Trent 1000 will power all variants of the 787: the 787-8, 787-3 and 787-9.

In a ceremony at the new site, representatives from Rolls-Royce and NASA cut a ribbon to officially open the facility. Nearly 150 people, including many state, local and county officials attended the opening ceremony.

Rolls-Royce broke ground at Stennis just over a year ago and to date has spent nearly $42 million on construction and upgrades alone. Twenty employees work at this site with several more scheduled to arrive in the coming months. Rolls-Royce previously conducted its outdoor jet engine testing at Hucknall, UK. Recent population growth however, had made continued testing in that area environmentally unsustainable and in 2005, the company announced its intent to relocate this testing capability from the UK to the US.

James M. Guyette, President & CEO, Rolls-Royce North America, said: “This is an important site doing important work and we’re delighted to open this new facility here in Mississippi, USA. Rolls-Royce has had a wonderful relationship with the people of Mississippi for a number of years now and this new site builds on that partnership.”

FMI: www.rolls-royce.com/trent1000, www.rolls-royce.com/community/environment, www.rolls-royce.com