Aerojet Rocketdyne has completed the assembly of the first AR1 - a new rocket engine, the project of which is funded by the US Air Force. The company plans to supply such engines for medium-class carrier missiles.
Ar1 gathered on the territory of the John Stennis Space Center, Mississippi. "The next step will be testing," said Aerojet's senior vice president Jim Maiser.
The company has developed an engine as a possible replacement for the Russian RD-180, which is used at the first stage of the ATLAS rocket 5. Previously, Congress gave an indication of the Air Force to stop relying on Russian engines, so the service has concluded a contract for the amount of more than 800 million dollars for development, testing and certification AR1. After the Rocket Jewelry Enterprise United Launch Alliance (ULA) decided to use another engine for its new rocket, the BE-4 Blue Origin, the contract reduced to 350 million.
After defeat, the deal with ULA Aerojet Rocketdyne continued the development of AR1 and hopes to receive contracts in the future. Previously, the company signed an agreement with the American-Ukrainian startup Firefly Aerospace on the possible use of the AR1 engine for a promising carrier rocket.
Firefly, recall, now leads work on several rocket projects. The company is developing the oxygen-kerosene Firefly Alpha and a more powerful Firefly Beta, which can get AR1.
It is assumed that US cosmic forces will be the key driver driver. Last year, they began to study the next-generation launch vehicle market and can consider investing in new medium-class media. According to analysts, it is possible to attract private investors.
It is important to note that Aerojet Rocketdyne is in the process of acquiring Lockheed Martin. None of the companies comment on the transaction to affect the future of the promising engine.
Recall, not so long ago, Russia conducted the first fire tests of the LC-171MV liquid engine intended for the Soyuz-5 carrier rocket. According to the previously presented data, the timing of the development of the Soyuz-5 missile complex again shifted: the surrender of the draft design is scheduled for 2021.
Source: Naked Science