WEST PALM BEACH, Fla.: Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne marked the 400th RL10 rocket engine to power a payload into space with the launch of an Atlas V rocket at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., today. The RL10 engine powered the upper stage of Atlas V and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne also provided the rocket’s RD-180 engine as part of the company’s RD AMROSS joint venture. Pratt & Whitney is a United Technologies Corp. company.
The United Launch Alliance Atlas V launch vehicle launched a Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) communications satellite that will provide U.S. and allied forces with vital information and improved support capability.
“Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is proud to be a key part of the Atlas V team that is supporting our armed forces with this launch,” said Jim Maus, director, expendable propulsion systems, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. “We are also pleased to reach a milestone in the RL10 program that is testament to the reliability and longevity of the RL10 engine and to the dedication of our employees toward mission success.”
2009 marks the 46th year of flight by the RL10 engine, the world’s first liquid-hydrogen fueled rocket engine. The RL10 has placed more than 163 military, government and commercial satellites into orbit and powered historic space missions to nearly every planet in our solar system. The engines have accumulated a record 734 in-space firings and over 2.2 million seconds of ground and flight operating time. The RL10 is in production for service on the latest versions of the Atlas and Delta launch vehicles.
“Today’s successful launch serves as a tribute to the exceptional levels of commitment of the RD AMROSS team and adds to the on-going success of the ULA Atlas V program using the RD-180 booster engine,” said Len Dest, president and CEO, RD AMROSS.
The RD-180 delivers nearly 1 million pounds of thrust, and continues to be flight proven with 100 percent mission success for 21 consecutive launches. The RD-180 is the only liquid oxygen-kerosene fueled engine with an oxygen-rich staged combustion cycle flying in the United States today.
RD AMROSS, LLC is a U.S. joint venture between Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and NPO Energomash of Khimky, Russia. NPO Energomash manufactures the RD-180 for RD AMROSS, and is a world leader in designing, manufacturing, testing and providing services for liquid propulsion rocket engines.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Inc., a part of Pratt & Whitney, is a preferred provider of high-value propulsion, power, energy and innovative system solutions used in a wide variety of government and commercial applications, including the main engines for the space shuttle, Atlas and Delta launch vehicles, missile defense systems and advanced hypersonic engines.
Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines. United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., is a diversified company providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and commercial building industries.
