Sacramento, Calif.-based Aerojet said Sept. 30 it had completed development injector testing for the 7,500-pound thrust Orion main engine (OME) for NASA’s Orion crew exploration vehicle.
The test series, done under contract to Orion prime contractor Lockheed Martin Space Systems of Denver, verified the engine’s combustion stability and provided chamber wall heat flux and injector performance data.
The OME is a pressure-fed, regeneratively cooled bi-propellant engine that is an advanced version of the 6,000-pound thrust Orbital Maneuvering System Engine that Aerojet produced for the space shuttle.