Engine is the first to be fully assembled at Kennedy Space
Center
Rocketdyne Propulsion and Power, a business unit of The Boeing
Company, recently completed the build-up and avionics testing of
engine 2058, the first Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) fully
assembled at Kennedy Space Center. This week, in the SSME
Processing Facility, technicians hoisted the more than 7,500-pound
engine from its vertical work stand into a horizontal position in
preparation for shipment to NASA’s Stennis Space Center in
Mississippi to undergo a hot fire acceptance test.
Historically, SSMEs were built and assembled at Rocketdyne
facilities in Canoga Park, Calif., with post-flight inspections
performed at KSC. Both functions were consolidated in
February 2002. Engine 2058 is the first of five engines to be fully
assembled on site, to reach the desired number of 15 SSMEs ready
for launch at any given time in the Space Shuttle Program.
“Our team is
certainly proud of the fact that this engine, the first to be fully
assembled at KSC, will be part of our near-term Shuttle fleet and a
major player in support of NASA’s Return to Flight efforts in
2005,” noted Mike Cosgrove, Rocketdyne flow manager.
“It’s a major achievement for us and we’re
pleased to continue to deliver a quality product to the
customer.”
Processing and assembly work began in February. The engine
reached its first major milestone in April when the powerhead unit,
a main component of the engine, was mated to the Main Combustion
Chamber. The engine is scheduled for shipping later this month and
will return to KSC following acceptance testing. Engine 2058 is
currently slated for orbiter Atlantis on the STS-115 mission,
currently set for no earlier than September 2005.
"The transfer of SSME assembly operations to KSC has enabled the
reduction of infrastructure at Rocketdyne's Canoga Park facility,
and enhancement of engine processing capability at KSC,” said
Gene Goldman, SSME project manager at NASA’s Marshall Space
Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. “The transfer provides a
workload-leveling capability for the KSC engine workforce and
consolidation of operations at Canoga Park. This arrangement has
provided a 'win-win' for both locations.”
Each Space Shuttle employs three reusable main engines. Each is
14 feet long, with a 7.5-foot-diameter nozzle, generating
almost 400,000 pounds of thrust. The Rocketdyne Propulsion and
Power division of The Boeing Company manufactures the engines for
NASA.