And The Winner Is...
NASA
told ANN Monday it has signed a $1.2 billion contract with Pratt
and Whitney Rocketdyne Inc. for the design, development, testing
and evaluation of the J-2X engine that will power the upper stages
of the Ares I and Ares V launch vehicles.
The contract includes ground and test flight engines. It
continues work that began on June 2, 2006 under a preliminary
letter contract with Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne. NASA awarded the
cost-plus-award fee contract to Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne on a
sole-source basis, NASA determined that no other existing
capability meets its architecture requirements and is able to be
extended to future exploration missions to the moon and beyond.
The contract performance period extends through December 31,
2012. Engines for operational missions will be purchased through a
separate contract.
The J-2X is an evolved version of two historic engines: the J-2
engine that propelled the Apollo-era Saturn IB and Saturn V
rockets, and the J-2S, a simplified version of the J-2 that was
developed and tested in the early 1970s. Pratt and Whitney
Rocketdyne designed and developed both the J-2 and the J-2S and has
been responsible for producing, refurbishing and improving them.
The J-2X engine will incorporate significant upgrades to meet
higher performance and reliability requirements for the Ares
vehicles.
Ares I is an in-line, two-stage rocket that will transport the
Orion crew exploration vehicle to low Earth orbit. Orion will
accommodate as many as six astronauts. The first stage will consist
of a single reusable solid propellant rocket booster similar to
those used on the space shuttle, with an additional fifth segment.
The second, or upper, stage will consist of a J-2X liquid oxygen-
and liquid hydrogen-fueled main engine and a new upper stage fuel
tank.
Ares V will enable NASA to launch a variety of science and
exploration payloads, as well as key components needed to go to the
moon and later to Mars. Ares V, a heavy lift launch vehicle, will
use five RS-68 liquid oxygen- and liquid hydrogen-fueled engines
mounted below a larger version of the space shuttle's external tank
and two five-segment solid propellant rocket boosters for the first
stage. The upper stage will use the same J-2X engine as the Ares
I.
The J-2X upper stage engine is managed by NASA's Marshall Space
Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., for NASA's Constellation
Program.