{"id":18445,"date":"2018-07-11T00:51:30","date_gmt":"2018-07-10T16:51:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/rocket-engine-scores-perfect-10-in-10-day-test-for-phantom-express-space-plane\/"},"modified":"2018-07-11T00:51:30","modified_gmt":"2018-07-10T16:51:30","slug":"rocket-engine-scores-perfect-10-in-10-day-test-for-phantom-express-space-plane","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/rocket-engine-scores-perfect-10-in-10-day-test-for-phantom-express-space-plane\/","title":{"rendered":"Rocket engine scores \u2018perfect 10\u2019 in 10-day test for Phantom Express space plane"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"AR-22
Aerojet Rocketdyne\u2019s AR-22 rocket engine fires during a test at NASA\u2019s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. (NASA \/ DARPA Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

A rocket engine built from spare space shuttle parts \u2014 and the team behind the engine \u2014 passed a grueling 10-day, 10-firing test that sets the stage for Boeing\u2019s Phantom Express military space plane.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe scored a perfect 10 last week,\u201d Jeff Haynes, Aerojet Rocketdyne\u2019s program manager for the AR-22 engine, told reporters today during a teleconference.<\/p>\n

The hydrogen-fueled AR-22 is largely based on the RS-25 engine that was used on the space shuttle and will be used on NASA\u2019s heavy-lift Space Launch System. \u201cWe\u2019ve upgraded the \u2018brain\u2019 for this derivative mission,\u201d using an advanced controller, Haynes said.<\/p>\n

Aerojet, Boeing and the Pentagon\u2019s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, set up the 240-hour test between June 26 and July 6 to see whether the AR-22 could be turned around rapidly enough for a 100-second, full-throttle firing every day. The bottom line? It can.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had 68 minutes to spare when we finished the last test,\u201d Haynes said.<\/p>\n

Along the way, the team had to deal with two direct lightning strikes that damaged the test facility at NASA\u2019s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Engineers also had to work out a procedure to get rid of the moisture that gathered in the engine during firings.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrying to run the engine again without drying that out would lead to catastrophic events,\u201d Haynes said.<\/p>\n

At first, the procedure took about 17 hours, but they eventually got the time down to as little as six hours. During the shuttle program, a similar process took days to accomplish, Haynes said.<\/p>\n

Thanks to the successful test, the Phantom Express program \u2014 also known as the Experimental Spaceplane or XS-1 \u2014 is on track for an initial demonstration flight in 2021, said Steve Johnston, director of launch at Boeing Phantom Works.<\/p>\n