Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, RD AMROSS Power Atlas V Space Test Program Mission
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, RD AMROSS Power Atlas V Space Test Program Mission
WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., March 9 // -- Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR), a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE:UTX) company, and RD AMROSS, LLC, a joint venture formed by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and NPO Energomash, powered the Atlas V launch yesterday from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida. The launch supported the Department of Defense Space Test Program-1 mission.
The Atlas V cryogenic upper stage is powered by PWR's RL10 engine; the booster stage is powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 propulsion system.
"This launch demonstrates the strong capabilities of the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and NPO Energomash propulsion systems, and their versatility to meet a wide range of customer requirements," said Graham Webb, general manager, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Florida and Mississippi operations.
"RD AMROSS is fortunate to have the two world leaders of liquid rocket engines as our joint venture partners, and we are very proud to be a member of the United Launch Alliance Atlas team supporting the U.S. Air Force's Space Test Program," said Jerry Josef, president and CEO, RD AMROSS.
The RD-180 delivers nearly one million pounds of thrust, enabling the Atlas vehicle to have significant performance capability to meet or exceed customer needs. The liquid oxygen-kerosene engine has been extensively flight proven on the Lockheed Martin Atlas III and V launch vehicles. To date, the RD-180 has powered 15 missions with 100 percent mission success.
The RL10 has earned a reputation of being the most reliable, safest and highest-performing upper-stage engine in the world. Created in the 1950s and still operational today, the RL10 has helped place numerous military, civil and commercial satellites into orbit and powered historic space probe missions to every planet in our solar system. The Atlas V Centaur uses an RL10A-4-2 model.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Inc., a part of Pratt & Whitney, offers a complete line of propulsion products for launch vehicles to missile defense to advanced hypersonic propulsion. These have been used in a wide variety of government and commercial applications, including the main engines for the space shuttle, Atlas and Delta launch vehicles, and high altitude defense systems.
RD AMROSS, LLC, is a U.S. joint venture company of 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 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 building industries.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne media relations contacts:
Source: Pratt & Whitney
CONTACT: Nancy Colaguori, +1-561-796-2219, or nancy.colaguori@pw.utc.com, or Bryan Kidder, +1-818-586-2213, or bryan.kidder@pwr.utc.com, both of Pratt & Whitney
Web site: http://www.pratt-whitney.com/
