Aerojet Rocketdyne Wraps Up Historic Year
- Company’s propulsion enabled significant firsts for nation’s aerospace and defense industry
- Innovation in additive manufacturing enables cost savings & design flexibility
- Focus on affordability and efficiency have helped to drive strong top line growth and margin improvement in the first 9 months of 2018 (4th quarter results not yet available)
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Dec. 20, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- From 100% mission success on Delta and Atlas launches, to propelling spacecraft to the Sun and Mars, and modernizing our nation’s defense, Aerojet Rocketdyne continued to make history. Here’s a look back at some key successes from the past year.
Preparing for the Next Era of Space Flight, Pushing the Boundaries of Space
- Successfully
fired the AR-22 rocket engine an unprecedented 10 times in 10 days, demonstrating the feasibility
of a reusable spaceplane capable of high-tempo flight operations.
- Powered every
phase of NASA’s Mars InSight lander’s journey to
the red planet – launch, cruise, entry and landing. All eight
successful landings on Mars have relied on Aerojet Rocketdyne
propulsion.
- NASA’s Parker Solar
Probe, launched with our
RS-68A and RL10 engines, is using Aerojet Rocketdyne’s propulsion system
to enable the probe’s 7-year journey to within 6.2 million kilometers of
the Sun’s surface -- eight times closer than the previous record.
- Aerojet Rocketdyne provided all 28 rocket
engines on OSIRIS-REx, the asteroid sample-return
probe that recently arrived at Asteroid Bennu. In addition to powering the
launch vehicle’s main and second stages, Aerojet Rocketdyne is providing
critical in-space propulsion. Our thrusters enabled braking maneuvers to
support the arrival, and will maneuver the spacecraft during its year of
close-proximity science operations, and enable its journey back to
Earth’s orbit.
- Announced contracts in April and May that assure the
RL10 cryogenic upper stage engine, variants of which have
been operating for more than 50 years, will continue flying on two new
rockets intended for U.S. government and commercial customers. Future
versions will integrate additively manufactured components to enhance
affordability and maintain reliability.
- Continued to
make progress in moving toward first launch of NASA’s Space Launch
System, as well as building an inventory of RS-25 main
engine components including new, upgraded flight
controllers for the first four flights of the heavy-lift rocket. Among
other modernized RS-25 components being qualified is a main
combustion chamber fabricated using “hot isostatic pressing,” that
improves reliability while reducing costs, and an additively manufactured
Pogo accumulator assembly.
In addition, we completed initial qualification testing of the jettison
motors and reaction control system for the Orion spacecraft.
- Delivered 12 control thrusters for Boeing’s Starliner crew module, which is designed to transport astronauts to low-Earth orbit destinations. Aerojet Rocketdyne-supplied MR-104J thrusters, each delivering 100 pounds of thrust, will be used to orient the spacecraft during atmospheric re-entry.
Supporting our Warfighters, Providing for a Modern Defense
- Successfully
tested a new dual-mode ramjet/scramjet engine, that when combined with a gas
turbine engine as part of a turbine-based combined cycle propulsion system,
may provide the capability to propel a vehicle from a standstill into the
hypersonic flight regime of Mach 5 or higher and back
again.
- Completed two hot-fire tests of
an advanced tactical booster conditioned
to mimic extreme cold- and hot-soak conditions for air-launch application.
The solid rocket motors, designed to accelerate a vehicle during its
initial phase of flight, were tested at extreme temperatures to verify they
will perform as expected across the full range of anticipated operational
conditions.
- Aerojet Rocketdyne was awarded a Phase I contract to develop a
prototype torpedo propulsion system. The Torpedo Advanced
Propulsion System program’s goal is to improve the engine efficiency of
the U.S. Navy’s MK48 Heavyweight Torpedo.
- Announced
$50
million expansion plan for our Solid Rocket Motor Center of
Excellence in Camden, Arkansas. Infrastructure improvements and
additional hiring will enable an increase in the volume of solid rocket
motors produced at the site for tactical and missile defense systems, and
provide the capability to build large solid rocket motors in Camden for our
nation’s strategic defense requirements.
- Supported
multiple flight tests of Raytheon’s Standard Missile-3 Block IIA
guided missile system, designed to further prove the effectiveness
of the larger and faster SM-3 Block IIA variant in intercepting a medium
range ballistic missile. Two recent tests conducted in October and December within 60 days
of each other underscored the reliability of our booster and Throttling
Divert and Attitude Control System.
- Successfully
completed hot fire
altitude testing of our Divert and Attitude Control System
Center Manifold for the Missile Defense Agency’s Redesigned Kill
Vehicle. The test validated Aerojet Rocketdyne’s unique technology and
marked a major milestone.
- An upgraded insensitive explosive was successfully tested to support the Mk-82 500-lb. and Mk-83 1,000-lb. general purpose bombs. The explosive provides the same lethality as the current PBXN-109 explosive, but has characteristics that make it less susceptible to unintended detonation, making both warheads much safer to store and handle.
For more on the exciting space and defense missions Aerojet Rocketdyne has supported this year, and to follow along while we make history in 2019, see www.rocket.com.
About Aerojet Rocketdyne: Aerojet Rocketdyne, a subsidiary of Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:AJRD), is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader that provides propulsion systems and energetics to the space, missile defense and strategic systems, and tactical systems areas, in support of domestic and international customers. For more information, visit www.Rocket.com and www.AerojetRocketdyne.com. Follow Aerojet Rocketdyne and CEO Eileen Drake on Twitter at @AerojetRdyne and @DrakeEileen.
Cautionary Note Regarding
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release
contains “forward-looking statements” as that term is defined in the
U.S. Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. No forward-looking
statement can be guaranteed, and actual results or outcomes may differ
materially from those projected depending on a number of risks,
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not clearly historical in nature are forward-looking and the words
“will,” “anticipate,” “believe,” “expect,” “estimate,”
“plan,” and similar expressions are generally intended to identify
forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this press
release should be evaluated together with the many factors that affect the
company’s business as described in more detail in Aerojet Rocketdyne
Holdings, Inc.’s annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly reports on Form
10-Q and current reports on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and
Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statement made by us in this press
release is based only on information currently available to us and speaks
only as of the date on which it is made. We undertake no obligation to
publicly update any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new
information, future developments or otherwise.
Media Contact:
Eileen Lainez: (571)
236-4091
Eileen.Lainez@rocket.com