SACRAMENTO, Calif., Sept. 16, 2014 -Aerojet Rocketdyne, a GenCorp (NYSE: GY) company, congratulates the Boeing Company on being selected by NASA to once again ignite the American tradition of launching astronauts to space from U.S. soil.
A Commercial Space Transportation-100 (CST-100) spacecraft teammate with Boeing since 2010, Aerojet Rocketdyne has designed and developed an integrated propulsion system designed to propel the crew to safety in case of a launch abort. The propulsion system also will enable precise in-space maneuvers as the spacecraft docks/undocks from the International Space Station and other future low-Earth orbit destinations.
“The capability to launch and carry our own astronauts should be the absolute foundation of our nation’s space program,” said Julie Van Kleeck, vice president of Aerojet Rocketdyne Advanced Space and Launch Systems. “Aerojet Rocketdyne teams across three of our sites have lived and breathed the CST-100 program for the past several years in support of Boeing. We have been a part of every human spaceflight program since Mercury in the 1960s and continue to enjoy the challenge of providing propulsion for every generation of space transportation and exploration. “
Aerojet Rocketdyne’s integrated propulsion system provides launch abort capability and all propulsion needs for major flight milestones including: orbital maneuvering, docking and undocking with an orbital complex, separation of the crew module from the service module, and re-entry operations.
Continued Aerojet Rocketdyne work in support of CST-100 primarily will be done in the Los Angeles facility with propellant tanks supplied by our ARDE team in Carlstadt, New Jersey; crew module thrusters from Redmond, Washington; and service module orbital maneuvering and attitude control and reaction control system thruster testing at the Sacramento, California facility. Under a new contract, Aerojet Rocketdyne will complete development, qualification and certification of the propulsion system along with delivery of the first production units. First crewed flight of CST-100 is planned for 2017.
Visit here to read more about Aerojet Rocketdyne’s contributions to CST-100.
Aerojet Rocketdyne is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader providing propulsion and energetics to the space, missile defense and strategic systems, tactical systems and armaments areas, in support of domestic and international markets. GenCorp is a diversified company that provides innovative solutions that create value for its customers in the aerospace and defense, and real estate markets. Additional information about Aerojet Rocketdyne and GenCorp can be obtained by visiting the companies’ websites at www.Rocket.com and www.GenCorp.com.
