Latest RS-68 Stories

CANOGA PARK, Calif., Oct. 4, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- A powerful roar rumbled across Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida as Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne successfully boosted the third Global Positioning System (GPS) Block IIF military navigation satellite into orbit. The mission launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket with Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne's RS-68 and RL10B-2 engines providing booster and upper-stage...

ARLINGTON, Va., June 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- ATK (NYSE: ATK) technologies supported today's successful launch of a United Launch Alliance Delta IV rocket carrying a classified satellite (NROL-15) for the National Reconnaissance Office. ATK designed and produced the nozzle for the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR)-built RS-68 first stage engine - the largest hydrogen-powered engine in the world - as well as the nozzle's thermal protection material, which is capable of shielding...

CANOGA PARK, Calif., June 29, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The sky rumbled and the ground shook as the three most powerful hydrogen-fueled liquid rocket engines ever built successfully boosted a U.S. government satellite into orbit. Developed by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, the RS-68A engines thundered into the sky on their inaugural launch, boosting a United Launch Alliance Delta IV Heavy rocket from the pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla. Once above Earth's atmosphere, the...

The next-generation engine that will help carry humans deeper into space than ever is back, bigger and better. The J-2X engine is currently on the A-2 Test Stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi for an extensive round of tests to build on last year's successful test firings. The engine will provide upper-stage power for NASA's evolved Space Launch System (SLS), a new heavy-lift rocket capable of missions to deep space. "We're making steady and tangible progress on our new...

CANOGA PARK, Calif., April 3, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The sky rumbled with the sound of a rocket launch today as Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne once again demonstrated the consistent reliability of its propulsion systems with the successful lift-off of a critical satellite for the U.S. government. The mission launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. on a United Launch Alliance Delta IV medium rocket with Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-68 and RL10B-2 engines providing the...

CANOGA PARK, Calif., Jan. 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne demonstrated the consistent reliability of its propulsion systems by successfully boosting the fourth in a series of Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellites to increase communications capabilities for the U.S. Department of Defense. The mission launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla., aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta IV medium rocket with Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RS-68...

CANOGA PARK, Calif., Nov. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and NASA successfully completed a 500-second duration hot-fire test on NASA's J-2X engine, a key step in demonstrating the propulsion system's ability to power humans further into space than ever before. NASA selected the J-2X as an upper-stage engine for the Space Launch System (SLS) -- an advanced heavy-lift launch vehicle. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company,...

CANOGA PARK, Calif., Sept. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- In an impressive display of power and technology, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne successfully completed a series of hot-fire tests on the certified RS-68A engine, the world's most powerful hydrogen-fueled engine. The tests demonstrated the capability of the engine to operate for 4,800 seconds of cumulative run time - four times the design life of the engine and more than 10 times what's needed to boost a United Launch Alliance heavy-lift...

CANOGA PARK, Calif., July 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Space Shuttle Atlantis touched down at NASA Kennedy Space Center, officially bringing an end to the nation's space shuttle program and a 30-year legacy of boosting astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS). Three Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Space Shuttle Main Engines (SSMEs) powered the final flight of Atlantis on Mission STS-135 to the station on July 8. The SSME is the only fully reusable high-performance rocket engine...

CANOGA PARK, Calif., July 20, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne has successfully completed a chill test and 1.9 second ignition test of NASA's J-2X engine at John C. Stennis Space Center, Miss. The J-2X upper-stage engine is in development to power NASA's next era of human spaceflight. Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company. "The successful start of J-2X engine testing demonstrates Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is ready to be...