Boeing Tests Critical Components For Advanced Rocket Engine

Boeing Tests Critical Components for Advanced Rocket Engine

The Boeing Company last week tested a state-of-the-art liquid oxygen turbopump, marking a significant step forward in the development of next-generation rocket engine technology. A team of Boeing's Rocketdyne Propulsion & Power unit, Air Force, and NASA personnel conducted the hot-fire testing at NASA's John C. Stennis Space Center (SSC) in Mississippi. This test, one of nine that have been planned, follows a related series of hot-fire tests in which a Rocketdyne-built pre-burner -- which provides oxygen-rich gasses to the oxidizer turbopump turbine drive -- went 'six for six' in that series. The Rocketdyne pre-burner was subsequently attached to the new oxidizer turbopump for its testing. Both the oxidizer turbopump and the pre-burner test series are for the Air Force Research Laboratory's (AFRL) Integrated Powerhead Demonstration (IPD). Upon completion of its hot-fire test series, the oxidizer turbopump will become part of the IPD engine system and help to provide advancement of key technologies that could find application in future Air Force rocket applications or NASA's Next Generation Launch Technology program.

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