Artemis IV Set to Launch with Modernized RS-25 Engines

Written by Copernical Team Tuesday, 09 July 2024 13:13

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Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 09, 2024

Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) company, has successfully upgraded the four RS-25 engines that will propel NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for the Artemis IV mission. This mission will feature the first flight of the advanced Block 1B configuration of the SLS rocket and will be the last to use engines from the space shuttle era. The upgraded Artemis IV engin

Artemis IV Set to Launch with Modernized RS-25 Engines
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Jul 09, 2024

Aerojet Rocketdyne, an L3Harris Technologies (NYSE:LHX) company, has successfully upgraded the four RS-25 engines that will propel NASA's Space Launch System (SLS) rocket for the Artemis IV mission. This mission will feature the first flight of the advanced Block 1B configuration of the SLS rocket and will be the last to use engines from the space shuttle era.

The upgraded Artemis IV engines now include modern flight computers designed to handle higher temperatures due to proximity to the SLS solid rocket motors. NASA and Aerojet Rocketdyne conducted comprehensive tests on these flight computers and the former space shuttle main engines for the initial four Artemis missions at the Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

Artemis IV will showcase the upgraded SLS Block 1B rocket, which includes the exploration upper stage powered by four Aerojet Rocketdyne RL10 engines. The previous Artemis missions utilized the SLS Block 1 configuration, which employs the interim cryogenic propulsion stage powered by a single RL10 engine.

"The SLS Block 1B upgrade is a game changer that will enable the most ambitious missions ever attempted," said Kristin Houston, President, Space Propulsion and Power Systems, Aerojet Rocketdyne, L3Harris. "The new universal stage adapter above the exploration upper stage provides 24% more volume for a co-manifested payload than an industry-standard five-meter-class payload fairing."

With the exploration upper stage, the crewed versions of the SLS Block 1B will be capable of delivering 38 metric tons of payload to cislunar space in a single mission, compared to 27 metric tons for the SLS Block 1. This upgrade allows for over 10 metric tons of additional cargo per crewed mission. Cargo-only versions of the enhanced rocket can deliver up to 42 metric tons to cislunar space.

Starting with Artemis V, the SLS rocket will incorporate newly manufactured RS-25 engines, which benefit from production efficiencies and technological advancements, reducing unit costs by over 30% compared to the shuttle versions, while also providing higher thrust levels.