 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Aerojet Ships Propulsion System For Mars Science Laboratory Mission
Sacramento CA (SPX) Jun 11, 2008 Aerojet has shipped the rocket engines destined for use on NASA's Mars Science Laboratory (MSL). When MSL is launched in the fall of 2009 aboard the Atlas V, Aerojet will provide propulsion for every phase of the mission. The Atlas V will be configured with four Aerojet solid motors to provide an additional one million pounds of thrust to the launch vehicle. The Centaur upper stage will use 12 Aerojet 6 to 9-pound thrust monopropellant hydrazine thrusters to provide roll, pitch, yaw and settling burns and eight Aerojet retro-rockets for Centaur upper stage separation. Once the spacecraft is launched, eight Aerojet 1.0 pound thrust monopropellant hydrazine thrusters will guide the spacecraft on its nine month cruise to the red planet. Upon arrival at Mars, eight Aerojet 68-pound thrusters will stabilize the spacecraft during its entry to Mars. After deployment of a parachute, MSL will perform final descent to near the Martian surface using its eight Aerojet 700-pound thrust engines. A tether will lower the rover onto the Martian surface and the throttling engines will then fly the descent stage away from the rover, leaving the rover on pristine soil. Aerojet has completed delivery of all spacecraft engines plus a spare of each type to the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) of Pasadena, Calif. Aerojet has been under contract to JPL since 2001, upgrading the Viking Lander engine, which successfully landed the two Viking spacecraft on Mars in 1976. A series of development and qualification tests demonstrated the engine's dramatic throttle range and has been used to verify that it will be suitable for the precision Mars landing. "Aerojet is proud to have provided propulsion for all of NASA's missions to Mars since Viking," said Aerojet President Scott Neish. "The upgraded throttling engines provide a unique capability for planetary landings." Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Share This Article With Planet Earth
Related Links Aerojet Mars News and Information at MarsDaily.com Lunar Dreams and more
No Speed Limit On Mars
Pasadena CA (SPX) Apr 07, 2008It's a good thing there's no speed limit on Mars, because the next parachute to fly to the red planet will deploy faster than you can legally drive on a California freeway! The chute is designed to slow the Mars Science Laboratory as it rockets through the Martian atmosphere at more than twice the speed of sound and places a car-size rover on the surface. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2007 - SpaceDaily.AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement |
del.icio.us
Digg
Reddit
YahooMyWeb
Google
Facebook