Author Topic: PWR : Next-Gen Engine (Upper stage Engine)  (Read 2053 times)

Offline Ronsmytheiii

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PWR : Next-Gen Engine (Upper stage Engine)
« on: 09/14/2011 05:59 pm »
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Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) is assembling parts for an RLXX demonstrator rig that it hopes will be a pathfinder for a next-generation U.S. upper-stage engine by around 2017.

Progress on the rig comes as the U.S. Air Force studies requirements for a next-generation engine (NGE) and as competitors such as Aerojet call for a competition to succeed PWR’s venerable RL10.

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=aerospacedaily&id=news/asd/2011/09/14/01.xml&headline=PWR%20Plans%20Next-Gen%20Engine%20Test%20Rig

Offline mlorrey

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Re: PWR : Next-Gen Engine (Upper stage Engine)
« Reply #1 on: 09/14/2011 08:33 pm »
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Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR) is assembling parts for an RLXX demonstrator rig that it hopes will be a pathfinder for a next-generation U.S. upper-stage engine by around 2017.

Progress on the rig comes as the U.S. Air Force studies requirements for a next-generation engine (NGE) and as competitors such as Aerojet call for a competition to succeed PWR’s venerable RL10.

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_generic.jsp?channel=aerospacedaily&id=news/asd/2011/09/14/01.xml&headline=PWR%20Plans%20Next-Gen%20Engine%20Test%20Rig

Lessee, RL-10 is one of the best engines ever designed, performance wise, if they can reduce the number of parts and manufacturing steps, would be a nice to have, maybe make it capable of operating reliably with high density additives to the hydrogen fuel, they could boost the Isp significantly too.
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Offline simonbp

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Re: PWR : Next-Gen Engine (Upper stage Engine)
« Reply #2 on: 09/16/2011 07:41 pm »
maybe make it capable of operating reliably with high density additives to the hydrogen fuel, they could boost the Isp significantly too.

Additives like what?

Offline Damon Hill

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Re: PWR : Next-Gen Engine (Upper stage Engine)
« Reply #3 on: 09/20/2011 03:26 am »
Whatever became of the RL60 development hardware and program?  Does any of that program factor into the new program?

Offline alexw

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Re: PWR : Next-Gen Engine (Upper stage Engine)
« Reply #4 on: 09/20/2011 03:51 am »
Whatever became of the RL60 development hardware and program?  Does any of that program factor into the new program?
   I suspect the RL-60 had a few strikes against it: significant international involvement, much higher thrust than needed for the existing Centaur and DCSS stages, particularly with excess dry mass for ordinary GTO missions. It seems a wonderful engine for ACES or (clustered) even Ares/EDS sized-stages, but J-2X had the political momentum in the really big class, and I would guess that the EELV folks were insufficiently persuaded that the big EELV upgrades would happen (they were right).

     Certainly would be an interesting story, to hear more about how RL-60 got as far as it did, then stopped?
      -Alex

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