AJ26 “Pathfinder” Engine Arrives at Stennis

February 2010

The Taurus II AJ26 rocket engine testing process officially kicked-off with the delivery of a “pathfinder” engine to NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi on February 23, 2010. The first stage of each Taurus II launch vehicle will be powered by two Aerojet AJ26 liquid-fuel engines. The pathfinder engine will be used to verify test stand interfaces, engine handling processes, and test configurations prior to the commencement of a series of “hot fire” tests planned to begin in April at the Stennis E-1 test stand.

Orbital has been working diligently with NASA Stennis and Aerojet to develop and install facility upgrades to accommodate AJ26 testing. Each AJ26 engine to be used in the Taurus II program will come through the Stennis facility for pre-launch acceptance testing prior to being integrated with the rocket.

The AJ26 is a commercial derivative of the engine that was first developed for a Russian rocket that would have taken cosmonauts to the moon. As the world’s first oxidizer-rich, staged-combustion, oxygen kerosene engine, it achieves very high performance in a lightweight, compact package. This engine received extensive development, representing about a $1.3 billion investment over a 10-year period. More than 200 engines were built and 575 engine tests were conducted, accumulating over 100,000 seconds of test time. Aerojet has been developing design modifications to make the engine suitable for commercial launchers since 1993, and will obtain additional test data at the Stennis facility.

J.R. Thompson, Orbital President and COO (left), NASA Stennis Center Director Gene Goldman (center), and Aerojet President Scott Seymour in front of the pathfinder AJ26 engine (NASA photo)	AJ26 Pathfinder Engine Arrives at Stennis

Taurus II Program Summary Review Successfully Completed

February 2010

In late January 2010 we successfully conducted the Taurus II Program Summary Review (PSR), a comprehensive evaluation of the rocket program’s development status.  The PSR included verification of engineering milestones and schedule progress after nearly two and one half years since Orbital formally began work on the program in mid-2007.  Participants in the PSR included representatives from NASA, the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center, the National Reconnaissance Office, Orbital’s Taurus II program management team, and an Independent Readiness Review Team comprised of experienced space industry professionals who have managed large-scale launch vehicle programs in the past.

The findings of the evaluation team confirmed that the Taurus II program has successfully completed the design, engineering and procurement phases of the development process and is prepared to embark on an aggressive manufacturing and testing campaign in 2010 and early 2011 during which major subsystem elements will be subjected to rigorous, operationally-representative conditions.  Major systems to be tested include the rocket’s first stage engines, the first stage booster core, the second stage structure, avionics, fairing, and all related ground infrastructure at the Wallops Launch Site and the Stennis Space Center main engine test facility.

In addition to reviewing overall program schedules and development status, Orbital engineers and representatives from the company’s major suppliers delved into the primary technical areas of the program, including systems engineering, the liquid fuel first stage and AJ-26 engines, the upper stack avionics and second stage motor, predicted launch vehicle and payload environments, new launch facility development activities at Wallops Flight Facility, and adherence to safety and mission assurance standards.

Among the items evaluated at the PSR were the stage one core structures shown here being manufactured at the Yuzhmash fabrication facility in the Ukraine.

Taurus II Hardware Production and Facilities Construction in Full Gear

February 2010

Taurus II components and facilities are coming together at suppliers and locations across the globe. In the Ukraine, elements of the stage one core test articles as well as the first flight unit are being assembled.  In Samara Russia, hot fire tests of stage one engines have been conducted, while construction of the U.S. stage one test stand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center, where Taurus II engines will be acceptance tested, is nearly complete. The first test of an AJ-26 engine at Stennis is anticipated in the 2^nd quarter of the year. Tooling for the 4 meter payload fairing has been delivered to Applied Aerospace Structures Corporation in Stockton, California and delivery of the first test items of other Applied Aerospace structures has occurred.

Construction is ramping up at the Wallops Island, Virginia launch site as well.  Initial infrastructure is being laid at the launch pad site, and 800 pilings are being driven for the Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) where the launch vehicle will be integrated and mated with its payload before traveling to the launch pad.

Taurus II and COTS/CRS Development & Flight Milestones

January 2010

Progress on Taurus II and Cygnus continues at a rapid pace with both programs transitioning from design, development and procurement activities to the manufacturing, integration and testing phase. Below is an overview of the major development and flight milestones scheduled for 2010 and 2011 leading to the first launch, which will be the COTS demonstration mission. Note that the time line is intended to offer general insight into the programs' major milestones and is subject to change.

Systems Testing for Taurus II Begins – First Test of 2nd Stage Motor Successful

December 2009

The Taurus II program officially moved from the engineering design and supplier procurement phase to the testing phase with the successful testing of the Taurus II second stage motor. The solid-fuel Castor 30 motor, which is supplied to Orbital by ATK Space Systems, was test fired at the U.S. Air Force’s Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) in Tennessee. The test lasted a little over 150 seconds and the motor produced about 72,000 lbs. of maximum thrust.  The Castor 30 motor is designed to ignite at altitudes in excess of 100,000 feet, and to accurately test the motor performance, the static fire test was conducted at AEDC using a vacuum chamber specially designed to simulate upper atmospheric conditions.   In addition to the second stage testing, we will soon begin the testing process of the liquid fuel propulsion system for the rocket’s first stage at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.

Taurus II Development Continuing at a Rapid Pace

October 2009

The pace of activities in the development of Taurus II has quickened as the year has progressed and the system has moved from the design and review stage to initial production. In our first update, we highlighted the groundbreaking ceremony for the Wallops Island, Virginia launch facility. Since then Orbital employees have literally circled the globe interacting with suppliers, developing qualification and flight hardware and overseeing construction projects.  A variety of activities have occurred including:

• Wind tunnel testing completed
• Manufacturing of the stage one core started
• Completion of the stage two static fire motor
• Completion of the structures tooling for the launch vehicle's upper stack
• Finalization of the Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) design where the launch vehicle will be assembled at Wallops Island
• Construction of the engine test stand flame duct at the Stennis Space Center where the stage one engines will be tested
• Commencement of manufacturing of the Transporter/Erector/Launcher (TEL) that will transport the launch vehicle from the HIF and erect it on the launch pad
• Completion of the launch pad preliminary design, with construction to start in November
• Driving of the initial test pilings for the HIF

In addition to the accomplishments above, a number of activities are scheduled through the end of the year. These include:

• Start of construction of the Wallops Island HIF
• Stage one core flight systems Critical Design Review
• Taurus II ground systems Critical Design Review
• Commencement of launch pad construction
• COTS system Critical Design Review
• Stage two motor "hot fire" test
• Completion of stage one engine test stand construction at the Stennis Space Center
• Delivery of the first cryogenic tank to Wallops Island

• Second Stage Motor Ground Test
• Horizontal Integratiion Facility Construction Begun
• Launch Pad Design Finalized
• Transporter/Erector/Launcher Manufacturing Started
• Stage One Engine Test Stand Flame Duct Completed
• Design for Horizontal Integration Facility Completed
• Upper Stack Structures Tooling Completed
• Stage 2 Static Fire Motor Delivered to Test Site
• Stage One Core Manufacturing Started
• Wind Tunnel Testing Completed
• Launch Site Groundbreaking
• Launch Site CDR
• Vehicle Design CDR
• First Block Vehicle Build
  (Hardware Procurement/Qualification)
• Launch Site PDR
• CRS Contract Award
• Launch Site Selection
• COTS Contract Award
• Vehicle Development PDR

      Check Out

Taurus II Brochure	Taurus II Fact Sheet
Cygnus Fact Sheet	Taurus II Users Manual

Taurus II Wallops Island Launch Site Ground Breaking

July 1, 2009

Time to break out the silver plated shovels!  Late last month Orbital and NASA, along with local and regional dignitaries, officially broke ground for the Taurus II launch facilities at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Orbital Chairman and CEO Dave Thompson, U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski (D-MD), and NASA Acting Administrator Christopher Scolese all gave short speeches, and then used the fancy shovels for a ceremonial shoveling of Wallops Island dirt.

The Wallops Flight Facility on the eastern shore of Virginia will be the primary launch site for our Taurus II launch vehicle for missions to deliver supplies to the International Space Station. Ongoing work includes the construction of a new Horizontal Integration Facility (HIF) where the launch vehicle will be assembled; a liquid fueling facility that will provide the necessary fuel for the launch vehicle; and an all-new Launch Pad dedicated to Taurus II built on the site of the old Conestoga launch pad, designated Pad LA-0A. Renovations are also being made to existing cargo processing and payload fueling facilities that will service the Cygnus spacecraft and cargo modules that will hold the supplies bound for the Space Station.

We expect construction on the new and existing facilities at Wallops to be completed by the end of 2010. The first demonstration flight of the Taurus II launch vehicle from Wallops under the COTS program is expected to occur in early 2011, followed by operational flights under the CRS contract.  Check out the missions page of this web site for a more detailed Taurus II launch manifest.