May 8, 2008

Stephanie Schierholz/Grey Hautaluoma
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-4997/0668
stephanie.schierholz@nasa.gov, grey.hautaluoma-1@nasa.gov

Kimberly Newton
Marshall Space Flight Center, Huntsville, Ala.
256-544-0034
kimberly.d.newton@nasa.gov

Paul Foerman
Stennis Space Center, Bay St. Louis, Miss.
228-688-1880
paul.foerman-1@nasa.gov

RELEASE: 08-116

NASA SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETES FIRST SERIES OF ARES ENGINE TESTS

STENNIS, Miss. -- NASA engineers Thursday successfully completed the
first series of tests in the early development of the J-2X engine
that will power the upper stages of the Ares I and Ares V rockets,
key components of NASA's Constellation Program. Ares I will launch
the Orion spacecraft that will take astronauts to the International
Space Station and then to the moon by 2020. The Ares V will carry
cargo and components into orbit for trips to the moon and later to
Mars.

NASA conducted nine tests of heritage J-2 engine components from
December to May as part of a series designed to verify heritage J-2
performance data and explore performance boundaries. Engineers at
NASA's Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Miss., conducted the
tests on a heritage J-2 "powerpack," which, in a fully assembled
engine, pumps liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen into the engine's
main combustion chamber to produce thrust. The test hardware
consisted of J-2 components used from the Apollo program in the1960s
through the X-33 program of the 1990s.

"This series of tests is an important step in development of the J-2X
engine," said Mike Kynard, manager of the upper stage engine for the
Ares Projects at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville,
Ala. "We started with a number of objectives and questions we needed
answers to as we work to complete designs of the J-2X engine. The
data we have gained will be invaluable as we continue the design
process."

Data obtained from the tests will be used to refine the design of the
J-2X pumps and other engine components to provide the additional
performance required of this new engine. The J-2X engine is being
designed to produce 294,000 pounds of thrust; the original J-2
produced 230,000 pounds of thrust.

The main objectives of the series were to resolve differences in
heritage turbopump performance data and recent component-level tests,
and investigate vibration and pressure drops through the turbopump
inlet ducts. Tests in the series ran for durations up to 400 seconds
and at power levels up to 274,000 pounds of thrust.

After the data from the test series has been reviewed and objectives
met, Stennis will begin readying the test stand for the next series
of tests, said Gary Benton, the J-2X project manager at Stennis.

Marshall manages the J-2X upper stage engine for the Constellation
Program, based at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. Under a
contract awarded in July 2007, Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne Inc., of
Canoga Park, Calif., will design, develop, test and evaluate the
engine.

Video of the final test will be available on NASA Television's Video
File. For NASA TV downlink, schedule and streaming video information,
visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ntv

For more information about Ares launch vehicles, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/ares

For more information about NASA's Constellation Program, visit

http://www.nasa.gov/constellation