Engine Booster Antares not tested
The company Orbital Sciences today reported that the Russian rocket engine for use in the first stage of commercial booster Antares, failed tests, which were conducted last week at the NASA Space Center in Mississippi. Barry Beneski, spokesman for Orbital Science, said that the tests were conducted on May 22. rocket engine Aeroject Rocketdyne AJ26 worked only half the specified time, and then fails, thus qualifying tests completed at this stage were not. Recall that AJ26 be used on Antares, who first had to go into space in early 2015. "Engineers are studying the data, trying to determine the cause of the failure," - says Beneski.
According to him, during the test, the engine exploded and got a very serious injury. He also noted that to date investigating the incident representatives from NASA and Orbital Science and the exact reason for the failure is not yet established. NASA said that during the fire tests and failure arisen no one was hurt. joint team of experts from NASA, Orbital Science, Aerojet Rocketdyne and Lockheed Martin tested AJ26 engine test stand for E-1 Space Center NASA's Stennis in Mississippi. Recall Orbital Science that previously held a three-run Antares based AJ26 engines and they all went normally.
The first stage of the rocket engine works by AJ26-62, providing traction in 3265 kilonewtons. Engine runs on a mixture of liquid oxygen and kerosene. Upcoming launch was scheduled for June 10. Antares had to start from the cargo unit Cygnus, which was supposed to deliver cargo to the ISS. Orbital Science In not say whether the June launch postponed. Previous launch was held on January 9.
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