Orbital Sciences Corporation [ORB] recently said that Alliant Techsystems [ATK] and the Air Force’s Arnold Engineering Development Center (AEDC) successfully ground tested the second stage rocket motor of the company’s Taurus II launch vehicle at AEDC in Tennessee.
The solid-fuel CASTORr 30 motor, which is supplied to Orbital by ATK Space Systems of Magna, Utah, was test fired for approximately 150 seconds, producing 72,000 lbs. of maximum thrust. In order to accurately test the motor performance, the static fire test was conducted using a vacuum chamber specially designed to simulate upper atmospheric conditions, since motor is designed to ignite at altitudes in excess of 100,000 feet.
“We are very pleased with the results of the ground test of the Castor 30 motor, which performed according to the specifications built into the design of the Taurus II rocket,” said Brent Collins, Orbital’s Taurus II program manager. “The ground test of the Castor 30 motor is the first major event in the testing phase of the Taurus II development program, having completed the engineering design and procurement work over the past year and a half. In addition to the second stage testing, we will soon begin the testing process for the rocket’s liquid fuel first stage at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.”