NASA Continues J-2X Powerpack Testing

NASA conducted a long duration test of the J-2X powerpack, 340 seconds total, at the Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi on May 10, marking another step in development of the next-generation rocket engine that will carry humans deeper into space than ever before.

The powerpack is a system of components on the top portion of the J-2X engine, including the gas generator, oxygen and fuel turbopumps, and related ducts and valves. On the full J-2X engine, the powerpack system feeds the thrust chamber system, which produces engine thrust.

NASA conducted a long duration test of the J-2X powerpack, 340 seconds total, at the Stennis Space Center in southern Mississippi on May 10, marking another step in SLS development, the next-generation rocket that will carry humans deeper into space than ever before. Credit: NASA/SSC

The long-duration test was planned to operate the powerpack turbopumps over a range of speeds by varying the gas generator valve positions. The turbopumps have been heavily instrumented in order to determine performance and structural capabilities of this new design.

Credit: NASA/SSC

Test data provides critical information for continued development of the engine, which is the first human-rated liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen rocket engine to be developed in four decades. The J-2X is being developed by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne of Canoga Park, Calif., for NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Credit: NASA/SSC

This May 10 test is part of a series of firings on the J-2X powerpack. The J-2X turbopumps were designed using test data from a 2008 test series at Stennis to gather data on Apollo-era J-2S turbopumps.