AJ26 No. 8 tested at SSC

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- There was another successful test firing of Aerojet's AJ26 engine No. 8 Thursday in support of Orbital Science Corp.'s program to launch a cargo mission to the International Space Station. The next test of an AJ26, this one engine No. 9, is slated for January. Once the data is reviewed and the engine is inspected, it will be shipped to the launch site at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia for installation on Orbital's Antares rocket, the new name for the medium-class launch vehicle previously called Taurus II. The Aerojet engines will power the first stage of the Antares. Orbital is part of NASA's ongoing Commercial Orbital Transportation Services Contract. (Source: NASA, 12/15/11) Previous AJ26 test post