AJ-26 testing continues

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss. -- An Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ-26 engine tested at NASA's E-1 test stand Jan. 17 is undergoing post-test inspections and flight prep activities. When that work is done, it will be shipped to NASA's Wallops Fight Test Center in Virginia for integration with Orbital Sciences' Antares medium-class space launch vehicle. Even before that test, two AJ-26 engines tested at SSC lifted an Antares that launched a Cygnus spacecraft. That event made Orbital Science the second commercial company to perform a resupply mission to the International Space Station. "Each test of an AJ26 engine is exciting and affirming because it is in direct support of NASA's commercial space flight efforts, as well as a continuation of a very successful Stennis partnership with Orbital and Aerojet Rocketdyne," Stennis Director Rick Gilbrech said. NASA has tested AJ-26 engines at SSC since November 2010. (Source: NASA/SSC, 02/03/14)