Article Posted on : - Nov 11, 2010

Test firing of the AJ26 engine for Orbital Sciences Corporation's Taurus II launch vehicle at the E-1 test stand at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi. Photo: NASA

MISSISSIPPI (BNS): NASA has successfully test fired the liquid-fuel AJ26 engine for the Orbital Sciences Corporation's Taurus II space launch vehicle from its John C. Stennis Space Center in Mississippi on Wednesday.

The engine which was test fired from the Stennis' E-1 test stand will power the first stage of the space launch vehicle.

The first initial test in the series of three firings lasted for around 10 seconds and served as a short-duration readiness firing to verify AJ26 engine start and shutdown sequences, E-1 test stand operations and ground-test engine controls.

The test directly supports NASA's partnerships to enable commercial cargo flights to the International Space Station.

The test was conducted by a joint operations team comprised of Orbital, Aerojet and Stennis engineers.

NASA engineers and the joint operations team will conduct an in-depth data review of all subsystems in preparation for the next 50-second hot-fire acceptance test, which is scheduled for later this year.

A third hot-fire test at Stennis is also planned to verify tuning of engine control valves.

The AJ26 engine is designed to power the Taurus II space vehicle on flights to low Earth orbit.

The NASA-Orbital partnership was formed under the agency's Commercial Orbital Transportation Services joint research and development project.

The company is under contract with NASA to provide eight cargo missions to the space station through 2015.