Aerojet Rocketdyne to expand at NASA’s Stennis Space Center
BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. (AP) – Officials with Aerojet Rocketdyne say assembly and testing of its AR1 advanced liquid rocket engine will take place at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.
As a result, the company is expanding its Center of Excellence for Large Liquid Rocket Engine Assembly and Test.
The AR1 is being developed to support the country’s mandate to eliminate U.S. reliance on the Russian RD-180 engine for national security space launches by 2019.
Aerojet Rocketdyne’s facility at Stennis Space Center is already home for assembly and testing of the RS-68 engine that powers the Delta IV family of launch vehicles, and the RS-25 engine that will power NASA’s Space Launch System.
Company head Eileen Drake said in a news release Monday the company will grow to more than 200 employees as development and production of the AR1 engine continues.
