News Features

Aerojet Rocketdyne Celebrates Its Role on Historic Apollo 11 Mission; Return to Moon and Beyond

July 20, 2019 marks the 50th Anniversary of the historic mission to land humans on the moon. On July 16, 1969 a Saturn V rocket powered by five Aerojet Rocketdyne F-1 engines, sent the Apollo 11 mission hurtling toward the Moon. Four days later, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin became the first humans to step foot on the Lunar surface; marking the occasion with Armstrong’s famous words: “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.”

Aerojet Rocketdyne Plays Critical Role in NASA’s 2024 Moon Return

June, 2019 - NASA has laid the groundwork to return Americans to the Moon by 2024 and Aerojet Rocketdyne will be a critical contributor on multiple facets of the historic endeavor. Aerojet Rocketdyne was recently awarded a study by NASA to further investigate designs for a Lunar Transfer Vehicle under NASA’s new Artemis lunar exploration program, and also provides key systems for NASA’s SLS, Orion and Gateway programs.

Jettison Motor Proves Launch Abort Capability for Orion Spacecraft

June 28, 2019 - NASA’s Orion Program will demonstrate a critical milestone on July 2 when it validates its Launch Abort System’s (LAS), including Aerojet Rocketdyne’s jettison motor, to ensure that the system can steer the Orion crew module and astronauts to safety in the event of an ascent anomaly.

Missing the 35th Annual Space Symposium?

April 8-11, 2019 - Visit Us Virtually at the 2019 Space Symposium.

Here are a few of the highlights from Aerojet Rocketdyne's Booth #118 presence and sponsorship of several symposium events.

NASA's Lunar Exploration Plan Finds Aerojet Rocketdyne in the Driver's Seat

August 17, 2018 - Getting to within striking distance of the moon is challenging enough, but if the ultimate objective is to achieve meaningful lunar exploration, getting there is only half the battle.

As the main- and upper-stage engine supplier for NASA’s heavy-lift Space Launch System (SLS), Aerojet Rocketdyne plays a prominent role in the first half of the equation. But the company also is integral to the second half: logistics in cislunar space and landing hardware on the lunar surface.

AR-22 Holds Ticket to Routine Space Launch Operations

July 13, 2018 - The uncompromising demands of spaceflight have long challenged efforts to reuse launch vehicles at a frequency resembling conventional aircraft, but Aerojet Rocketdyne is poised to topple that barrier with its AR-22 engine.

As part of a Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) effort to demonstrate a spaceplane capable of rapid turnaround operations, Aerojet Rocketdyne fired an AR-22 engine an unprecedented 10 times in 240 hours. Each of the tests, conducted June 26-July 6 at NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, ran 100 second durations or longer proving the flight profile of the Phantom Express Spaceplane is feasible with daily access to space.

Aerojet Rocketdyne Puts the AR in Mars

June 15, 2018 - Getting to Mars takes propulsion systems of all shapes and sizes, but one thing they nearly all have in common is Aerojet Rocketdyne.

Beginning more than four decades ago with the Viking 1 and 2 orbiter/lander missions, NASA has relied on Aerojet Rocketdyne to propel its Mars missions – from launch, to landing and everything in between. These missions have ranged in scale from the 25-pound Mars Pathfinder rover, to the Mars Science Laboratory’s 1-ton Curiosity rover.