NASA to Build New Stand at Stennis to Test Ares Rocket Engines

May 8, 2007

Melissa Mathews/Beth Dickey
Headquarters, Washington
202-358-1272/2087

Paul Foerman
Stennis Space Center, Miss.
228-688-3333

RELEASE: 07-103

NASA TO BUILD NEW STAND AT STENNIS TO TEST ARES ROCKET ENGINES

BAY ST. LOUIS, Miss. - NASA will test one of the rocket engines it is
developing for its new launch vehicles at the Stennis Space Center in
Mississippi. The agency will build a new test stand at Stennis for
the J-2X engine. The engine will power the upper stages of NASA's
Ares I and Ares V rockets.

Stennis already is home to Apollo-era test stands that have served the
nation's space program through the shuttle era. The newly proposed
structure will be the first large test stand built at the center
since the 1960s. Unlike the older structures, the new 300-foot-tall,
open-frame design will allow engineers to simulate conditions at
different altitudes.

NASA engineers need to simulate various altitudes to test the J-2X's
ability to function as a second stage engine for the Ares I crew
launch vehicle and the Earth Departure Stage engine for the Ares V
cargo launch vehicle. To do that, the test stand will generate
approximately 4,620 pounds per second of steam and use it to reduce
the engine test cell pressure.

NASA will complete the new stand in time to support the first J-2X
engine test in December 2010. An existing test stand at Stennis also
is being modified to test the J-2X engine at sea level conditions.

Ares I will launch the Orion spacecraft, taking astronauts to the
International Space Station no later than 2015, then to the moon by
2020. The Ares V will carry cargo and components into orbit for trips
to the moon and later to Mars. The new spacecraft are key components
of NASA's Constellation Program.

"This new test stand will enable the critical testing needed to verify
the Ares I upper stage engine performance at altitude conditions,"
said Stennis Center Director Rick Gilbrech. "The Apollo-era test
stands have served us well over the last forty years, and I'm excited
that NASA will have a new stand to help us accomplish these new
goals."

The test stand, along with its control center, propellant barge docks
and access roadways, will be built in Stennis A Complex.

For more on Ares I, Ares V and the Constellation Program, visit:

http://www.nasa.gov/constellation

-end-

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