Aerojet Secures Orion Contract

Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings Inc. received a contract to build the main engine for the Orion spacecraft that will explore deep space. 

The El Segundo-based aerospace components provider said in a release it will deliver up to 20 new Orion main engines for use on future Artemis missions to the moon, beginning with Artemis VII or for other NASA-sponsored, deep space missions.

The contract runs through 2032. 

The Orion main engine will be built at Aerojet’s Chatsworth factory and its Redmond, Wash. facilities. 

The 6,000-pound thrust bipropellant engine is used for major maneuvers in space, such as entering and departing lunar orbit, and in some mission abort scenarios. The first six Orion missions will use refurbished orbital maneuvering system engines (OMS-E) provided by Aerojet from the space shuttle program, the company said.

Aerojet Chief Executive Eileen Drake said that having designed and developed the OMS-E for the shuttle program, the company understands the engines material, manufacturing processes and thrust levels.

“Now we are able to incorporate modern manufacturing techniques to provide NASA with a reliable, flight-proven and affordable engine to propel the Orion spacecraft and return astronauts to the Moon,” Drake said in a statement. “We understand this engine inside and out and are excited to develop its next generation in support of future Artemis missions.”

In addition to the Orion main engine, the Chatsworth campus also builds the RS-25 engines for the Space Launch System, the heavy-lift rocket that will take Orion into space. 

In late August, the company opened a $59 million expansion that added 30,000 square feet of manufacturing space to

 the facility. The cost also included new equipment.