Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Awarded NASA Contract Extension to Advance Lunar Lander...

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Awarded NASA Contract Extension to Advance Lunar
Lander Engine Technology

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla., April 10 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Pratt & Whitney
Rocketdyne, a United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) company, has been awarded
a contract extension by NASA to continue development of the Common Extensible
Cryogenic Engine (CECE). The CECE is advancing technology readiness to support
future lunar lander development.
"Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne is pleased that NASA has continued development
of the CECE," said Graham Webb, general manager, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
Florida & Mississippi operations. "We look forward to competing to power the
first lunar landing of the 21st Century."
The CECE development contract, which was originally awarded in June 2005,
extends through March 2009. During this next phase of the program, Pratt &
Whitney Rocketdyne will design, manufacture and test a new, enhanced injector
to support stable combustion at very low thrust.
"In tests to date, the CECE has made significant progress to meet the
mission," said Victor Giuliano, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne CECE program
manager. "Test highlights included the CECE demonstrating repeated throttling
operability from 100 percent of its 13,800 pounds of thrust down to as low as
9.5 percent of full power. Additionally, the engine has demonstrated throttle
acceleration and deceleration transient capabilities. The next phase of
testing will focus on combustion stability at the lower thrust range."
A throttling range from full power down to 10-25 percent is believed to be
sufficient for human-rated spacecraft landing on the moon. Deep throttling, or
a wide variation of thrust, enables a vehicle to maintain adequate thrust
during in-space travel, yet have a controlled descent at its final
destination. Fast-reaction throttling transients will be necessary to smoothly
descend to the lunar surface.
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Inc., a part of Pratt & Whitney, is a preferred
provider of high-value propulsion, power, energy and innovative system
solutions used in a wide variety of government and commercial applications,
including the main engines for the space shuttle, Atlas and Delta launch
vehicles, missile defense systems and advanced hypersonic engines.
Pratt & Whitney is a world leader in the design, manufacture and service
of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines.
United Technologies, based in Hartford, Conn., is a diversified company
providing high technology products and services to the global aerospace and
building industries.
Bryan Kidder
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
818 586-2213
bryan.kidder@pwr.utc.com

Nancy Colaguori
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
561 796-2219
nancy.colaguori@pw.utc.com

SOURCE Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne

Bryan Kidder, +1-818-586-2213, bryan.kidder@pwr.utc.com, or Nancy Colaguori,
+1-561-796-2219, nancy.colaguori@pw.utc.com, both of Pratt & Whitney
Rocketdyne