Aerojet Completes Initial Vibration and Hot Fire Risk Reduction Engine Testing for...

Aerojet Completes Initial Vibration and Hot Fire Risk Reduction Engine Testing
for NASA's Orion Crew Module

SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Aerojet, a GenCorp
(NYSE: GY) company, successfully completed the first series of vibration and
altitude hot fire tests on NASA's Orion crew module's 160 lb. thrust
mono-propellant rocket engine. The objective of the test program was to verify
engine performance after the thruster was subjected to Orion vibration loads
which produced energy levels that were two times higher than those previously
qualified.

The post-vibration altitude hot fire test sequences mapped the thruster health
over its full operating range and proved the capability to exceed 200 lbs. of
thrust during steady-state firing, thereby demonstrating an Orion worst-case
contingency operation. "This recent testing mitigates an identified risk and
provides additional data against which the Orion crew module engine's
analytical models can be validated," said Doug Cosens, Aerojet's project Orion
program director. "This effort also illustrates continued cooperation among
Aerojet, Lockheed Martin and NASA on the Orion program."

Under contract with Lockheed Martin, NASA's prime contractor for Orion,
Aerojet provides propulsion for the crew module as well as all engines aboard
the service module. The current Orion crew module flight configuration
includes 12 MR-104G engines operating at 160 lbs. of thrust. The MR-104 engine
family originally provided in-space propulsion for the Voyager 1 and 2 and
Magellan missions. Subsequent MR-104 variants provided propulsion for Landsat
and NOAA as well as other U.S. government programs.
The Orion crew exploration vehicle will be the flagship of NASA's
Constellation Program, which is comprised of the spacecraft and systems that
will carry astronauts to the International Space Station and conduct sustained
human exploration of the moon and Mars.

Aerojet is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader principally serving
the missile and space propulsion, defense and armaments markets. GenCorp is a
leading technology-based manufacturer of aerospace and defense products and
systems with a real estate segment that includes activities related to the
entitlement, sale, and leasing of the company's excess real estate assets.
Additional information about Aerojet and GenCorp can be obtained by visiting
the companies' Web sites at http://www.Aerojet.com and http://www.GenCorp.com.

SOURCE Aerojet

Glenn Mahone, +1-202-302-9941, Glenn.Mahone@Aerojet.com, or Kristin Conner,
+1-916-355-2143, Kristin.Conner@Aerojet.com, both of Aerojet