Stennis Space Center Tours and Briefings on Boeing Rocketdyne’s RS-68 engine for the Delta IV

NASA and the Rocketdyne Power & Propulsion division of The Boeing Company
invite the media for tours and briefings on Boeing Rocketdyne’s RS-68 engine
for the Delta IV launch vehicle Wednesday, Nov. 6. Events begin at noon at
John C. Stennis Space Center.

The media will also have the opportunity to experience first-hand a hot-fire
test of a Boeing’s RS-68 engine, one of the most powerful engines to be
tested at Stennis since the Apollo program. The Delta IV program’s first
launch is scheduled for Nov. 16.

In June 1998, Boeing and Stennis entered a unique partnership that supported
a new way of doing business between the government and the private sector.
Boeing signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA that permits Boeing to use
NASA’s B-1 test stand at Stennis for up to 30 years for testing the
650,000-pound thrust liquid-fueled RS-68 engine. The adjacent B-2 test stand
was used to test the
Delta IV integrated Common Booster Core. Soon thereafter, Boeing also chose
Stennis as the site to assemble the RS-68 engine for the Delta IV launch
vehicle.

This unique agreement is a win-win situation for Boeing and for NASA. By
permitting Boeing to use this world-class rocket propulsion test stand paid
for with taxpayer dollars, the government is getting a greater return on its
investment, while Boeing benefits from the use of a proven test facility at
a reduced cost. The synergy between Boeing and Stennis will contribute to
the low cost and high value of the Delta IV program.

Media will tour the Boeing Engine Assembly Facility located in the
Mississippi Army Ammunition Plant Industrial Complex at Stennis. NASA and
Boeing Rocketdyne personnel will make presentations and answer questions.
The media will then visit the B-Complex Test Control Center followed by a
hot-fire test of the RS-68 engine.

The RS-68 is the world’s largest liquid-hydrogen, liquid-oxygen engine. It
is the first new large, liquid-fueled rocket engine to enter production in
the United States since Rocketdyne developed the Space Shuttle Main Engine
in the late 1970s.

Media requiring more information on the RS-68 program should contact Dan
Beck at (818) 586-4572. Media planning to attend the day’s activities at
Stennis Space Center should call Betty Ruth Hawkins at (228) 688-3585 no
later than 4 p.m. Nov. 4 to obtain proper security clearance.