Testing of a Liquid Oxygen/Liquid Methane Reaction Control Thruster in a New Altitude Rocket Engine Test Facility

Abstract A relocated rocket engine test facility, the Altitude Combustion Stand (ACS), was activated in 2009 at the NASA Glenn Research Center. This facility has the capability to test with a variety of propellants and up to a thrust level of 2000lbf (8.9 kN) with precise measurement of propellant conditions, propellant flow rates, thrust and altitude conditions. These measurements enable accurate determination of a thruster and/or nozzle’s altitude performance for both technology development and flight qualification purposes. In addition the facility was designed to enable efficient test operations to control costs for technology and advanced development projects. A liquid oxygenliquid methane technology -development test program was conducted in the ACS from the fall of 2009 to the fall of 2010. Three test phases were conducted investigating different operational modes and in addition, the project required the complexity of controlling propellant inlet temperatures over an extremely wide range. Despite the challenges of a unique propellant (liquid methane) and wide operating conditions, the facility performed well and delivered up to 24 hot fire tests in a single test day. The resulting data validated the feasibility of utilizing this propellant combination for future deep space applications.