Aerojet Rocketdyne to Supply Propulsion for Three More Orion Spacecraft

Aerojet Rocketdyne Secures $67 Million Contract to Propel Orion Spacecraft on Artemis Missions VI-VIII

Aerojet Rocketdyne, a leading aerospace and defense company, has been awarded a $67 million contract by Lockheed Martin to provide propulsion systems for the Orion spacecraft. The spacecraft is set to launch on Artemis missions VI-VIII, which are part of NASA’s ambitious plan to land the first woman and person of color on the Moon and establish a sustainable presence on its surface.

The contract is an extension of the 2019 Orion Production and Operations Contract (OPOC) and includes the delivery of three additional sets of Orion’s service module auxiliary engines and three additional jettison motors. The eight auxiliary engines will help maintain Orion’s in-space trajectory and position, while the jettison motor will separate the Launch Abort System (LAS) from the crew module during both nominal operations and abort scenarios.

“Aerojet Rocketdyne propulsion on NASA’s Orion spacecraft and Space Launch System rocket contributed to the success of the historic Artemis I mission, from liftoff to splashdown,” said Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen P. Drake. “We’re proud to be part of a team that has demonstrated the ability to safely and efficiently carry astronauts on future Artemis missions, effectively ushering in an exciting new generation of human spaceflight.”

Aerojet Rocketdyne was also awarded a separate contract in 2021 to provide new Orion Main Engines for future Artemis missions. Lockheed Martin plans to use refurbished crew modules, which are propelled by reaction control thrusters, also built by Aerojet Rocketdyne, for later Artemis missions.

The contract for three shipsets of Orion propulsion elements will be managed and performed out of the company’s facility in Redmond, Washington. Work will also be conducted at Aerojet Rocketdyne facilities in Huntsville, Alabama, and Orange County, Virginia.

“Orion is NASA’s deep space exploration vehicle,” continued Drake. “Aerojet Rocketdyne is delivering the propulsion systems that will take the first woman and the first person of color to the Moon and create a sustainable presence on the lunar surface and develop technologies that will one day enable us to send astronauts to Mars.”