Pratt & Whitney Selected for Negotiations for U.S. Air Force Adaptive Engine Technology Development Program

Pratt & Whitney, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), has been selected for negotiations by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for the Adaptive Engine Technology Development (AETD) program. The AETD program is an initiative by the AFRL Aerospace Systems Directorate to mature critical fuel efficiency technologies and engine design features that could transition into legacy and next generation military combat aircraft.

P&W’s proposed AETD program will lead to demonstration testing of an advanced high pressure ratio core in late 2015, to be followed in 2016 by full engine testing of a three-stream adaptive fan and three-stream compatible augmentor and exhaust system. The introduction of the third flow path stream will allow the engine operating conditions and resultant bypass ratio to be modulated to optimize performance across all power settings and flight conditions. This will significantly reduce total fuel consumption across multiple missions.

Click here to read Pratt & Whitney's press release.

Coverage:

• 6th Gen Engines - Pratt In, Rolls Out, GE Stays On (Aviation Week: Ares Blog)
• U.S. taps Pratt to pen fuel-efficient warplane motor (Hartford Business Journal)
• GE, P&W selected to build fuel-efficient military engine demonstrators (Flight International)

‘NASA X’ TV Show Features PurePower Engine, Technologies

NASA TV is featuring the PurePower® engine and its technologies as part of the premiere episode ("Environmentally Responsible Aviation") of its new "NASA X" program. NASA interviewed Paul Adams, senior vice president, Operations & Engineering; Alan Epstein, vice president, Technology & Environment; and Michael Winter, chief engineer, Technology, in East Hartford, Conn.

The focus of the PurePower section of the program is Pratt & Whitney's research work on high bypass jet engines with the NASA Glenn Research Center for basic technologies P&W will develop for the second generation of Geared Turbofan™ engines.

Learn more about the "NASA X" program on its Facebook page. 

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Propulsion Powers Atlas V Upper Stage, Placing Critical Government Satellite into Orbit

[Video Credit: SpaceVidsNet, via YouTube]

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and RD AMROSS successfully propelled a critical U.S. government satellite into orbit on Sept. 13, once again demonstrating the consistency and reliability of their rocket launch propulsion systems.  The spacecraft launched from Vandenberg Air Force Station in California on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket.  The Atlas V is powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 booster engine, and the upper-stage is powered by the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RL10 engine.

The Atlas V Centaur upper-stage is powered by a single RL10A4-2 engine that delivers 22,300 pounds of thrust.  The Atlas V Common Core booster is powered by the RD-180 engine and delivers nearly 1 million pounds of thrust.  The RD-180 is fueled by a kerosene/liquid oxygen mixture, provides an environmentally-clean operation, and uses an extremely efficient, high-pressured staged combustion cycle.  The high-pressure helium storage tanks on the Atlas V booster and upper stage were manufactured by ARDE, Inc., located in Carlstadt, N.J., a division of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne.

Click here to view the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne press release.

Click here to view the United Launch Alliance press release. (Page includes a photo gallery.)

Coverage:

• Top-secret satellite is launched from Vandenberg (Los Angeles Times)

Pratt & Whitney Global Service Partners Names Metal Technology Co. Ltd. Designated Service Provider for JT8D Engine Repairs

Pratt & Whitney Global Service Partners and Metal Technology Co. Ltd. (MTC) have signed an agreement to establish MTC as a designated service provider for Pratt & Whitney JT8D engine part repairs.

Under the long-term agreement, MTC will perform high pressure turbine/low pressure turbine blade and vane repairs for Pratt & Whitney JT8D engines at its Narita, Japan-based facility.

Click here to read the Pratt & Whitney press release. 

Coverage:

• Pratt picks Tokyo firm to fix engines (Hartford Business Journal) 

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne Propulsion Powers Atlas V Upper Stage, Placing Radiation Belt Storm Probes into Orbit

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and RD AMROSS successfully propelled the Radiation Belt Storm Probes (RBSP) mission into orbit, once again demonstrating the consistency and reliability of their rocket launch propulsion systems. The mission launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida on a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket. The Atlas V is powered by the RD AMROSS RD-180 booster engine, and the upper-stage is powered by the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne RL10 engine. RD AMROSS LLC is a joint venture of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and NPO Energomash.

Built and managed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, the RBSP includes two spacecraft designed to fly in elliptical orbits to study the planet’s radiation belts and help scientists better understand the sun’s influence on the Earth and near-Earth space. The mission is part of NASA’s Living with a Star Geospace program to explore fundamental processes that operate throughout the solar system, in particular those that generate hazardous space weather effects near the Earth and phenomena that could affect solar system exploration.


The Atlas V Centaur upper-stage is powered by a single RL10A4-2 engine that delivers 22,300 pounds of thrust. The Atlas V Common Core booster is powered by the RD-180 engine and delivers nearly 1 million pounds of thrust.

Click here to read the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne press release.

Click here to read the United Launch Alliance press release.

Coverage:

• NASA twin satellites to probe mysteries of the Van Allen belts (CNET News)
• Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne's RL10 engine propels RBSP mission into orbit (Zecco)

Paul Adams Receives ASME Leadership Award

Paul Adams, Pratt & Whitney’s senior vice president of Operations & Engineering, was named recipient of the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineering) 2012 Leadership Award for advancing the use of computers and information in engineering.

Adams was recognized by the ASME Computers & Information in Engineering Division (CIE) for integrating state-of-the-art computing resources into Pratt & Whitney’s product design, manufacturing engineering, quality testing operations and supply chain to achieve superior, reliable jet engine products that are second to none in the world. In particular, he has championed and led the investment in computing platforms that enable effective use and sharing of information across Pratt & Whitney’s global engineering teams.

Click here to read the Pratt & Whitney press release.

Coverage:

• Pratt's Paul Adams is ASME's 2012 engineer awardee (Hartford Business Journal)

Vintage Pratt & Whitney Engines Power 'Spirit of North Carolina'

The Star News of Wilmington, N.C., published a great feature on "The Spirit of North Carolina" today. This airplane is one of a few A-26C Invaders still flying today. Its engines? Pratt & Whitney R-2800 Double Wasps.

Douglas Aircraft Company built fewer than 2,500 A-26s, so don't miss your chance to see "The Spirit of North Carolina" if it is part of the flying display at an air show near you. The Star News notes that the aircraft is set to appear in Winston-Salem, N.C., Raleigh, N.C., and Stuart, Fla., this year.

The R-2800 Double Wasp engine powered more than 38 types of aircraft, including the Chance Vought F4U Corsair, Martin B-26 Marauder, Northrop P-61 Black Widow, Republic P-47 Thunderbolt and Grumman F6F Hellcat, F7F Tigercat and F8F Bearcat.

Pratt & Whitney built more than 125,000 Double Wasp engines from 1939 to 1960.

Readers: What R-2800-powered aircraft have you seen in action? Tell us about it in a comment. 

Coverage:

• Vintage plane has new life as a star of air shows, patriotic events (Star News)

Hess, Industry Leaders Urge End to Sequestration at West Palm Beach Rally

Pratt & Whitney and Sikorsky, in conjunction with the Aerospace Industries Association, hosted a "Second to None" rally for more than 300 employees on Wednesday in West Palm Beach, Fla. The rally highlighted the critical contribution of the aerospace and defense industry to the U.S. economy and spread the word about the potential impact of budget sequestration.

The speaking program included U.S. Rep. Allen West of Florida, Pratt & Whitney President David Hess, Tom Burbage, executive vice president and general manager, Joint Strike Fighter Program Integration, Lockheed Martin and Scott Starrett, vice president, Washington Operations & Government Business Development, Sikorsky, all of whom were joined on stage by 50 U.S. veterans. The veterans, who are also Pratt & Whitney and Sikorsky employees, were publicly recognized for their military service by each of the speakers, and by their fellow employees. Hess, who also serves as chairman of the Aerospace Industries Association, urged employees to join the fight against sequestration by contacting their elected officials.

"Massive sequestration budget cuts are a threat to American jobs, the economy and U.S. national security," Hess said. "We need you, our employees, to raise your voices loud and clear, and tell our elected officials that what we need is an alternative to sequestration that keeps us on the path of continued job creation, growth and innovation."

Click here to read the full text of Dave Hess' speech. 

Coverage:

• Interview With Florida Representative Allen West (FOX News)
• Defense firms may issue layoff warnings despite US guidance (Reuters)
• Pratt workers aim at defense-spending cuts (Sun Sentinel)
• Pratt & Whitney, Sikorsky, Lockheed Martin and Aerospace Industries Association opposing budget cuts (WPTV)

Hamilton Sundstrand Rocketdyne Powers ‘Curiosity’ Rover on Mars

Moments after Curiosity landed on Mars, the rover successfully began its mission to see whether the red planet has ever offered environmental conditions favorable for microbial life – thanks to power provided by Hamilton Sundstrand Rocketdyne, which helped design and develop the Multi-Mission Radioisotope Thermoelectric Generator (MMRTG).

The MMRTG, which has a design life of 14 years, has been built to operate in a range of harsh environments, from the vacuum of deep space to extreme planetary surface atmospheres. It was developed by Hamilton Sundstrand Rocketdyne and Teledyne Energy Systems in partnership with the U.S. Department of Energy.

The MMRTG is being used for the first time on the Curiosity mission. It provides both heat and electrical power to the rover, and continuous electrical power that allows day and night operation. The heat is used to provide thermal stability for Curiosity without drawing on the rover’s electrical power.

Click here to read the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne press release. 

Coverage:

• Nuclear Pack Powers Rover on Mars (New York Times)
• With NASA Mars Rover Curiosity Safely on Surface, Time to Take Inventory (Washington Post)

Boeing to Further Develop Commercial Crew Space Transportation System under NASA CCiCap Award Supported by Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne

NASA has selected Boeing to receive $460 million in additional funding to further develop the Boeing Commercial Crew Transportation System in the third round of the Commercial Crew Program, Commercial Crew Integrated Capability (CCiCap). In its partnership with Boeing on CCiCap, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne will continue to support development of the service module with integrated launch-abort propulsion system for the Commercial Space Transportation (CST)-100 spacecraft. The CST-100 spacecraft is designed to transport people to the International Space Station and other low-Earth orbit destinations.

The CCiCap agreement between NASA and Boeing focuses on the design and development of a fully-integrated commercial crew transportation system that includes spacecraft, launch vehicle and ground and mission systems. In its partnership with Boeing, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne will continue to provide support on propulsion system design maturation leading to the Critical Design Review, and complete development testing on key propulsion system components on the CST-100 spacecraft.

Click here to read the Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne press release.

Coverage:

• NASA Taps Three Companies To Develop New Spacecraft (Los Angeles Times)
• Rocketdyne Gets Good News on Space Vehicle Program (San Fernando Valley Business Journal)
• SpaceX, Boeing Big Winners in NASA Competition for New Spacecraft (McClatchy-Tribune News Service)
• NASA Awards $1.1 Billion to 3 Companies to Develop Spacecraft (Washington Post)