Delta IV still on track for 2001 launch despite engine test failure

Boeing says that the Delta IV remains on schedule despite a recent fuel pump turbine blade failure during static testing of a Rocketdyne RS-68 cryogenic engine. The RS-68 is being developed for the US Air Force Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle and the commercial Delta IV fleet. The first Delta IV launch is still scheduled for late 2001.

Boeing says the failure caused "quite limited" damage and has not stalled plans for further tests on an engine mated to the Common Core Booster of the vehicle's first stage.

The 650,000lb thrust (2,900 kN) engine, one of seven being tested at NASA's Stennis Space Center, Mississippi, shut down normally. The failed test is attributed to a "component failure", says Boeing, possibly "high cycle fatigue".

Source: Flight International