US company Aerojet has completed verification testing of the Orbital Manoeuvring Engine (OME) intended to power the Japanese HOPE-X orbiter.
Aerojet has been developing the OME under contract from Ishikawajima-Harima Heavy Industries (IHI), the vehicle's propulsion system contractor. The testing was completed shortly after the Japanese National Space Development Agency (NASDA) announced that it had suspended HOPE-X funding, pending the success of the H-2A launch vehicle programme.
The H-2A has become NASDA's top priority, with Japan's satellite launch schedule delayed by at least a year following the mid-November failure of H-2 No 8 (Flight International, 25-31 January). The unmanned HOPE-X would be launched by the H-2A if the programme is revived. Japan and French space agency CNES are co-operating in flight tests of a scale model of the Hope X shuttle, to take place in Sweden in 2002.
The Aerojet HOPE-X OME is a 4,000lb (18kN)-thrust class engine, similar to the NASA Space Shuttle's OME.
The testing ended with a 1h mission duty cycle firing and a 6min duration firing. Aerojet says the test engine will be refurbished and delivered to IHI as a flight spare, in addition to the two new engines, which are awaiting acceptance testing and delivery later this year.
Source: Flight International
