NASA has ordered an investigation after a Block II Space Shuttle Main Engine was extensively damaged after it shut down 5sec into a planned 200sec static test at Stennis Space Center, Mississippi.
The test was designed to validate a new high-pressure fuel turbopump.
Robert Sackheim, assistant director and chief engineer for propulsion at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, will head the investigation. During the incident, the engine experienced higher than expected temperatures and its computer ordered an automatic shutdown.
NASA says that the damage was "rather extensive", but declines to comment on reports that the incident resulted in a broken fuel pump and pre-burner turbine and loosened turbine blades.
The test used a main combustion chamber smaller than those presently flown. The development unit is being used to validate the engine's capability to operate at higher-than-normal temperatures.
The smaller chamber increases temperatures in the pumps to test for different temperature limits.
Source: Flight International
