Pratt & Whitney has developed a new cryogenic upper-stage engin designated the RL50, and positioned as the final power plant for either domestic or international launch vehicles.
"We see market need and growth for cryogenic upper-stage engines and intend to fill that need with the RL50," stated Larry Knauer, newly appointed president of P&W's Space Propulsion business unit. "The engine complements our current RL10 engine family and will help to further strengthen our position as the leader in providing upper-stage propulsion."
The RL50, configured to meet future launch vehicle manufacturers' requirements for increased performance and payload delivery capability, will provide more than double the thrust of the highest performing RL10 engines presently in service, to levels greater than 50,000 pounds of thrust.
The RL50's performance increase will come in a package approximately the same size as P&W's RL10, currently the industry's workhorse upper- stage engine for Atlas, Titan and, most recently, Delta launch vehicles.
"The RL50's four-year development has been initiated by P&W. This is a big and positive step forward in P&W's effort to further support the commercial launch vehicle customer and our willingness to share in the risk. It also demonstrates our confidence in the launch market's future growth," stated Knauer.
A series of demanding performance, cost and mission success goals have been set for the RL50 engine development program to provide improved launch system effectiveness and to increase value to the customer.
P&W's RL50 engine, the first new liquid upper-stage engine development effort conducted in the United States since the early 1960's and the first major rocket engine development fully funded by a private engine company, is expected to be available in 2003.
The engine builds on the 36-year heritage of P&W's highly successful RL10 engine and incorporates recent technology development by P&W and the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory Propulsion Directorate at Edwards Air Force Base, through the IHPRPT Program.
"It's very exciting because this is not a mere derivative of the RL10 engine, but a totally new engine employing advanced state-of-the-art technologies that we will very soon be able to offer to the space industry to help expand launch capability," stated Knauer.
Pratt & Whitney Rocket Engines – general
