• Forum
• SITREP
• Military
• WMD
• Intelligence
• Homeland Security

• Space

• Introduction
• Systems
• Facilities
• Agencies
• Countries
• Hot Documents
• News
• Reports
• Policy
• Budget
• Congress
• Links

• Public Eye

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne propulsion duo makes West Coast debut

Contacts:
John Mitchell
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
Phone: (818) 586-4564
john.mitchell@pwr.utc.com

Bryan Kidder
Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne
Phone: (818) 586-2213
bryan.kidder@pwr.utc.com

CANOGA PARK, Calif. June 27, 2006 – Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne (PWR), a business unit of United Technologies Corp. [NYSE: UTX], today powered a Delta IV rocket off the SLC-6 launch pad at Vandenberg Air Force Base and into the California skies with its PWR RS-68 booster, teamed with its PWR RL10B-2 upper stage engine. The rocket carried a payload for the National Reconnaissance Office.

This was the first Delta IV launched from the new Vandenberg facility. Both the RS-68 and RL10B-2 performed as expected.

The RS-68, which generates 663,000 pounds of thrust and consumes more than a ton of propellants per second, is America’s newest, large, liquid-fueled rocket engine. A single RS-68 is used in the Delta IV’s single “common booster core” (CBC) configuration, while three are employed with the “heavy” Delta IV type that combines a trio of CBCs.

The RL10B-2, develops 25,000 pounds of thrust and is a member of the RL10 family, which has been flying successfully for more than four decades.

“We’re excited to be flying the RS-68 and RL10B-2 from both coasts,” said Byron Wood, president of Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. “The pairing of the RS-68 and RL10B-2 on the Delta IV allows our customers access to a total complement of orbital configurations, including polar routes.”

Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, Inc. offers a complete line of propulsion products for launch vehicles to missile defense to advanced hypersonic propulsion. These have been used in a wide variety of government and commercial applications, including the main engines for the space shuttle, Atlas and Delta launch vehicles, and high altitude defense systems. PWR is part of Pratt & Whitney, a world leader in the design, manufacture and service of aircraft engines, space propulsion systems and industrial gas turbines. United Technologies provides high-technology products and services to the aerospace and building industries.

# # #