Rocket Lab Has Begun Testing Neutron’s Archimedes Engine
Last year we learned a lot about the Neutron launch vehicle and some of the ambitious plans Rocket Lab has with it. In addition, the company began ramping up work with new design developments, progress on its infrastructure, and deals facilitating its future. All important steps as Rocket Lab target a launch date around 2024.
Just yesterday however Rocket Lab released some significant information relating to Neutron’s main engine. This included an initial hot fire test with some developmental hardware. With this step complete, the company is now moving on to much more serious engine development and eventually a full scale hot fire of Archimedes.
In addition, this engine progress took place at the NASA Stennis test complex. Recently, Rocket Lab revealed it had selected NASA’s historic Stennis Space Center in Mississippi as the location of its engine test facility for its reusable rocket, Neutron. Now they are working to evolve this engine which will be the backbone of the Neutron program. Here I will go more in-depth into yesterday’s test, why it’s so important to Neutron’s future, what to expect in the coming months, and more.
New Engine Test
Yesterday on January 9th, Rocket Lab tweeted saying, “We’ve completed a big milestone in the development of Archimedes, our new engine for Neutron, by breathing fire at @NASAStennis testing engine ignition on dev hardware. Up next: hot firing hardware with full propellant flow rates to verify injector performance.” While there was no video of the process, they did include an image during the hot fire. While the test itself may seem insignificant, in reality, these initial incremental updates are the stepping stones for future full thrust hot fires. Rocket engine development is an immensely complex and important process.
By now, Rocket lab has already made a lot of changes relating to this engine and how it will work with Neutron going forward. For example, not long ago we learned that instead of just 7 Archimedes engines on the first stage, there will now be 9, for a total of 10 engines on the rocket including the second stage.
Peter Beck explained that they are trying to make the most reliable and reusable engine which is the reason for the slightly lower isp of 329, however still impressive. He stressed that this engine is going to be reused again and again and the less stress it goes through the better. The engine also changed from a gas generator cycle to oxidizer rich closed cycle. As the company worked through the content of operations and did all the power balances, they found turbine temperatures that were too high, a low amount of margin, and the need for a lot of compromises. Specifically, the oxidizer rich closed cycle provides a higher specific impulse than gas generator, open expander, or tap-off cycles, without the thrust limits or added complexity. Gas generator cycles are limited in capability and not suited to the deep throttling required for multiple re-lights in orbit, and for landing the first stage. ORSC engines operate at relatively low temperatures and pressures, eliminating the stress and thermal strain experienced by gas generator engines. This improves engine life and reusability, while leaving headroom to increase performance. All of which are recent changes that were made to this engine and its future.
As we know, Neutron is Rocket Lab’s reusable rocket in development, designed as a cost-effective, reliable, and responsive launch service to help build mega-constellations, deliver large spacecraft to low-Earth orbit, geostationary orbit, and interplanetary destinations, and to support a sustained human presence in space. Just weeks ago we learned more about this rocket and some of the progress being made with its manufacturing process. This also applies to Archimedes which will almost entirely be 3D printed. Rocket Lab is by no means new to 3D printing rocket components and even engines. They point out that they’re experts at 3D-printing rocket engines and know how to scale. Full scale parts come through their production lines using in-house 3D-printing machines. They also own some of the largest 3D printers in the world, being put to work for Neutron.
Not to mention, in an interview published a few months ago, Peter Beck stated that Archimedes would be manufactured in New Zealand and its very simple design had “all the things you want when you have to build an engine that can be reused over and over again. All of which will need to be considered as testing begins ramping up.
Neutron’s Future
Now that we know more about Archimedes engine testing and some of the progress Rocket Lab is making, we can take a closer look at the new facility meant specifically for this next generation engine. Starting in September of last year, Rocket Lab selected NASA’s Stennis Space Center in Mississippi as the location of its engine test facility for its reusable rocket, Neutron. Just weeks later NASA’s Stennis Space Center and Rocket Lab USA cut the ribbon on a new agreement for the aerospace company to locate its engine test complex.
With the new agreement, the A-3 Test Stand and about 24 surrounding acres at Stennis will be incorporated into the Archimedes Test Complex. Rocket Lab will have exclusive access to use and develop the A-3 Test Stand area, including associated propellant barge docks and buildings. The initial 10-year agreement includes an option to extend an additional 10 years. The Mississippi Development Authority is providing assistance for Rocket Lab to develop the new site and to relocate and install needed equipment. To put the speed of this process in perspective, Peter Beck commented, “It was only a few weeks ago when we announced Stennis as the location of our Archimedes Test Complex and we’re already fast at work to get the site up and running to deliver Neutron. Thanks to our partnership with NASA and the state of Mississippi, we can begin to develop the existing infrastructure and test stand at Stennis to fast-track Neutron’s first launch. We look forward to breathing fire in the great state of Mississippi.”
Focusing on the importance of this facility related to Neutron, the Archimedes Test Complex will be located within the larger A Test Complex at Stennis Space Center across a 1 million square foot area. The Archimedes Test Complex will include exclusive use and development of existing industrial NASA infrastructure and the Center’s A-3 Test Stand. Rocket Lab has also secured a capital investment incentive from the Mississippi Development Authority to further develop the facilities and infrastructure at Stennis for Neutron. By expanding Stennis Space Center to include the Archimedes Test Complex, Rocket Lab is expected to create dozens of new jobs and make significant capital investments in the state of Mississippi.
Due to the size and power of this engine and the speed at which Rocket Lab is hoping to develop and test it, this site is very important for their future. Rocket Lab expects to begin construction in the Archimedes Test Complex at Stennis to build two newly built horizontal engine test cells for single engine testing. As testing of the Archimedes engine gets underway, Rocket Lab also envisions building an additional test cell with the ability to test individual engine components.
Peter Beck also pointed out that “Before rockets flew to the Moon, they first had to go through Mississippi, and as we build a new rocket to reshape space access once again, Stennis is a fitting location for Neutron. Creating a test complex from scratch to the scale and complexity needed to test and develop Archimedes would have had an inconceivably long lead time, so the fact that we’ve secured Stennis and can leverage its existing infrastructure and test stand puts us on the fast-track to Neutron’s first launch. The icing on the cake is having fantastic partners like NASA and the state of Mississippi behind us to bring innovative rocketry, economic development, and new jobs to the Gulf Coast.”
At the same time as work beginning at Stennis, construction is continuing at pace on the Neutron Production Complex and launch site at Wallops Island, within the NASA Wallops Flight Facility and Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. Combined, the two sites represent over two million square feet of operations for Neutron’s production, testing, and launch facilities. Further Neutron expansion will continue throughout the United States as the program develops toward its first launch. Months ago in April, Rocket Lab broke ground on the construction of a state-of-the-art rocket production complex where the Company’s Neutron launch vehicle will be manufactured.
The 250,000 square foot Neutron Production Complex is being constructed on a 28-acre site adjacent to the NASA Wallops Flight Facility and Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The complex will support Neutron production, assembly, and integration, and is expected to bring up to 250 highly-skilled roles to the region. Construction will also soon begin on a launch pad for Neutron at the southern end of Wallops Island, near Rocket Lab’s existing launch pad for the Electron rocket.
Conclusion
Rocket Lab is starting to make some very real and significant progress on Neutron. Not only are the next generation launch vehicle’s facilities beginning to come together, but actual components such as the Archimedes engine are beginning testing. We will have to wait and see how it progresses and the impact it has on the space industry.