An RS-88 is fired at Stennis Space Center
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| Country of origin | United States |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Aerojet Rocketdyne |
| Application | Developed into an abort motor for the CST-100 Starliner |
| Status | Active |
| Liquid-fuel engine | |
| Propellant | Liquid oxygen / EthanolorMMH / NTO (LAE variant) |
| Cycle | Gas-generator cycle |
| Performance | |
| Thrust | 220 kN (ethanol) or 176.6 kN (hypergolic) |
| Used in | |
| CST-100 Starliner | |
The RS-88 is a liquid-fueled rocket engine burning ethanol as fuel, and using liquid oxygen (LOX) as the oxidizer. It was designed and built by Rocketdyne, originally for the NASA Bantam System Technology program (1997).
In 2003, it was designated by Lockheed for their pad abort demonstration (PAD) vehicle. NASA tested the RS-88 in a series of 14 hot-fire tests, resulting in 55 seconds of successful engine operation in November and December 2003. The RS-88 engine proved to be capable of 50,000 lbf (220 kN) of thrust at sea level.
Ahypergolic derivative of the RS-88 has been selected for the Boeing CST-100 Starliner launch escape system.[1] This version is capable of 39,700 lbf (176.6 kN) of thrust and four are used in Starliner's abort system.[2]
The Bantam System Technology Project, which was part of the Low Cost Technologies effort, teamed NASA and its business partners to research and demonstrate technologies for a new low-cost launch system. A technology demonstration flight was targeted for late 1999.[3]
The RS-88 engine was designed by Rocketdyne under NASA's Bantam program[4] which was the propulsion element of the low-cost technologies of the larger Advanced Space Transportation Program.
The launch escape system for the Boeing Starliner spacecraft uses a lightweight, hypergolic derivative of the RS-88 called the Launch Abort Engine (LAE).[5]
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| Liquid fuel |
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| Solid fuel |
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