The XCOR Hydrogen piston pump
Photo: XCOR

[Via Satellite 09-25-13] XCOR Aerospace and United Launch Alliance (ULA) have made notable progress in the XCOR/ULA liquid hydrogen (LH2) engine development program. Conceived as a lower-cost, risk-managed program, the XCOR LH2 engine program is intended to produce a flight-ready cryogenic upper-stage engine in the 25,000 lbf thrust class with growth potential up to 50,000 lbf thrust or more. When completed, it should cost significantly less to produce and be easier to operate than competing rocket engine technologies.

“Today’s milestone is further validation of the effort that we began with XCOR several years ago, leveraging more than a century of automotive industry insights to develop a truly new concept in engine design,” noted George Sowers, ULA’s vice president of human launch services. “These technology demonstrations have paved the way for ULA’s support of the liquid hydrogen engine program. We are beginning to see substantial results from ULA’s continued investment of time and resources in the ULA/XCOR hydrogen engine program and look forward to the next phase of development in this groundbreaking endeavor.”