OSC社／Aerojet社, Taurus 2用AJ26エンジン試験を再開

Spaceflightnow(9/30)
6月の燃焼試験中の外燃で中断していたもの。6月の外燃の原因は、エンジン配管の応力腐食割れと特定されたとのこと。

"The root cause was stress corrosion cracking," Culbertson said. "These engines are 40 years old. They had been inspected, but I think there was some cracking that Aerojet didn't suspect and hadn't really tested for. It manifested itself by basically unzipping the line and that spilled fuel and caused a fire. The drop in pressure actually shut everything down, so there was very little damage. The engine itself probably could eventually be repaired if it needed to be."