For Release: Oct. 30, 1995

Steve Roy
Office of Media Services
(205) 544-0034
steve.roy@msfc.nasa.gov

NOTE TO EDITORS: 95-99N

ENGINE TEST SCHEDULED AT MARSHALL TOMORROW

NASA engineers are scheduled to test fire an instrumented modified Space Shuttle Main Engine in the Advanced Engine Test Facility at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. tomorrow afternoon.

The test firing, planned for 185 seconds in duration, is the second in a series focusing primarily on Space Shuttle Main Engine development, including evaluation of a start sequence and ignition temperature on the alternate high pressure fuel turbopump.

Also, the test will further assess new technologies, including an optical system to monitor the engine exhaust plume for anomaly detection and a new pressure sensor.

The engine will be operated between 90 percent and 105 percent power levels during the run. The test will be the sixty-fourth firing of a modified Space Shuttle Main Engine in the former Saturn V engine test facility.