For Release: October 14, 1998

June Malone
Media Relations Office
(256) 544-7061/0034
June.Malone@msfc.nasa.gov
/centers/msfc/NEWSROOM/

RELEASE: 98-205

A test firing of a Russian-built engine was terminated approximately 2.7 seconds into a planned 56-second duration test this evening at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Marshall's Advanced Engine Test Facility and the RD-180 engine were safely shut down after today's firing. Post-test inspection of the engine hardware revealed no evidence of damage. Test data and hardware will be further evaluated to determine what caused the early shutdown.

A decision on when to schedule the next engine test firing will be made after results of today's test are analyzed.

The Marshall Center is under a Space Act Agreement with Lockheed Martin Astronautics of Denver to provide a series of test firings of the Atlas III propulsion system configured with the Russian-designed RD-180 engine. The tests are designed to measure the performance of the Atlas III propulsion system, which includes avionics and propellant tanks and lines, and how these components interact with the RD-180 engine.