First shuttle main engine fully assembled at KSC

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From this week's Aviation Week,<br /><br />Kennedy Space Center Assembles Its First Shuttle Engine <br /><br />Aviation Week & Space Technology <br />08/16/2004, page 19 <br /> Edited by Frank Morring, Jr. <br /> <br />Made in Florida <br /><br />Boeing Rocketdyne technicians are preparing to ship the first space shuttle main engine (SSME) fully assembled at the Kennedy Space Center to the Stennis Space Center, Miss., for testing. Until now, all SSMEs were assembled at Rocketdyne facilities in Canoga Park, Calif. But now, to save costs, individual Rocketdyne and Pratt & Whitney SSME components are being shipped to Kennedy for assembly there before forwarding to Stennis for preflight static firings. Five of the 500,000-lb.-thrust oxygen/ hydrogen reusable SSMEs are to be assembled at Kennedy to become part of the overall pool of 15 shuttle engines that support the three-orbiter fleet. Three SSMEs are used with two reusable solid rocket boosters on each mission. Following firing tests at Stennis, engine 2058 will be returned to Kennedy for integration with the orbiter Atlantis, scheduled to fly the second return-to-flight mission in late 2005. <br /> <br /> <div class="Discussion_UserSignature"> </div>
 
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