Aerojet Rocketdyne’s Zeus 1 ‘exceeded expectations’

HUNTSVILLE — Aerojet Rocketdyne has developed and static-fire tested the Zeus 1, an advanced stage 1 large solid rocket motor for Kratos.

The motor met or exceeded performance expectations, the company said.

“Congratulations to the Aerojet Rocketdyne and Kratos teams for this outstanding achievement,” said Eileen Drake, Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and president. “This test validated the robustness of our innovative motor design for an affordable hypersonic application, and further demonstrated our large solid rocket motor capabilities at Camden (Ark.), where we support multiple industry customers to power various defense programs.”

The motor was developed by Aerojet Rocketdyne at its facilities in Huntsville and was manufactured and tested in Camden. The motor’s development was co-funded by Kratos and Aerojet Rocketdyne.

“The Zeus 1 accomplishment is a representative example of the force multiplier effect and success of the Kratos and Aerojet Rocketdyne relationship, which is a true partnership,” said Eric DeMarco, president and CEO of Kratos Defense & Security Solutions. “Aerojet Rocketdyne is a clear technological leader in the rapid development and production of cost-effective propulsion systems like Zeus, and top down, Aerojet Rocketdyne is focused on the success of the mission.”

Kratos intends to use the motor in launch vehicle stages for its research, hypersonic and ballistic missile target vehicles.

The company noted in an announcement that the Zeus 1 motor performance “provides substantial improvement” over similar legacy solid rocket motors, and they expect the advancements to provide Kratos’ customers opportunities to “fly more often, faster and farther using fewer stages at a substantially reduced cost.”

The Zeus 1 is the first of two high-performance LSRM’s developed by Aerojet Rocketdyne under the Kratos Zeus program. Aerojet Rocketdyne is now manufacturing the larger Zeus 2 motor, which is slated for testing this year.