Rocketdyne to Negotiate Energy Agency Contract

Rocketdyne said it has been selected by the U. S. Department of Energy to start negotiations for a $22-million contract for the design and demonstration of a new power system for space applications.

The company, a Canoga Park-based unit of Rockwell International Corp., said the contract will be about $13 million for a two-year period, followed by a one-year option worth about $9 million.

The company will also subcontract work to several companies, including a Russian group called the Institute of Power and Physics Engineering in Obninsk, that will provide technology and design support.

The program involves work on a so-called thermionic space nuclear power system that would be used on satellite missions. Thermionics is a process that converts heat to electricity, and the process could be more reliable and cost less than other power systems, Rocketdyne said.

The company said the program would not involve the testing of nuclear materials at its facilities.