Rocket Lab opens its Archimedes engine test complex at NASA's Stennis Space Center

Rocket Lab/Neutron

Rocket Lab opened the Archimedes Test Complex on November 4, 2022 at NASA's Stennis Space Center in Mississippi, reusing the A-3 test stand. The complex tests Archimedes, a reusable methane/oxygen engine of 165,000 pounds thrust designed for Rocket Lab's upcoming Neutron reusable rocket.

• Test facility: ~1 million square feet at NASA Stennis Space Center A-3 test stand; dedicated to Archimedes engine hot-fire testing.
• Archimedes specs: 165,000 lbf thrust; liquid oxygen/methane; 320 seconds ISP; reusable gas-generator design; seven on Neutron first stage, one on upper stage.
• Neutron development critical milestone; Archimedes demonstrates Rocket Lab's engine manufacturing and testing capability in-house.