Hot-Fire of LOX-Methane Engine: NASA officials say the hot-fire test of an engine fueled by liquid oxygen and liquid methane ran successfully for 103 seconds. They called the test a “major milestone” in the search for next-generation spaceflight technologies. NASA has been working on the endeavor with Air Force Research Lab at Kirtland AFB, N.M., and KT Engineering at Huntsville, Ala. There are three additional hot fire tests planned using the current engine configuration.
Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall doesn’t see great value in trying to break the Sentinel ICBM program off as a separate budget item the way the Navy has with its ballistic-missile submarine program, saying such a move wouldn’t create any new money for the Air Force to spend on other…