KSC-2009-6125

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. – A Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne technician carefully maneuvers a space shuttle main engine into position on space shuttle Endeavour in Orbiter Processing Facility Bay 2 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The engine will fly on the shuttle's STS-130 mission to the International Space Station. Even though this engine weighs one-seventh as much as a locomotive engine, its high-pressure fuel pump alone delivers as much horsepower as 28 locomotives, while its high-pressure oxidizer pump delivers the equivalent horsepower of an additional 11 locomotives. The maximum equivalent horsepower developed by the shuttle's three main engines is more than 37 million horsepower. Endeavour is targeted to launch Feb. 4, 2010. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann