Built in the United States by Aerojet Rocketdyne (formerly, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne), the J-2X burns cryogenic liquid hydrogen and liquid oxygen propellants, with each engine producing 1,307 kN (294,000 lbf) of thrust in vacuum at a specific impulse (Isp) of 448 seconds (4.39 km/s).

[2] The J-2X was intended to be based on the J-2 used on the S-II and S-IVB stages of the Saturn rockets used during the Apollo program, but as required thrust for the Ares I increased due to weight problems it became a clean-sheet design.

[7] and on 8 September 2008 PWR announced successful testing of the initial J-2X gas generator design.

[9] Starting in 2011, the full J-2X engine, derived from heritage and new designs, has undergone hot-fire tests.

In October 2013, it was reported that work on the J-2X would pause following development testing in 2014, due to funding limitations, an expected delayed need for the engine's capabilities for piloted missions to Mars, and selection[18] of the RL10 powered Exploration Upper Stage for SLS.