Update on Risk Reduction Activities for a Liquid Advanced Booster for NASA’s Space Launch System
- Paper number
IAC-17,D2,5,9,x41151
- Author
Mr. Andrew Crocker, Dynetics, United States
- Year
2017
- Abstract
The stated goals of NASA’s Research Announcement for the Space Launch System (SLS) Advanced Booster Engineering Demonstration and/or Risk Reduction (ABEDRR) are to reduce risks leading to an affordable Advanced Booster that meets the evolved capabilities of SLS; and enable competition by mitigating targeted Advanced Booster risks to enhance SLS affordability. Dynetics, Inc. and Aerojet Rocketdyne (AR) formed a team to offer a wide-ranging set of risk reduction activities and full-scale, system-level demonstrations that support NASA’s ABEDRR goals. During the ABEDRR effort, the Dynetics Team has modified proven components and subsystems to improve affordability and reliability. The team has built hardware to validate production costs and tests to demonstrate it can meet performance requirements. State-of-the-art manufacturing and processing techniques have been applied to the heritage F-1 rocket engine, resulting in a low recurring cost engine while retaining the benefits of Apollo-era experience. NASA test facilities have been used to perform low-cost risk-reduction engine testing. Dynetics has also designed, developed, and built innovative tank and structure assemblies using friction stir welding to leverage recent NASA investments in manufacturing tools, facilities, and processes, significantly reducing development and recurring costs. A full-scale cryotank assembly was used to verify the structural design and prove affordable processes. Dynetics performed proof and cryothermal cycle tests on the assembly to verify it met performance requirements. During the contract, NASA and the Dynetics Team agreed to move work focused on an Oxidizer-Rich Staged Combustion (ORSC) cycle rocket engine under Dynetics’ ABEDRR prime contract. The purpose of this risk reduction activity is to demonstrate combustion stability and measure performance of a 500,000 lbf thrust class main injector. To meet these objectives, the effort is focused on the design, analysis, fabrication, and test of a full scale ORSC main injector, Thrust Chamber Assembly (TCA), and supporting hardware. This paper will discuss the ABEDRR engine task achievements to date and the remaining effort through the end of the contract. Recent achievements include completion of the test facility and test skid assembly, delivery of the test article hardware components that integrate the ORSC preburners that provide hot gas with the main injector and TCA, and checkout testing of those preburners. Main injector/TCA hot-fire testing is scheduled to begin near the date of the presentation at IAF2017.
- Abstract document
- Manuscript document
IAC-17,D2,5,9,x41151.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).
To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.