Ongoing launch vehicle innovation at United Launch Alliance

Kutter, Bernard; Zegler, Frank; Barr, Jon; Gravlee, Mari; Szatkowski, Jake; Patton, Jeff; Ward, Scott C.

doi:10.1109/aero.2010.5446742

Cited by 8 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…With this increase in launch manifest flexibility, FSP also gives Delta IV reduced production and mission costs while improving reliability. 5 Following a standard design review process, the first standardized booster started production at ULA's Decatur factory in April 2013 and is currently slated to launch in 2015 in a Medium+ configuration. All new Medium and Medium+ CBCs will now be standardized with an RS-68A engine, while Heavy configurations, including the strapon CBCs, will include RS-68A engines but will not be standardized.…”

Section: Delta IV Fleet Standardizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Decade of Success and Innovation for Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Liquid Propulsion Systems

Dawson

Dowler

Kontogiannis

et al. 2013

49th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference

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In 2002, the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) program debuted with the first launches of the Atlas V and Delta IV launch vehicles, which have since proven to be highly successful in lofting dozens of commercial, national security, and scientific spacecraft into orbit. This is due in large part to a decade of success and innovation in the Aerojet Rocketdyne RS-68 and RL10 cryogenic, and RD AMROSS / NPO Energomash RD-180 hydrocarbon engine programs. As we enter the second decade of the EELV program, these reliable systems are achieving significant milestones through upgrades and continuous improvements which will maintain the EELV program's success for the next decade and beyond. Nomenclature CBC= Delta IV Common Booster Core CCDEV = Commercial Crew Development CCiCAP = Commercial Crew Integrated Capability EDS = Emergency Detection System EELV = Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle FRS = Failure Response System FSP = Fleet Standardization Program HUG = Heavy Upgrade Program lbf = Pounds-force LOx = Liquid Oxygen LRE = Liquid Rocket Engine LRU = Line Replaceable Unit MTU = Main Turbopump Unit NPO EM = NPO Energomash PW = Pratt & Whitney RDA = RD AMROSS USAF = United States Air Force ULA = United Launch Alliance

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Section: Delta IV Fleet Standardizationmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Decade of Success and Innovation for Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Liquid Propulsion Systems

Dawson

Dowler

Kontogiannis

et al. 2013

49th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference

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“…Low-level acceleration has been used on all past cryogenic upper stages to separate liquid and gas, allowing reliable pressure control through venting as well as efficient propellant acquisition. 16 While Centaur typically uses 10 -3 g's to 10 -4 g's, Centaur has demonstrated adequate propellant control with accelerations as low as 10 -5 g's. 17 With settled propellant transfer, expulsion efficiencies in excess of 99.5% of liquids are typical.…”

Section: F Design Of Booster Refueling Vehicle (Brv)mentioning

confidence: 99%

A Conceptual Mars Exploration Vehicle Architecture with Chemical Propulsion, Near-Term Technology, and High Modularity to Enable Near-Term Human Missions to Mars

Benton

2015

AIAA SPACE 2015 Conference and Exposition

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The Mars Exploration Vehicle (MEV) Architecture was first presented in January, 2012. It describes a possible method to accomplish a long-stay conjunction class Mars surface exploration mission, for 2033 or 2035 opportunities, with a four-person crew and using chemical propulsion, existing or near-term technology, and common modular elements to minimize development costs. It utilizes a common Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (CPS) that can be configured as an Earth Departure Stage (EDS) or Mars Transfer Stage (MTS). It satisfies mission requirements using a combination of Earth orbit rendezvous, aerobraking of unmanned landers, Mars orbit rendezvous, and Mars surface rendezvous. The purpose of this paper is to present major enhancements to the architecture and provide additional design details. The MEV architecture is assembled in low Earth orbit (LEO) from subassemblies launched by Space Launch System rockets and includes a Mars Crew Transfer Vehicle (MCTV) with a crew of four, two redundant unmanned Mars Lander Transfer Vehicles (MLTVs), and four redundant Booster Refueling Vehicles which top off CPS LH 2 propellants before Trans-Mars Injection (TMI). The MCTV and its assembly sequence were redesigned to reduce mechanical complexity, enhance design commonality, simplify LEO assembly, and improve mission reliability. Each MLTV utilizes one EDS and one MTS and carries three landers as payload: The Mars Personnel Lander (MPL) provides two-way transport for four crew members between low Mars orbit (LMO) and surface. Two unmanned Mars Cargo Landers, a habitat variant (MCL-H) and a rover variant (MCL-R), provide one-way cargo delivery to the surface. Additional MCL-R design details will be presented in this paper. The MLTVs escape from LEO, transit to Mars, and propulsively brake into a highly elliptical orbit. The landers separate, aerobrake, circularize their orbits, and rendezvous with the MCTV in LMO. Additional aerobraking design details will be presented in this paper. The MCTV utilizes three EDS, one MTS, and: (1) The Orion MultiPurpose Crew Vehicle transports the crew from Earth to LEO, provides propulsion, and returns the crew to Earth using a direct entry at the nominal mission end or after aborts. (2) Three Deep Space Vehicles (DSVs), modified MCL-H landers, provide crew habitation space, life support consumables, passive biological radiation shielding, and propulsion. (3) An Artificial Gravity Module permits the MCTV to vary its geometry and rotate to generate artificial gravity for the crew and provides photo-voltaic power generation and deep space communications. The MCTV escapes from LEO, transits to Mars, propulsively brakes into LMO, and docks the six landers from the MLTVs. Cargo and crew landers perform Mars entry, descent, and landing, and rendezvous and dock on the surface to form an exploration base camp. After completion of surface exploration, the crew returns to LMO in the MPL, docking with the MCTV for the return trip to Earth. With inherent modularity, the MEV architecture could enable an economi...

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