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Reusable Launch Vehicle: Technology Development and Test Program
REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE
Technology Development and Test Program
Committee on Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology and Test Program
Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board
Commission on Engineering and Technical Systems
National Research Council
NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Washington, D.C.
1995
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Reusable Launch Vehicle: Technology Development and Test Program
NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the panel responsible for the report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance.
This report has been reviewed by a group other than the authors according to procedures approved by a Report Review Committee consisting of members of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine.
The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.
The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Harold Liebowitz is president of the National Academy of Engineering.
The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Kenneth I. Shine is president of the Institute of Medicine.
The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Harold Liebowitz are chairman and vice-chairman, respectively, of the National Research Council.
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 95-73106
International Standard Book Number 0-309-05437-0
Available in limited supply from:
The Aeronautics and Space Engineering Board
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20418
Additional copies of the report available for sale from:
National Academy Press
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W. Box 285 Washington, D.C. 20055 800-624-6242 202-334-3313 (in the Washington Metropolitan Area)
Copyright 1995 by the National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved.
Printed in the United States of America
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Reusable Launch Vehicle: Technology Development and Test Program
COMMITTEE ON REUSABLE LAUNCH VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY AND TEST PROGRAM
RICHARD A. HARTUNIAN, Chair,
Aerospace Corporation
(Ret.),
San Pedro, California
RICHARD ARSENAULT,
University of Maryland at College Park, College Park, Maryland
YVONNE C. BRILL,
Skillman, New Jersey
PAUL CASTENHOLZ,
Colorado Springs, Colorado
JAMES R. FRENCH,
JRF Engineering Services, Los Angeles, California
CLARK W. JOHNSON,
Hughes Space and Communications Company, Los Angeles, California
MARSHALL H. KAPLAN,
Launchspace, Inc., Falls Church, Virginia
HUGH McMANUS,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
EDGAR A. STARKE, Jr.,
University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia
RICHARD R. WEISS,
Richard R. Weiss Consultant Services, Palmdale, California
PETER G. WILHELM,
Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, D.C.
Advisor
ERIC STRAUSS,
Englewood, Colorado
ASEB Liaison
JOHN K. BUCKNER,
Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems, Fort Worth, Texas
Staff
JOANN C. CLAYTON, Director
ALI ESKANDARIAN, Study Director
WILLIAM E. CAMPBELL, Administrative Assistant
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Reusable Launch Vehicle: Technology Development and Test Program
AERONAUTICS AND SPACE ENGINEERING BOARD
JACK L. KERREBROCK, Chair,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts
STEVEN AFTERGOOD,
Federation of American Scientists, Washington, D.C.
JOSEPH P. ALLEN,
Space Industries International, Inc., Washington, D.C.
GUION S. BLUFORD, Jr.,
NYMA, Inc., Brook Park, Ohio
JOHN K. BUCKNER,
Lockheed Martin Tactical Aircraft Systems, Fort Worth, Texas
RAYMOND S. COLLADAY,
Martin Marietta Astronautics, Denver, Colorado
RUTH M. DAVIS,
Pymatuning Group, Inc., Alexandria, Virginia
STEVEN M. DORFMAN,
Hughes Telecommunications and Space Company, General Motors Hughes Electronics, Los Angeles, California
DONALD C. FRASER,
Boston University, Boston, Massachusetts
JOHN M. HEDGEPETH,
Digisim Corporation, Santa Barbara, California
TAKEO KANADE,
Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
BERNARD L. KOFF,
Pratt & Whitney, West Palm Beach, Florida
DONALD J. KUTYNA,
Loral Corporation, Colorado Springs, Colorado
JOHN M. LOGSDON,
George Washington University, Washington, D.C.
ROBERT R. LYNN,
Bell Helicopter Textron, Euless, Texas
FRANK E. MARBLE,
California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California
C. JULIAN MAY,
Tech/Ops International, Inc., Kennesaw, Georgia
BRADFORD W. PARKINSON,
Stanford University, Stanford, California
ALFRED SCHOCK,
Orbital Sciences Corporation, Germantown, Maryland
JOHN D. WARNER,
The Boeing Company, Seattle, Washington
Staff Director: JOANN C. CLAYTON
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Reusable Launch Vehicle: Technology Development and Test Program
Preface
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) requested that the National Research Council (NRC) assess the Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) technology development and test programs in the most critical component technologies. At a time when discretionary government spending is under close scrutiny, the RLV program is designed to reduce the cost of access to space through a combination of robust vehicles and a streamlined infrastructure. Routine access to space has obvious benefits for space science, national security, commercial technologies, and the further exploration of space.
Because of technological challenges, knowledgeable people disagree about the feasibility of a single-stage-to-orbit (SSTO) vehicle. The purpose of the RLV program proposed by NASA and industry contractors is to investigate the status of existing technology and to identify and advance key technology areas required for development and validation of an SSTO vehicle. This report does not address the feasibility of an SSTO vehicle, nor does it revisit the roles and responsibilities assigned to NASA by the National Transportation Policy. Instead, the report sets forth the NRC committee's findings and recommendations regarding the RLV technology development and test program in the critical areas of propulsion, a reusable cryogenic tank system (RCTS), primary vehicle structure, and a thermal protection system (TPS).
Because of the divergent approaches to and unique requirements for each of the key technology areas, the committee quickly discovered the equivalent of four reports would be needed to do justice to the program. Therefore, this report emphasizes each of the four key component areas and addresses issues pertaining to the performance, producibility, and reusability of each. Advances in all of these areas are critical to reducing the cost of access to space.
The committee would like to express its appreciation to the many NASA and industry teams that invested long days describing their programs and answering questions. The committee also appreciates their willingness to provide additional clarification. A list of the participants in meetings with the committee appears as Appendix A.
In addition, the chairman would like to express his appreciation to the committee members for their extensive contributions to this study with extra thanks to the leaders of the technical areas for taking on that additional responsibility. Finally, the invaluable contributions of the NRC staff are gratefully acknowledged: JoAnn Clayton for her
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Reusable Launch Vehicle: Technology Development and Test Program
advice to the chairman and assistance in preparing background material and editing sections of the report; Dr. Ali Eskandarian for his tireless efforts in arranging all the briefings, for collating, editing, and commenting on the committee's additions to the final report, and for providing counsel to the chairman; and Bill Campbell for his many contributions throughout the study, including preparation of numerous drafts of the report.
Richard A. Hartunian, Chairman
Committee on Reusable Launch Vehicle Technology Development and Test Program
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Reusable Launch Vehicle: Technology Development and Test Program
Contents
LIST OF FIGURES AND TABLES
ix
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
1
1
INTRODUCTION
11
Background
11
Decision Criteria
14
Study Task
15
Approach
16
Organization of the Report
17
Notes
17
2
PRIMARY VEHICLE STRUCTURE
19
Introduction
19
Decision Criteria
20
NASA/Industry Programs
20
Findings and Recommendations
25
Notes
27
3
REUSABLE CRYOGENIC TANK SYSTEM
28
Introduction
28
Decision Criteria
28
NASA/Industry Programs—Al-Li Cryogenic Tanks
30
Findings and Recommendations—Al-Li Cryogenic Tanks
31
NASA/Industry Programs—Organic-Matrix Composite Tanks
36
Findings and Recommendations—Organic-Matrix Composite Tanks
38
Notes
41
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Reusable Launch Vehicle: Technology Development and Test Program
4
THERMAL PROTECTION SYSTEM
43
Introduction
43
Decision Criteria
46
NASA/Industry Programs
47
Findings and Recommendations
52
Notes
54
5
PROPULSION
55
Introduction
55
Decision Criteria
56
NASA/Industry Programs
57
Findings and Recommendations
73
6
CONCLUSIONS AND OBSERVATIONS
76
Materials
77
Propulsion
78
Observations
79
APPENDICES
A
List of Participants
81
B
Biographical Sketches of Committee Members
83
C
List of Acronyms/Abbreviations
88
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Reusable Launch Vehicle: Technology Development and Test Program
List of Tables and Figures
TABLES
4-1
Space Shuttle TPS Damage
44
4-2
100 Mission Maximum Operating Temperature for Space Shuttle Orbiter
44
4-3
TPS Concepts for Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV)
50-52
5-1
NASA/Industry Cooperative Propulsion Technology Programs
58-60
5-2
Characteristics of Flight-Proven 400,00 lb Thrust LOX/LH2 Engines
62
FIGURES
1-1
RLV Technology Demonstration Program
12
1-2
RLV Program Phase Descriptions
12
2-1
What Does It Take to Achieve SSTO?
21
4-1
Examples of Cryogenic Tank Configurations
45
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