Definitive Contract NNJ07HH12C by National Aeronautics And Space Administration with Pratt And Whitney Rocketdyne, Mod 1

PRATT AND WHITNEY ROCKETDYNE (PWR) PROPOSES TO DEMONSTRATE A SMALL ATTITUDE CONTROL THRUSTER THAT IS REGENERATIVELY COOLED WITH BOTH GASEOUS OXYGEN AND GASEOUS METHANE. THE ADVANTAGES OF REGENERATIVE COOLING OF GAS-THRUSTERS AS COMPARED TO OTHER POTENTIAL APPROACHES (E.G. ABLATIVE OR FILM COOLING) IS THAT IT ASSURES PROPELLANTS ARE IN THE GASEOUS STATE WHEN THEY REACH THE INJECTOR WITHOUT THE NEED FOR ANY EXTERNAL THERMAL CONDITIONING. THE ADVANTAGE OF THE FULLY GASEOUS PROPELLANTS AT THE INJECTOR ENABLES A SIMPLER THRUSTER DESIGN AS COMPARED TO ONE THAT WOULD NEED TO BE DESIGNED FIR SATURATED GAS OR LIQUID INJECTION. THE SUB-SCALE TEST THRUSTER WILL BE APPROPRIATE FOR APPLICATION TO A REACTION CONTROL SYSTEM OF THE TYPE BEING ENVISIONED FOR THE CREW EXPLORATION VEHICLE OR THE LUNAR LANDER /ASCENT VEHICLE. THE THRUSTER HARDWARE PROPOSED FIT THUS ACTIVITY IS A MODIFICATION OF EXISTING EQUIPMENT ORIGINALLY DEVELOPED BE PWR FOR A PREVIOUS SPACE STATION APPLICATION. THE USE OF EXISTING HARDWARE ASSETS SIGNIFICANTLY REDUCES THE COST OF THIS ACTIVITY. IN ADDITION TO THE THRUSTER ITSELF, PWR PROPOSES TO INCLUDE A SELF-IGNITION SYSTEM BASED ON A PIEZO RESONANCE PROCESS. THE ADVANTAGES OF THIS IGNITION PROCESS OVER OTHER POTENTIAL APPROACHES (E.G. SPARK IGNITER/EXCITER) IS THE ELIMINATION OF HIGH VOLTAGE CABLES (AN EMI CONCERN) AND SEPARATE EXCITER ELECTRONICS (A SIGNIFICANT MASS SAVINGS). THIS UNIQUE IGNITION APPROACH HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED BY PWR WITH OXYGEN AND METHANE PROPELLANTS AT THE ELEMENT LEVEL. THIS PROPOSED ACTIVITY WOULD DEMONSTRATE END TO END PERFORMANCE OF THIS UNIQUE IGNITION SYSTEM WITH A COMPLETE THRUSTER. THE WORK PLAN PROPOSED BY PWR INCLUDES ALL OF THE NECESSARY ELEMENTS FOR AN ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITY OF THIS TYPE, INCLUDING DESIGN, FABRICATION, AND SUBSCALE TESTING AT PWR. TESTING OF THE FULL SCALE THRUSTER WILL BE PERFORMED AT THE NASA FACILITY (EITHER NASA/GRC OR WSTF) UNDER SEPARATE FUNDING. PWR INCLUDES WORK ELEMENTS AND COST ASSOCIATED WITH TEST SUPPORT AND POST-TEST DATA ANALYSIS AND REPORTING. THE PROPOSED PROGRAM SCHEDULE IS REASONABLE AND WELL STRUCTURED, PROVIDING TIMELY RESULTS FOR THE IDENTIFIED TASKS. THE PROPOSED MANAGEMENT APPROACH IS WELL STRUCTURED AND SHOULD PROVIDE THE NECESSARY CONTROLS AND INSIGHT INTO CONTRACT PERFORMANCE, INCLUDING EARNED VALUE AND A FORMAL RISK MANAGEMENT PROCESS. AN IPT APPROACH US PROPOSED, WHICH HAS BEEN DEMONSTRATED TO BE EFFECTIVE PAST PROGRAMS. THE LEADERSHIP PROJECT AND PRINCIPLE INVESTIGATOR ARE HIGHLY QUALIFIED AND HAVE A WEALTH OF EXPERIENCE IN ROCKET ENGINE DEVELOPMENT AND PREVIOUS ADVANCED DEVELOPMENT ACTIVITIES OF THIS TYPE. FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT AT PWR ARE EXTENSIVE AND SHOULD PROVIDE ALL NECESSARY ELEMENTS FOR COMPLETING THE WORK PROPOSED, INCLUDING MANUFACTURING (MACHINING AND WELDING) AND SUB-SCALE TESTING. OVERALL, THIS IS AN EXCELLENT PROPOSAL. THE RESULTS OF THIS ACTIVITY WILL PROVIDE A SIGNIFICANT BODY OF KNOWLEDGE ON THE APPLICABILITY OF DUAL REGENERATIVE COOLING FOR GAS-GAS RCS-CLASS THRUSTERS.