105 lines
5.0 KiB
Plaintext
105 lines
5.0 KiB
Plaintext
"6_2_15_10.TXT" (4905 bytes) was created on 05-02-89
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Enter {V}iew, {X}MODEM, {Y}MODEM, {K}ERMIT, ? for HELP, or {M}enu [V]...
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ADVANCED SOLID ROCKET MOTOR (ASRM) PROJECT
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The Advanced Solid Rocket Motor project is intended to
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substantially improve the flight safety, reliability and
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performance of the Space Shuttle's Solid Rocket Boosters for the
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many years in the future that the Shuttle will remain a principal
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U.S. launch vehicle.
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Key objectives of the project are to achieve significant
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improvements over the current Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor in
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the areas of:
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o Flight safety design margins;
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o System reliability, through enhancements in motor quality
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and reproducibility;
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o Booster performance, along with the related aspect of
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Shuttle payload capacity; and
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o Reduced overall program cost, through increased efficiency.
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In terms of performance, the Shuttle's projected 12,000-
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pound extra lifting capability with the new motors will enable
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additional payload deliveries equivalent to 2.4 Shuttle missions
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per year, above the currently planned maximum of 14 per year.
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In addition to improved safety, reliability and performance,
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the next-generation booster project promises several broad
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national benefits. For example, it will strengthen the nation's
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existing technology foundation as a base for future advances in
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solid fuel propulsion. It will help promote a competitive solid
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rocket motor industry and reduce Shuttle operational costs.
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Substantial improvements are possible because of great
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technological progress made by the solid rocket motor industry
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since the current Shuttle booster was designed. Some of the most
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significant strides have been in process control technology and
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automation, which enable achieving a high degree of product
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reproducibility and reliability.
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These improvements will be incorporated in modern production
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facilities that are to be built for the Advanced Solid Rocket
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Motor project and which will have a capacity of producing up to
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30 motors per year. The facilities are planned for construction
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at the Yellow Creek site in extreme northeastern Mississippi,
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which is NASA's preferred site for the hardware production.
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Additional specialized facilities will be built at the John
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C. Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Miss., NASA's
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preferred location for ground testing of the motors. It also is
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planned that part of the effort will use NASA's existing
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facilities at the Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans.
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The Advanced Solid Rocket Motor development program is
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expected to take approximately 5 years, with first use of the new
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motors in a Shuttle flight possible by 1994. The cost of design
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and development is estimated at just under $1 billion, exclusive
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of facility costs, which are estimated at between $200 and $300
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million. The design and development cost will include delivery
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of rocket motors for six Shuttle missions (which will save $170-
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180 million currently being paid for the old-technology motors).
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Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages
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the Advanced Solid Rocket Motor program for NASA.
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Evolution of ASRM
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Since 1977, the Space Shuttle has consisted of a manned
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reusable orbiter, an expendable external tank for its liquid
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propellants, and two recoverable and reusable solid rocket
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boosters. Each booster comprises several subsystems, the largest
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of which is the solid rocket motor with its igniter and nozzle.
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In 1986, following the Challenger accident, NASA contracted
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for a redesigned solid rocket motor, which would incorporate a
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number of design changes determined to be necessary before the
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Shuttle could return to flight. The redesign effort was oriented
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toward providing a motor that is safe to fly, while at the same
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time keeping impact to the Shuttle launch schedule at a
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minimum. Therefore, the redesign was based on use of existing
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hardware wherever possible, without compromising safety.
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To meet its longer-term solid rocket motor requirements,
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NASA in March 1987 presented to Congress an acquisition strategy
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and plan. The plan analyzed three options: recompeting the
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redesigned solid rocket motor; continuing single-source
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procurement of the redesigned motor; or proceeding with an
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Advanced Solid Rocket Motor, which had already been the subject
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of NASA-funded studies by industry.
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NASA recommended the third option, and in October 1987,
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through the NASA Authorization Act of 1988, Congress indicated
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its approval for that approach. In March 1988, NASA published an
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acquisition plan detailing how it would implement the Advanced
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Solid Rocket Motor program. With issuance of the request for
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proposals in August 1988, the procurement began in earnest.
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Evaluation of proposals has been under way since November 1988,
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and selection of a prime contractor is expected to be announced
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this month (April 1989).
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- end -
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