NASA has completed the design of its autonomous-flight safety system (AFSS) aimed at enabling expendable launch vehicles (ELV) to self-terminate automatically in the event of a failure.
The AFSS could lower range operations costs for ELVs by eliminating the need for ground-based radar tracking and telemetry.
The current three-year Phase 3 of the project aims to flight-validate the system, which would allow launches from remote locations without extensive ground infrastructure. Onboard flight processors would initiate flight termination based on data gathered from redundant onboard sensors.
Prototype system flight testing using laboratory simulations and suborbital sounding rockets is scheduled for September next year, with flight tests on the redundant system following in September 2005 at ranges including Wallops Island, Virginia; Cape Canaveral, Florida; and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
Source: Flight International