GRAHAM WARWICK / WASHINGTON
NASA expects contracts worth $500m to be awarded in September as latest cycle of Space Launch Initiative speeds up
NASA's Space Launch Initiative (SLI) to develop technology for a second-generation reusable launch vehicle (RLV) is gathering pace, with a second round of proposals for risk-reduction activities to be submitted by late March. Contracts totalling $500 million are expected to be awarded in September.
The US space agency has already awarded contracts totalling more than $800 million to 22 contractors under cycle one of the six-year, $4.8 billion SLI. Cycle two was launched in January with the release of a request for proposals (RFP) targeting research on propulsion, flight demonstrations and NASA-unique requirements such as life support and crew safety.
Under the SLI, NASA is funding work on a common set of alternative technologies it intends to make available to all US companies for use in the development of future government and commercial launch systems. Several different space-launch architectures, all involving two-stage-to-orbit (TSTO) second-generation RLVs, are being studied.
A systems requirements review is to start in November and will result in research and development work being focused on fewer architectures and technology areas.
The agency then plans to release an RFP in February next year that will lead to selection of one or more architectures for detailed preliminary design. Contract award is scheduled for September 2003. The SLI's goal is to enable full-scale development of a second-generation RLV to begin in 2006, with flight operations around 2012.
After an initial tranche totalling $791 million was awarded last May, NASA announced a further $95 million of cycle-one contracts in December. The Northrop Grumman/Orbital Sciences SLI team received an additional $20.7 million for architecture studies.
Boeing was awarded $5.4 million to study crew-survivability and escape systems, and its Rocketdyne division and TRW received $68.5 million contract options for potential advanced propulsion work.
Last month, Northrop Grumman awarded Andrews Space &Technology (AS&T) a $15.7 million subcontract to assist vehicle architecture studies. Under its own SLI contract, AS&T is already studying a TSTO using its Alchemist air collection and enrichment system (ACES). The hydrogen-fuelled horizontal take-off and landing RLV would cruise for several hours under turbofan power, using the ACES to generate liquid oxygen for rocket motors that would boost the vehicle to Mach 6 and 200,000ft (61,000m). It would then release the second stage before returning to base under turbofan power.
Much early focus is on propulsion. In December, Aerojet test-fired a liquid-oxygen/ethanol reaction-control engine using platelet injector technology, allowing operation at 25lb (0.1kN) and 870lb thrust. NASA will review the technology readiness of alternative liquid-oxygen/ethanol and liquid-oxygen/liquid-hydrogen auxiliary propulsion systems in November. One prototype will proceed to a critical design review in July 2003.
Source: Flight International
