A launch vehicle concept to deliver 20,000 lb of payload to a 100-nmi orbit has been defined. A new liquid oxygen/kerosene booster powered by an RD-180 engine was designed while using a slightly modified Centaur upper stage. The design, development, and test program met the imposed 40-mo schedule by elimination of major structural testing by increased factors of safety and concurrent engineering concepts. A growth path to attain 65,000 lb of payload is developed.
20K Payload Launch Vehicle Fast Track Development Concept Using an RD-180 Engine and a Centaur Upper Stage
1995
80 pages
Report
Keine Angabe
Englisch
Unmanned Spacecraft , Spacecraft Trajectories & Flight Mechanics , Aerodynamic configurations , Centaur launch vehicle , Concurrent engineering , Launch vehicle configurations , Liquid propellant rocket engines , Payloads , Upper stage rocket engines , Computer programs , Engine design , Multidisciplinary research , Spacecraft design
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