MODULAR NANOSAT LAUNCHER DESIGN FOR LOWEST MISSION COST AS MINIMUM COST WILL BE REQUIRED FOR A DEDICATED NA…

Public award description

MODULAR NANOSAT LAUNCHER DESIGN FOR LOWEST MISSION COST AS MINIMUM COST WILL BE REQUIRED FOR A DEDICATED NANOSAT LAUNCH VEHICLE, A SERIES AND PARALLEL STAGED, HIGHLY MODULAR VEHICLE ARCHITECTURE IS PROPOSED FOR DESIGN EXPLORATION. THE PRINCIPAL ADVANTAGE OF A MODULAR ARCHITECTURE ON THIS SIZE VEHICLE IS A SINGLE PROPULSION DEVELOPMENT AT A RELATIVELY SMALL SCALE WHICH DRASTICALLY SHORTENS DEVELOPMENT TIMELINES AND COST. A CANDIDATE LAUNCH VEHICLE COULD USE 7 MODULES FOR THE FIRST STAGE, 4 FOR THE SECOND, 2 FOR THE THIRD, AND 1 FOR THE FOURTH. WHITTINGHILL AEROSPACE PROPOSES TO INVESTIGATE MANY MODULAR DESIGNS FOR 3, 4, AND 5 STAGE VEHICLES OF DIFFERENT (SOLID, LIQUID, AND HYBRID) PROPELLANT TYPES. STRUCTURAL, AERODYNAMIC, PROPULSION, AND CONTROL CONFIGURATIONS OF VEHICLES WILL BE OPTIMIZED AND "FLOWN" WITH A TRAJECTORY TOOL TO EVALUATE PERFORMANCE. AFTER TRADES AND ANALYSES ARE COMPLETED AND DESIGNS RANKED, THE RESULTING OPTIMUM MODULE SIZE WILL THEN BE BUILT AND TESTED AT AN ANTICIPATED 1 TO 3KLB THRUST LEVEL. AT THE CONCLUSION OF PHASE 1, THE TECHNOLOGY WILL BE READY FOR FLIGHT DEVELOPMENT AND WILL BE AT A TRL LEVEL OF 5. AT THE END OF PHASE 2, A FULL-SCALE, 2-STAGE SUB-ORBITAL MODULAR VEHICLE WILL HAVE FLOWN.