SBIR/STTR Research Award

Integrated Launch Vehicle Booster using a Rocket Engine with a Combined Thermodynamic Cycle

Award identifier 48e1542de4f620382e71fd38b07d3c63a214f860d7a51e7d1cc40765d5d2f928Awarding agency National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Award amount

$124,944

Program and phase

SBIR · Phase I

Award year

2018

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Award details

Awarding agency
National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Branch
Not reported
Recipient company
FRONTIER ASTRONAUTICS LLC
Proposal award date
2018-07-27
Contract end date
2019-02-15
UEI
T8UAKZNE79H5
Solicitation number
SBIR_18_P1
Topic code
Z9

Research abstract

The concept describes abooster for a launch vehicle that is simpler to make, transport and launch than current launch vehicles.It is composed of two major components. The first being a booster structure and the second being a liquid rocket engine that uses a thermodynamic cycle that is a combination of two common cycles.Furthermore, the engine is actually fairly simple when compared to modern liquid rocket engines, thereby making it less expensive and having more inherently reliably. The booster uses hydrogen peroxide and kerosene. This is a dense propellant combination that allows the booster to be made out of relatively inexpensive materials yet still have a high propellant mass fraction. This reduces cost.The booster will use four fixed rocket engines (non-gimballing) that are angled slightly so that pitch, yaw and roll control can be achieved simply by throttling the engines differently. This eliminates the need for a gimbal mount, hydraulic actuators and related componets, flexible propellant feed lines and separate pressure tanks.Furthermore, with the use of dense, non-cryogenic, hypergolic propellants like hydrogen peroxide, all cryogenic compatible components (which are expensive), insulation and the entireignition system may be eliminated.The engine combines a gas generator with an electric pump fed design. It switches from one cycle to the other at the optimum time of flight allowing better performance than an engine using only one of the cycles exclusively.It would use the gas generator mode for liftoff and early in the flight as it can provide high power output at the cost of less specific impulse efficiency. By switching to a closed electric cycle doing boost the engine can then provide higher specific impulse with less thrust, which is acceptable because the booster will have consumed much of its propellant and is lighter.The combination of thisbooster and engine allows for a much simpler and reliable launch vehicle.

Technology keywords

Not reported

Other awards by this recipient

Verified by the same UEI. These are other public SBIR/STTR award pages, not a merged company record.

Research funding history

3 SBIR/STTR records share this UEI (2018–2020). Reported award amounts total $999,743. Reported amounts are not federal obligations.

Phases: Phase I, Phase II

Agencies: National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Agency intelligence

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

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