Very High Altitude Aircraft Propulsion Engines

Proposed is a power system suitable for operation to altitudes of 100K feet or more and capable of operating for 12-20 hours at a time. The system will be storable for years in a sealed container. It will have thermal efficiency sufficient for meeting the 20-hour endurance requirement while still being storable within the required size envelope. It will feature turbomachinery and technologies already demonstrated in previous programs and will have flexibility to meet power requirements at a variety of altitudes from sea level to deep space. Within Phase I, a feasibility study will be conducted of several system architectures and weight, form factor and performance at the required power will be estimated. All system architectures will feature similar components as major elements. The government will be presented with results of trades along with justification for the selected system. Upon concurrence with the government on the best go-forward system, required materials and sub systems will be identified and a Phase II (and subsequent activity) plan will be generated for further development of the system. Subsequent development of this system in Phase II will likely be in conjunction with activities supporting the end use program office.