Integrated Thruster/Valve Seat for Divert Attitude Control Systems

High acceleration, low-mass solid divert attitude control systems (SDACS) for missile defense applications employ multiple rhenium thrusters with integrated diverter valve assemblies to control the direction and duration of thrust. These rhenium thrusters, valve seats and valve bodies are expensive and time consuming to fabricate and are the controlling factor for producing a deliverable SDACS unit. In order to meet MDA/Navy timelines for fielding a missile defense system, significant reductions in time and cost are desired. One approach for reducing component fabrication time and cost is to integrate components such as the thruster and valve seat. Under the Phase I SBIR program, DE Technologies, Inc. (DET) and its research partners, ATK/Elkton and Engelhard Corporation, have designed an integrated thruster/valve seat design and produced a near-net shape component using an Electroforming process. The proposed Phase II program will build on the Phase I research to develop, analyze, manufacture and test prototype integrated thruster/valve seat designs for representative SDACS configurations. The thruster/valve seat designs developed in Phase II will be specifically designed for EL-Form, rhenium production and hot-fired to demonstrate performance in a representative environment. The Phase II program will also demonstrate the ability to produce multiple, near-net shape thruster/valve seat components.