AERODYNAMICALLY STABLE ICBM BOOSTER DESIGN CONCEPTS

A NEW APPROACH TO HIGH PERFORMANCE ICBM DESIGN HAS BEEN IDENTIFIED. THE END PRODUCT IS A HIGHLY STABLE, LOW DRAG, TWO-STAGE BOOSTER WHICH IS LIGHTER, FASTER BURNING, MORE RELIABLE, AND LESS EXPENSIVE THAN AN EQUIVALENT, CONVENTIONAL, THREE-STAGE MISSILE. MAJOR PERFORMANCE IMPROVEMENTS ARE OBTAINED BY REPLACING THE TRADITIONAL, CYLINDRICAL UPPER MOTOR STAGES AND POST-BOOST VEHICLE (PBV) WITH A SINGLE, CONICAL MOTOR STAGE AND CONICAL PBV. THE REDUCED WEIGHT, IMPROVED STABILITY, AND RELATIVELY FAST BURN TIME ARE BY-PRODUCTS OF THE CONICAL UPPER STAGE DESIGN APPROACH. RELIABILITY AND COST BENEFITS RESULT FROM REPLACING THE TWO UPPER STAGE MOTORS WITH A SINGLE MOTOR. THE PHASE I TECHNICAL OBJECTIVES ARE TO DEVELOP CONCEPTUAL DESIGN APPROACHES FOR IMPROVING UPON THE BASIC, TWO-STAGE CYLINDER-CONE BOOSTER. ALTERNATIVE CONCEPTS WILL BE DEFINED AND CHARACTERIZED, TECHNOLOGY ISSUES IDENTIFIED, AND R&D PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS SPECIFIED. ALTERNATIVE AERODYNAMIC SHAPES AND PROPULSION SYSTEMS (INCLUDING "HYBRID" INTEGRATED STAGE CONCEPTS), NEW MATERIALS, AND IMPROVED STRUCTURES WILL BE TREATED. PHASE I RESULTS ARE EXPECTED TO PROVIDE THE AIR FORCE WITH NEW AND IMPROVED METHODS FOR DESIGNING HIGH PERFORMANCE BALLISTIC MISSILES AND WITH THE BOOSTER PERFORMANCE INFORMATION NEEDED TO IDENTIFY FUTURE BALLISTIC MISSILE TECHNOLOGY PROGRAM NEEDS.