NGLS - Next-Generation Launch System от ULA

[Salo]

http://spacenews.com/decision-on-vulcan-engine-could-slip-to-2017/

Decision on Vulcan engine could slip to 2017
by Jeff Foust — September 12, 2016
ULA CEO Tory Bruno said the company will wait until the BE-4 perform a full-scale static-fire test before making a decision on using that engine in its Vulcan rocket. Credit: ULA  
 
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla. — A decision on what engine will power United Launch Alliance's next-generation Vulcan rocket could be pushed back until next spring depending on the timing of a key engine test, ULA's chief executive said Sept. 8.
In an interview here shortly before the successful Atlas 5 launch of NASA's OSIRIS-REx asteroid sample return mission, Tory Bruno said a decision on whether to use the BE-4 engine under development by Blue Origin was pending a full-scale engine test that had been expected by late this year.
"It's really tied not so much to the calendar but to a technical event," Bruno said of the schedule for an engine decision. "We want to have a full-scale static firing of the BE-4, so that we understand that it's going to hit its performance and it's going to be stable."
"That may occur by the end of the year, but I could see it moving into the spring a little bit, to make sure we have enough test data and we feel confident about where we're at," he added.
He emphasized that the BE-4 remained the "primary path" to be used on the first stage of the Vulcan, ahead of the AR1 engine under development by Aerojet Rocketdyne. "They're out in front," Bruno said of the BE-4.
Bruno also confirmed that development of Vulcan is still being approved on a quarterly basis by ULA's board of directors, comprised of executives from its corporate parents, Boeing and Lockheed Martin. Those regular reviews, he said, have not posed a problem for work on Vulcan.
"They've been very supportive, they've been terrific," he said of ULA's board. "It helps that we're performing well."
Key to Vulcan's development is ULA's ability to continue to win contracts for its existing Atlas and Delta vehicles. ULA did win in August two sole-source awards for Delta 4 Heavy launches for the National Reconnaissance Office in 2020 and 2023, a deal with an estimated value of $700 million. However, Bruno said that upcoming head-to-head competitions with SpaceX were also critical to ULA.
"They're important to the business because the investment dollars for Vulcan come from ongoing operations," he said. "Our investment comes from the money we make by continuing to sell space launch services, so we have to keep maintaining a viable business on those launches in order to generate those funds."
ULA declined last year to bid on the first EELV competition, for a GPS 3 satellite. Bruno said that two of the issues that kept ULA from bidding, a lack of available RD-180 engines and what he called "very strange" accounting requirements, have both been resolved.
A third obstacle to bidding, and one that remains today, is the use of selection criteria based only on price. "I don't personally have any experience with that applying to space or space launch, which is a complex, high-risk kind of endeavor. The events of last week, I think, highlight that," he said, a reference to the destruction of a SpaceX Falcon 9 on the pad Sept. 1 prior to a static-fire test.
That emphasis on price, he argued, ignores the other attributes of the Atlas 5 that he believes offers a greater value, including its reliability and performance. "When all of that is considered, Atlas is absolutely very competitive and, in my view, more often than not, hands-down the best value," he said. "On a pure price competition, none of that plays, and we are less competitive because it takes all of our strengths off the table."
That emphasis on price remains in the request for proposals issued by the Air Force in August for a second GPS 3 satellite launch, but Bruno suggested ULA will still submit a bid by the Sept. 19 deadline. "It's my strong desire to participate in every competition that I can and I'm qualified for," he said, declining to go into more details because of the ongoing competition.
Bruno also said he is working to make more inroads into the commercial launch market with the Atlas 5, particularly since the recent Falcon 9 failure and delays in the Proton launch vehicle caused by a June launch anomaly have constricted the supply of launch vehicles available for commercial missions. Two commercial Atlas 5 missions are scheduled through the end of the year, including the Sept. 16 launch of DigitalGlobe's WorldView-4 satellite and an EchoStar satellite planned for launch in December.
Bruno said there is room for more commercial launches in the near future. "I think there was a perception in the commercial marketplace that ULA was really focused on NASA and the Air Force and there was not availability in our manifest," he said. "I have slots reserved and available for people next year and the year after."

[Salo]

Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  1 ч.1 час назад  
Reed: work with NASA on key technologies shows SMART reuse approach (mid-air recovery of engines only) is viable. #AIAASpace
 
  Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  1 ч.1 час назад  
John Reed, ULA: a little soft on what market needs are for reusable systems beyond a lower cost of access. #AIAASpace

[Quооndo]

А вот может кто-нибудь рассказать про Вулкан в контексте развития программы СТ-100. Боинг ведь будет их на пилотируемые Атласы ставить. А после 2020-го года Атласам конец. Получается не состыковка. Как-то СТ-100 надо же пускать. Или Боинг что-то не договаривает или в Боинге сидят дураки. Либо Атласы будут продолжать летать либо переход на пилотируемый Вулкан. Одно из 4-х.

[Apollo13]

Атласы будут летать, пока Вулкан не сертифицируют для пилотируемых полётов.

[Salo]

Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  6 мин.6 минут назад
Bernard Kutter, ULA: ACES upper stage offers new capability; serve as "service module" with flexility for multiple missions. #AIAASpace

[Salo]

ULA Подлинная учетная запись ‏@ulalaunch
 
Don't miss ULA's Bernard Kutter on the #aiaaSpace "Technologies for the New LEO Economy" panel. Livestream:
 
 https://t.co/X8QiFuLvF1
 
 7:30 - 14 сент. 2016 г.

[Salo]

Parabolicarc.com ‏@spacecom  11 мин.11 минут назад    Long Beach, CA  
Kutter: see the number of people in space rising from six to 1,000 in the decades to come #AIAASpace
 
Parabolicarc.com ‏@spacecom  13 мин.13 минут назад    Long Beach, CA  
Kutter: ACES upper stage will serve as a service module for moving things around in cis-luanr space #AIAASpace
 
Parabolicarc.com ‏@spacecom  14 мин.14 минут назад    Long Beach, CA  
Bernard Kutter, ULA: working on updated ACES upper stage that will be in operation in the early 2020's. #AiaaSpace

[Salo]

http://spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=49575

SMC, ULA Enter into CRADA to Certify Vulcan Launch Vehicle
 Press Release From: Los Angeles Air Force Base
 Posted: Tuesday, September 27, 2016
 
The Space and Missile Systems Center signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with United Launch Alliance (ULA) as part of the company's effort to certify its new Vulcan launch vehicle for National Security Space (NSS) missions. This cooperative, jointly-written agreement facilitates data exchanges and protects proprietary and export-controlled data. The CRADA will be in effect until all non-recurring design validation activities for Vulcan are complete.
 
This CRADA enables the Air Force to evaluate the Vulcan launch system according to the Air Force's New Entrant Certification Guide (NECG), and contains a detailed Certification Plan that specifies all of the non-recurring activities. As part of the evaluation, SMC and ULA will look at flight history, vehicle design, reliability, process maturity, safety systems, manufacturing and operations, systems engineering, risk management and launch facilities. SMC will monitor at least two certification flights to meet the flight history requirements outlined in the NECG. ULA will give the US Government specific levels of insight into the design and testing of the vehicle during its development; the breadth and depth of this insight allows for the number of certification flights to be two. Once portions of the non-recurring validation are complete, the SMC commander may make a determination to grant certification. This approach is consistent with other CRADAs.
 
"The certification process provides a path for launch-service providers to demonstrate the capability to design, produce, qualify, and deliver a new launch system and provide the mission assurance support required to deliver NSS satellites to orbit," said Lt. Gen. Samuel Greaves, Air Force program executive officer for Space and Space and Missile Systems Center commander. "This process ensures that we continue to have assured access to space."
 
While certification does not guarantee a contract award, it does enable a company to be awarded competitive launch services contracts.
 
In addition to the Vulcan CRADA, SMC anticipates entering into additional CRADAs with SpaceX for their Falcon Heavy rocket and with Orbital-ATK for their Next Generation Launcher.
 
Currently, ULA's Delta IV and Atlas V, and SpaceX's Falcon 9 Upgrade are the only certified launch vehicles for sending NSS payloads into orbit. Having multiple certified launch vehicle providers and multiple families of launch systems bolsters U.S. assured access to space.
 
The Space and Missile Systems Center, located at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif., is the U.S. Air Force's center for acquiring and developing military space systems. Its portfolio includes the Global Positioning System, military satellite communications, defense meteorological satellites, space launch and range systems, satellite control networks, space based infrared systems and space situational awareness capabilities.

[Salo]

Jeff Foust ‏@jeff_foust  5 мин.5 минут назад
Mike Holguin, ULA: still looking at three engines for use on new ACES upper stage: RL10, BE-3U, or XCOR engine. #ISPCS2016

[Salo]

pnetmon пишет:

https://twitter.com/torybruno/status/826394204305764352
 Tory Bruno @torybruno
 31 янв. 2017 г.

Mighty Atlas ‏@Rocket_AtlasV
@torybruno Ah. since AR-1 produces significantly less thrust than RD-180 would a solution be dual engine or more SRBs?

Both Vulcan/BE4 and Vulcan/AR1 configurations call for 2 engines, which is about 30% more thrust than AtlasV. Removes at least one SRB

(Continued). Conversrely, A single AR1 or BE4 config would be about 48% less thrust than AtlasV, which would typically add 2 SRBs. More cost

Stian Nuland ‏@Stian_Nuland
 @torybruno Won't Vulcan/BE4 require a different tank size compared to Vulcan/AR1 due to propellant density differences? MethaLOX vs. KeroLOX

Yes. LN2 less dense than RP1. Both Vulcan/BE4 and Vulcan/AR1 configs have larger tank than AtlasV to optimize for > thrust: Lower total cost

Stian Nuland ‏@Stian_Nuland
 @torybruno Thank you. A quick follow up on that. Has the tank diameter been decided? I've heard both 5.4 meter and 5 meter.

5.4. Think of Vulcan as evol of Atlas. AtlasIII got RD180 + bigger Centaur, AtlasV incr to 3.8m + SRBs, Vulcan chg engine and incr to 5.4m

[Salo]

Zach Kromer ‏@Astro_Zach
A wonderful infographic made by @zlsadesign about Vulcan

[TAU]

Атласы будут летать, пока Вулкан не сертифицируют для пилотируемых полётов.

Насколько я понимаю, этот Вулкан никакого отношения к Вулкану на Ариане-5 не имеет? Однофамилец? 

[Salo]

Какое отношение название двигателя может иметь к названию РН?

[Salo]

ULA ‏@ulalaunch  16 ч.16 часов назад
The evolution to a self-sustaining space economy. #CisLunar1000
 
 

[Salo]

 Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno  4 ч.4 часа назад  
AtlasV has a single dual chambered RD180 at 860klbf. Vulcan ("AtlasVI") would have 2 550klbf BE4s, for 1.1Mlbf of thrust.

 Mighty Atlas  @Rocket_AtlasV  
@torybruno single engine or dual on Atlas?

   Tory Bruno‏Подлинная учетная запись @torybruno  5 ч.5 часов назад  
BE4 is the primary path to replace the Atlas' Russian RD180. Looking good

 
 Jeff BezosПодлинная учетная запись @JeffBezos  
Here's one more shot of BE-4 in its transport cradle.

[Salo]

http://www.theverge.com/2017/3/6/14827530/jeff-bezos-blue-origin-rocket-engine-be-4-new-glenn

[Salo]

 Caleb Henry‏ @CHenry_SN  4 мин.4 минуты назад
Lockheed's Skladanek: ULA working w/ NASA on a heat shield to bring Vulcan's 1st stage engine back. Rest of rocket is expendable. #satshow

[tnt22]

Alec Hutchinson‏ @BP_Hutch 17 ч. назад

Here's a good @ulalaunch infographic covering their ACES upper stage that will eventually fly on Vulcan. A lot of exciting engineering here!

[Salo]

Два года назад уже постили:
 http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/messages/forum13/topic14712/message1362656/#message1362656

[tnt22]

  :|  
http://spacenews.com/bruno-vulcan-engine-downselect-is-blues-to-lose/

Bruno: Vulcan engine downselect is Blue's to lose
by Jeff Foust — April 5, 2017

Спойлер

Blue Origin founder Jeff Bezos speaks in front of his company's New Shepard suborbital vehicle on display at the 33rd Space Symposium in Colorado Springs April 5. Bezos said the company still plans to start flying people on suborbital space tourism flights by the end of 2018, although the company has yet to start selling tickets or even setting a ticket price. Development of New Shepard, he said, is informing the company's plans for an orbital launch vehicle, New Glenn, that will use the same BE-4 engines that United Launch Alliance is considering for its Vulcan rocket. Credit: Chuck Bigger for SpaceNews

[свернуть]

COLORADO SPRINGS — United Launch Alliance is prepared to sel ect Blue Origin's BE-4 engine for its Vulcan launch vehicle this year if the engine passes an upcoming series of tests, the company's chief executive said April 5.

In an interview during the 33rd Space Symposium here, Tory Bruno said that tests of the BE-4 engine, scheduled to begin "very soon" at Blue Origin's test site in West Texas, are the last major hurdle the engine must clear before ULA decides to use it on Vulcan.

"The economic factors are largely in place now and the thing that is outstanding is the technical risk," Bruno said. "That's why we keep talking about the engine firing."

Спойлер

A major aspect of the engine tests, he said, is to determine the degree of combustion instability the BE-4 has when the engine starts. "Any time when you are developing a new rocket engine, any time you change the scale or the fuel, you are at risk of this phenomenon," he said. The BE-4 engine is the largest engine developed to date that uses methane as fuel, rather than more common alternatives like kerosene or liquid hydrogen.

"We look first to the combustion instability as the chief technical risk that must be retired before we'd be able to pick an engine," Bruno said. He anticipated a series of tests, lasting for several weeks, where the engine's thrust is gradually increased to measure its performance and determine if it suffers from combustion instability.

Bruno said he was encouraged by tests of some key engine components, including the preburner, a smaller version of the main engine that powers the engine's turbomachinery. "The good news is the preburner is running like a top," he said. "We're starting to get more and more confidence that we're going to have a good experience when we run a full-scale engine."

If the tests all go as planned, Bruno said ULA could be ready to formally sel ect the BE-4 in as soon as 60 to 90 days. "But it could take longer," he added. "It's not on the calendar."

 
Tony Bruno (left), Jeff Bezos and the BE-4 engine at 2014 press conference. Credit: SpaceNews/Brian Berger

Rob Meyerson, president of Blue Origin, confirmed in an April 5 interview that test of the BE-4 will start in the next several weeks. One engine is already at the company's test site, with two more shipping there soon.

"We wanted to go into the test program hardware-rich," he said. With those engines and other equipment at the test site, "we can move through the test program quite rapidly." He said that testing would continue after ULA made its decision, with final certification of the BE-4 planned for late 2018 or early 2019.

While Bruno will make the decision about the engine, he will get plenty of advice. He said he recently established an independent non-advocate review (INR) team of outside experts to review the overall engine evaluation process. That team includes former Secretary of the Air Force Sheila Widnall; retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Susan Mashiko, former deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office; and Ray Johnson, former vice president for space launch operations at the Aerospace Corp.

Bruno said Congress also established a separate INR team, comprised of engineers fr om NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center, to review the engine selection process. "I was actually happy to hear that they did that," Bruno said, adding that this team had access to the same data as ULA's own review team.

 
Rob Meyerson, president of Blue Origin, confirmed in an April 5 interview that test of the BE-4 will start in the next several weeks. Credit: Tom Kimmel

Bruno added that he expected the Air Force would also seek access to the test data and provide ULA with its own opinion about the engine. "I will hear all of those opinions and it will be super easy if everybody says the same thing," he said. "If they do not, then we will resolve that. And then we will make a choice."

Aerojet Rocketdyne's AR1 engine remains the alternative for Vulcan should the BE-4 run into technical problems. Development of the AR1 is 18 to 24 months behind the BE-1, he said, because it started later. "I have confidence they can get their engine to work" because of its use of a more conventional fuel, kerosene.

Blue Origin, though, has the financial edge. Bruno said ULA already haa a firm fixed-price deal with Blue Origin for "a large enough quantity" of engines that covers initial Vulcan missions. Those engines will be produced initially at Blue Origin's factory in Kent, Washington.

"Their production capability actually looks quite good," Bruno said of those initial BE-4 engine plans. "My INR heads came back to me and said they are very comfortable with that production capability already."

Later engines will be built at a separate facility Blue Origin plans to develop in the next few years that will be designed to produce dozens of engines a year. "We're in the process of site selection for a full production site," Meyerson said. He declined to identify the locations being considered, but said a decision should be made in the next six months.

Bruno said that he expected to decide on the Vulcan engine this year, but wouldn't be rushed into one. "I get to make this decision, like, once. This is a big decision and if you don't get it right, it's very hard to come back fr om that," he said. "So I'm going to take my time and listen to all these experts and stakeholders and then do it."

[свернуть]