Small upper stage - An orbit enabling hydrazine propulsion stage forthe small satellite community

Abstract

Under funding from the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL), Rocket Research Company (RRC) has recently completed a one-year study and design effort on the Small Upper Stage (SUS). The goal of this effort was to create a generic, low-cost propulsion stage design capable of being integrated to several different launch vehicles (LV's) and capable of providing a mission enabling orbit transfer function to a variety of different small satellite missions. A launch vehicle survey was conducted to establish the current LV capability and environments with respect to small satellites. In addition, a small satellite survey was conducted to establish the orbital needs of the small satellite community. With this information, the SUS specification was created. Based on this specification, the preliminary design of the SUS was developed. This design is capable of being integrated onto several different LV's and is capable of providing the orbit adjust requirements for more than 75 percent of the small satellite missions identified. The SUS design has capabilities of providing small satellites with several orbit transfer maneuvers from a LEO parking orbit (e.g., Hohmann transfer, circularization, plane change and deorbit). The SUS, containing a single or multiple small satellites, can be integrated onto a host LV as a primary on the SLV's, as a secondary on the MLV's or as multiples on a dedicated LV. With the completion of a proposed SUS development and qualification program, the LV and small satellite communities will have a new asset to enhance current capabilities and enable future missions without the need to fund a nonrecumng program for a custom propulsion stage. Introduction Launch Vehicle Survey Rocket Research Company (RRC) has recently completed To establish the launch vehicle portion of the SUS specithe first two tasks of a seven-task SUS designfqualification fication, alaunch vehicle survey was conducted. User guides program. The first task was to create a specification for a were obtained for each of the currently available U.S. launch small satellite upper stage based on current launch vehicle vehicles (Fig. 1). From these guides, the various structural and capability and small satellite orbital needs. The second task thermal environments were determined and the SUS requirewas to create the SUS preliminary design based on the specifiments were established which encompass all of the published cation. Contained herein is a summary of the final report which launch vehicle data. This was done such that the SUS could documents the results of the first two tasks of this program.