VEGA new first stage: P105 SRM - Overview of Technological innovations

Abstract

P105 SRM, currently in the preliminary design phase, is conceived to be a high performance low-cost solid rocket motor, the development of which will provide Europe with the first stage propulsion for the improved VEGA-C launch vehicle, increasing VEGA launching system capability with respect to present baseline configuration. Moreover, P105 will consolidate the demonstration of technological maturity oriented to assess the feasibility of the future Ariane 6 Solid Rocket Motors. AVIO S.p.A., leader in solid space propulsion and responsible of design and production of Zefiro 23 and Zefiro 9 SRMs, as well as P80 Loaded Motor Case, will introduce on P105 the use of a new prepreg material and will apply Automatic Tape Layup for the Insulated Motor Case manufacturing. AVIO set up an own resin formulation, and successfully tested it with several dry carbon fibers, producing both pre-impregnated Tow (used for winding of case cylindrical part and domes) and Tape (used for case skirts laying). The ATL (Automatic Tape Laying) technology will be used to realize the automatic tape deposition for the skirts manufacturing. The use of this technology will have several benefits: strong reduction of defects in the skirt region, increase of skirt loading capability and possible mass saving, reduced manufacturing cycle duration thanks to the automatic lay-up with respect to the manual layup. Improvements will be introduced also on the TVC System in order to achieve cost reduction and reliability increase. Concerning the nozzle, one of the constraints of P105 development is the possibility to use P80 nozzle without major modifications. The advantage will be to avoid the impacts on planning and nonrecurring costs generated by the development and qualification of a new nozzle. Nevertheless, some modifications and improvements will be introduced in order to achieve proper Safety Factors, increase reliability and reduce costs.