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Air Launch System

Preliminary Design Review

April 7, 2008

Dan Poniatowski (Team Lead)

Matt Campbell

Dan Cipera

Pierre Dumas

Boris Kaganovich

Jason LaDoucer

Isaac Landecker

Brandon Miller

Long Nguyen

Rizwan Qureshi

Angela Reesman

Cory Sorenson

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Project Overview• Goals and Motivation

– Design a multi-stage vehicle that is launched from high altitude and is capable of delivering a small payload to the ISS.

– The vehicle must be readily available, simple to use and require a minimum amount of preparation prior to launch.

– The motivation is to reduce the cost and improve reliability of launching a small payload into orbit by using an aircraft as the first lifting stage instead of a rocket.

• Scope and Deliverables– Produce a Solid Works model of each system component. This

includes the aircraft launch system, booster assembly and satellite. – Use a variety of techniques including theory, Solid Works, Joe

Mueller’s orbital mechanics code and Professor Hammer’s thermal analysis code to ensure the system can accomplish its mission.

Project Overview - Organization

B ra n d on M ille r

D a n C ip e ra

Isa ac L an d ecker

M a tt C am p b e llS u b Le ad

A irc ra ft A n a lys is

P ie rre D u m as

A n ge la R e e sm an

R izw a n Q u re sh i

B o ris K ag a no v ichS u b Le ad

B o o ste r D e s ign

Ja son La D ou cer

C o ry S ore n son

L o ng N g uyenS u b Le ad

P ie rre D u m as

D a n C ip e ra

B ra n d on M ille r

T h e rm a l A n a lys isS u b T a sk

S a tillite D e s ign

T e am Le adD a n P o n ia to w ski

Project Overview – Major Tasks1. Trade Studies - Provide specifications, pros and cons of many options. This

includes carrier aircraft, boosters and satellite components.

Percent Complete:100%

2. Aircraft Analysis Tasks 1. Select a carrier aircraft2. Design delivery and release mechanism for the booster3. Produce SolidWorks models of all components.

Percent Complete:95%

Project Overview – Major Tasks3. Booster Design Tasks

1. Select the rocket motors used by the booster2. Run gravity turn simulations usign Joe Mueller’s code3. Produce a SolidWorks model of the booster assembly.

Percent Complete:90%

4. Satellite Design Tasks 1. Find Delta-v required for station keeping2. Estimation of disturbance forces3. SolidWorks models of the satellite assembly4. Determine hardware components5. Performing thermal analysis6. Determining power requirements

Percent Complete:60%

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Aircraft Team

Spring Semester

April 7, 2008

Presenter Names:Matt Campbell, Isaac Landecker, Dan Cipera, Brandon Miller

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Overview

• Requirements• Aircraft Analysis Trade Study• AIAA Trade Study• Delivery Method

• Direction• “The Exit”• Drop Dynamics

– Parachutes

• Requirements

Completed Sarigul-Klijn 1

Requirements

• Identify several potential carrier aircraft and determine the key performance metrics:

• Aircraft Compatibility• Maximum takeoff weight• Derive maximum dimensions and mass of launch vehicle• Derive the maximum flight path angle as a function of

launch vehicle mass, altitude, velocity

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Requirements

• Perform structural analysis for attachments• Compare with loads associated with missiles / bombs for

which the aircraft is already designed to carry• Design attachment structure and release mechanism

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Old Designs

The Plan

• Compare and contrast different possibilities for launch aircraft

• Three Categories: Commercial, American Military, and Foreign Military

• Determine which aircraft could meet the project requirements, and of those, select the one with best balance between performance, availability, and cost.

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Aircraft Considered

• Commercial: Boeing 777, Boeing 747-400, Airbus A330, Lockheed L-1011

• US Military: F-15, F-16 F-22, B-1B, B-2, B-52, C-5, C-17

• Foreign Military– European: Eurofighter, Rafale, Tornado– Russian: MiG-29, Su-27, Tu-22M, Tu-95, An-124

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Parameters Considered

• Performance: MTOW, Service Ceiling, Range, Payload capabilities

• Availability: production status, numbers produced, locations available

• Cost: cost of production for a new airframe

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AIAA-2005-0621 Trade Study

Internally Mounted Rocket

Best Methods of the Trade Study

• Launch Direction: Forward Facing Launch– Increased payload by 30% compared with ground launch

• Orientation: Stabilizing Parachute– Lightweight and reliable system

• Extraction: Gravity Air Launch– Simple and reliable– Loads up to 60,000 lbs. have been demonstrated– 5 to 7 degree angle of attack

• Carriage: Wheels and Pneumatic Tires– Low cost and reliable– No point loads on launch vehicle

The Choice

• C-17• Payload Capability =76,657 kg• Availability > 134 aircraft world wide• Cost ($/hr) = ~ $6,000• In-air-refueling• Cargo Area

Delivery Method

– Structure• Able to withstand 1.5 G’s of force on structure

– Maintains a Safety Factors of 1.5

– Designed to withstand 30,000 N w/ 1.5 S.F.

– Ramp • Total Weight

– ~9,000 kg

– Entire Wheel System

weighs 36 kg a piece

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Delivery Method

– Wheels (R=0.4 m, t=0.22 m, P=135 kPa)• allow for constant pressure along rocket

– Wheels are large enough to withstand pressure

– No point loads

• Large enough to dampen wheel frequency• Single flat tire will not cause any problems

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The Ramp

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The Wheel Assembly

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Wheel Assembly

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Displacement Nodal Stress

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The Drop

• Air Launch LLC Drop Footage (Source: www.airlaunchllc.com)

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Drop Dynamics

• Assumptions• Dimensions

– Cargo Bay– Ramp– Rocket

• Determine parachute required

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Drop Dynamics

• Drogue Parachute– 4ft diameter– Cd = 1.0

• Stabilizing Parachute– Mounted on top of rocket

Requirements Completed

• Identify several potential carrier aircraft and determine the key performance metrics:

Vertical clearance inside aircraftMaximum takeoff weightDerive maximum dimensions and mass of launch vehicleDerive the maximum flight path angle as a function of

launch vehicle mass, altitude, velocity

• Perform structural analysis for attachmentsCompare with loads associated with missiles / bombs for

which the aircraft is already designed to carry• Design attachment structure and release mechanism

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SourcesSarigul-Klijn, Marti. Sarigul-Klijn, Nesrin. Hudson, Gary. Mckinney, Bevin. Menzel,

Lyle. Grabow, Eric, “Trade Studies for Air Launching a Small Launch Vehicle from a Cargo Aircraft.” AIAA 21 June 2005: 1-12.

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Booster Team

Spring Semester

April 7, 2008

Presenter Names:

Boris Kaganovich, Angela Reesman, Pierre Dumas, Rizwan Qureshi

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Design Goals • Multi-stage booster for air launch application• Minimum number of staging events to maximize overall system

reliability• Solid lower stage(s) for system launch readiness• Liquid or hybrid upper stage for engine restart and more accurate orbit

insertion• Green propellants to simplify booster handling• Fast launch readiness requires all propellants to be storable or made

on-site• Minimum vehicle mass to allow for wide range of carrier aircraft• Minimize g-forces to allow for reduced payload mass and better

payload survivability

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Booster Design Process

• Prepared drag free model using Excel to simplify hand calculations of booster Delta V capability.

• Performed trade studies for commercially available:– Hybrid rocket motors– Solid rocket motors– Liquid rocket motors for upper stage application

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Upper Stage Motors

• Results of liquid motor trade study led to:– SpaceX Kestrel 2 upper stage rocket motor

– Pressure-fed LOX-RP1 rocket motor

– 52kg motor and nozzle

– Isp of 330s

– Flight-proven design

– Currently in serial production

Booster Design

• 3 stage booster– 1st stage: ATK Orion 50XL solid motor– 2nd stage: ATK Star 31 solid motor– 3rd stage: SpaceX Kestrel 2 LOX-RP1 pressure-fed liquid motor

• Based on drag free model in the spreadsheet :

– 25kg payload– 345 kg 3rd stage propellant– 8.63 km/s total Delta V– 6298 kg takeoff mass

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Gravity Turn Simulations• Used Joe Mueller’s Matlab code to simulate gravity turn

• Parameters that can be varied in code: – Flight Path Angle (FPA)– Height at which ignition 3 starts– Mass of Stage 3 Propellant

Trial System mass (kg)

Eccentricity Perigee Altitude (km)

Apogee Altitude (km)

1 6278 0.00918 240.42 363.12

2 6293 0.00183

322.42 346.96

3 6298 0.00093 330.36 342.84

Key ISS Orbital Elements:

0.00053 334 341

Launch Flight Path Angle: 87.97 deg.

Launch trajectory

• Simulations produced the following direct launch trajectory to reach ISS:

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3D Orbit

• Matlab simulation produced the following orbit:

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Further orbit simulations

Satellite Tool Kit (STK) initial orbit simulations:Satellite Tool Kit (STK) initial orbit simulations:

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Satellite Team

Spring Semester

April 7, 2008

Presenter Names:Long Nguyen, Cory Sorenson, Jason LaDoucer

Major Requirements – Upper Stage Satellite

• To deliver a one cubic foot, 2.2 lb package to ISS

• Compute the delta-v required for station-keep with the ISS

• Compute the minimum fuel required for station-keep

• Perform initial sizing of upper stage satellite• Develop a basic CAD model of upper stage

satellite

Motivation for satellite design

• Reduce total mass required for launch– Lightweight– Low power consumption– Minimize volume– Minimize error

Trade Studies

• Necessary Components– Processor board– Communication module– Attitude sensor & control– Inertial Measurement Unit

• PRISMA (Swedish Satellite)

PRISMA Trade Study

• Small experimental Swedish satellite• Designed for close range maneuvers• 140kg• 8 months• Has similar design features• Capable of performing necessary maneuvers

Final Components

• LEON3 Processor board on a chip by– Volts Required – 3.3 V– Weight – 50 g

• SSTL S-band module– Volt Required – 28 V– Weight – 1000 g

Picture Source:

http://www.sstl.co.uk/documents/S-Band%20Receiver.pdf

Final Components (Cont.)

• MIMU by Honeywell– Volts Required – 28 V– Weight 4700 g– Bias 0.005 deg/hr

• MiDES (Mini Dual Earth Sensor) by Servo– Volts Required – 28 V– Weight – 1500 g– Accuracy – 0.04 degPicture source:http://www.servo.com/Mides%20LEO%20Brochure1.pdf

Micro thruster

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• Volt Required – 5 V• Weight – 70 g• Thrust capability of 0.5 to

2.3 N• Thrust variable• Approximately 6 thrusters

Picture source: http://www.marotta.com/pdf/cold-gas-micro-thruster-article.pdf

CAD - Satellite

Satellite Maneuvers

• Changing orbit to match ISS– Delta V ~5.5m/s

• Chase Maneuver– Large delta V

• Phasing with ISS– Main Drivers

• Fuel• Time

0

20

40

60

80

100

120

140

160

180

0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14 16

Total Time (hrs)

Delt

a V

Req

uir

ed

(m

/s)

Phasing With ISSPhasing With ISS

Satellite Environment

• Did trade study to determine thermal/radiation environment and space debris

• Using 90 minute orbital period, satellite exposed to sunlight side (395K) more so than dark side (173K)

• Satellite in LEO within inner Van Allen radiation belt

• Protection from space debris, UV radiation• Aluminized Mylar• Passive Thermal Control

Required Δv for station keep

• Determined area of ISS (768 + 192 m2)• Ran simulations with Joe Mueller’s MATLAB

code using three shapes (square, sphere, bullet)

• Determined sensitivity of parameters (navigation, thruster Isp, areas)

• Navigation errors (accuracy of position sensors) contribute the most to Δv

• With single thruster, Δv required for mission (30 days) < 15.2 m/s or 2.2% of satellite mass

Structural Analysis of Satellite Casing

Aluminum 1060 Aluminum 6061 Titanium

Weight: 15.48 kg Weight: 15.48 kg Weight: 26.37 kg

Yield Stress: 27.57 MPa

Yield Stress: 55.15 MPa

Yield Stress: 140 MPa

Max Stress: 15.13 MPa

Max Stress: 15.13 MPa

Max Stress: 23.15 MPa

Max Displacement: 0.562 mm

Max Displacement:0.562mm

Max Displacement: 0.613mm

Force: 2278 N(15.48 x 9.81 x 15)

Force: 2278N(15.48 x 9.81 x 15)

Force: 3880 N(26.37 x 9.81 x 15)

Things to finish

• Determine mass of satellite with thermal protection

• Run simulations to determine fuel requirements with known mass thruster selection and how many thrusters

• Run simulations to determine stress and strain for known mass

Questions?

Thanks to Joe Mueller, Professor Hammer and Professor Flaten for their help, support and software tools we used in our design.