International market for a reusable launch vehicle

A reusable launch vehicle could be developed early next century if the X-33 program is successful. Its development will be funded by industry, and the vehicle will be operated privately. A critical task is to assess the future market for such a vehicle. The total number of commercial payloads could range between 40 and 60 satellites per year, taking into account the market elasticity due to the launch price reduction. The RLV would face important competition from expendable launch vehicles. However, the RLV could capture two-thirds of this market, or 26–33 commercial payloads per year.     

可重复使用运载器机翼外形优化

研究了有翼可重复使用运载器机翼平面外形参数优化设计问题。在高超声速配平和低速水平着陆性能等约束条件下，利用混合遗传算法和粒子群优化算法来选择最优机翼外形参数，使机翼重量最小化。在已知的不同质心位置下求得相应的最小重量机翼外形。亚声速气动力采用面源法计算，高超声速气动力采用修正的牛顿流理论计算。为了降低计算耗费，使用均匀设计和逐步回归方法建立了低速气动力回归模型。整个优化过程在Matlab集成环境下完成。     

Informed maintenance for next generation reusable launch systems

Perhaps the most substantial single obstacle to progress of space exploration and utilization of space for human benefit is the safety & reliability and the inherent cost of launching to, and returning from, space. The primary influence in the high costs of current launch systems (the same is true for commercial and military aircraft and most other reusable systems) is the operations, maintenance and infrastructure portion of the program's total life cycle costs. Reusable Launch Vehicle (RLV) maintenance and design have traditionally been two separate engineering disciplines with often conflicting objectives - maximizing ease of maintenance versus optimizing performance, size and cost. Testability analysis, an element of Informed Maintenance (IM), has been an ad hoc, manual effort, in which maintenance engineers attempt to identify an efficient method of troubleshooting for the given product, with little or no control over product design. Therefore, testability deficiencies in the design cannot be rectified. It is now widely recognized that IM must be engineered into the product at the design stage itself, so that an optimal compromise is achieved between system maintainability and performance.The elements of IM include testability analysis, diagnostics/prognostics, automated maintenance scheduling, automated logistics coordination, paperless documentation and data mining. IM derives its heritage from complimentary NASA science, space and aeronautic enterprises such as the on-board autonomous Remote Agent Architecture recently flown on NASA's Deep Space 1 Probe as well as commercial industries that employ quick turnaround operations. Commercial technologies and processes supporting NASA's IM initiatives include condition based maintenance technologies from Boeing's Commercial 777 Aircraft and Lockheed-Martin's F-22 Fighter, automotive computer diagnostics and autonomous controllers that enable 100,000 mile maintenance free operations, and locomotive monitoring system software.This paper will summarize NASA's long-term strategy, development, and implementation plans for Informed Maintenance for next generation RLVs. This will be done through a convergence into a single IM vision the work being performed throughout NASA, industry and academia. Additionally, a current status of IM development throughout NASA programs such as the Space Shuttle, X-33, X-34 and X-37 will be provided and will conclude with an overview of near-term work that is being initiated in FY00 to support NASA's 2^nd Generation Reusable Launch Vehicle Program.     

亚轨道重复使用运载器总体多学科优化方法

针对亚轨道运载器总体设计多学科耦合的特点,从任务规划、学科建模、集成和求解策略等方面对多学科优化方法进行了研究。以助推亚轨道飞行器为对象,确定了学科模块组成、功能和数据耦合关系。建立了与总体设计过程相适应的7个学科模型,包括几何主模型、气动、推进、弹道、气动热、传热/热防护系统、结构。结合飞行器任务要求和基准方案,从系统级定义了多学科优化问题,包括目标函数、约束条件和设计变量。基于多学科软件框架集成学科模型,采用多学科可行法作为求解框架,建立了亚轨道飞行器多学科优化系统,选择SQP算法完成了以起飞总重为目标的优化。结果显示,优化后,发动机结构、热防护系统有所增加,但结构质量和燃油消耗减小,综合作用使总重减小2.4%,体现了多学科优化的协同作用。     

Federal tax incentives and financing for the reusable launch vehicle

Financing a very large new space transportation system is a major venture. It requires an initial investment of many billions of dollars and will be expected to perform successfully during its lifetime of at least twenty-five years. In the past, space systems of this magnitude have been funded, owned and operated by the government. Today, as the responsibility for opening and maintaining space systems is expected to shift from government to industry leadership, the reusable launch vehicle (RLV) presents the private sector with the challenge of finding ways of financing and building a system that will prove to be a successful private venture. The government, recognizing that it is a major customer of the RLV and that new technology must be developed for the RLV to work and to adequately reduce the cost of access to space, will fund some Initial technology development as well as provide some incentives for a private operator. This paper shows that using the current tax system's corporate investment benefits, coupled with a favorable debt financing arrangement, a profitable privately owned RLV system Is within the realm of possibility.     

垂直着陆重复使用运载火箭对动力技术的挑战

运载火箭采用垂直着陆方式实现重复使用的需求对火箭各分系统提出了新的挑战,而动力系统面临的挑战最大。垂直着陆重复使用运载火箭要求发动机提供正常的上升段推力外,还需提供运载火箭子级垂直着陆回收过程中的平稳减速力和稳健控制力,因而要求发动机具备可重复使用、大范围推力调节、二次起动、适应回收环境等多种能力,并具备较低成本。本文介绍了美国SpaceX公司开展FALCON 9系列运载火箭一子级垂直着陆回收技术研究和相关飞行试验的最新进展,研究并提出了垂直着陆重复使用运载火箭对动力技术的需求。     

RLV economics: fiscal evaluation of NASA''s reusable launch vehicle effort

The US RLV program aims to stimulate commercial development of a next-generation heavy-lift launcher and lower launch costs by one order of magnitude from the Space Shuttle. This paper discusses the incentives needed to encourage private investment — income tax relief, investment mitigation, financing assistance — in the venture and uses a specifically developed case study model to evaluate their effectiveness. It finds that an R&D tax credit would be the most practical incentive. Directions for future work are provided.     

Implications of previous space commercialization experiences for the reusable launch vehicle

In evaluating the prospects for the development of a commercially viable RLV, it may be useful to examine ’lessons learned‘ from previous space commercialization efforts– both those that succeeded and those that did not. It can be argued that several distinct streams of market and technological development may have to converge for successful commercialization of space systems to occur. Factors influencing the prospects for commercialization include the size and growth rate of the potential customer base, the extent to which a governmental customer exists to underpin the market, the development of associated ’value-added‘ markets, the stability of governmental policies, the availability of enabling or enhancing infrastructure, the levels of technological and business risk, and the degree to which competitive markets exist. This paper examines two previous space commercialization experiences, evaluates the relative importance of the various factors that influence the prospects for success of commercialization efforts, and assesses the implications of those factors for the commercial viability of the proposed RLV.     

可重复使用运载器复合材料低温贮箱应用研究

轻质高强度低温贮箱是发展可重复使用运载器（RLV）的关键技术之一。本文论证了聚合物复合材料作为低温贮箱材料的必要性和可行性,介绍了复合材料低温贮箱的研制现状,对聚合物基体和纤维选择、设计技术、复合材料的成型及其性能测试等进行了探讨,指出了复合材料低温贮箱的发展趋势,并就我国复合材料低温贮箱的发展给出了建议。     

Terminal area trajectory planning using the energy-tube concept for reusable launch vehicles

This paper concerns a terminal area energy management (TAEM) guidance system for a winged re-entry vehicle and describes the use of the energy-tube concept in a planning and estimation algorithm. In this paper, the focus is on the analysis of the energy management capabilities during changes in the initial conditions. The planning algorithm calculates the best heading alignment cylinder (HAC) position, based on the initial state at the TAEM interface. A cross-section of the energy tube contains all combinations of altitude and velocity from which it is possible to reach the runway. Ideally, the re-entry vehicle enters the terminal area in the ‘middle’ of the cross-section such that it has sufficient capabilities to react to off-nominal conditions that would require more or less energy dissipation. Each HAC position has a particular energy-tube cross-section. By shifting the HAC position, an optimal HAC can be found such that the initial state is situated in the middle of the cross-section. The planning algorithm uses a nominal longitudinal strategy, which is situated in between the maximum-dive and maximum-range capabilities, to calculate the optimal HAC position. However, in some cases the nominal longitudinal strategy is insufficient to reach the runway. Hence, in these cases, deviations from the nominal longitudinal strategy (nominal energy dissipation) are required during the actual flight. These deviations are calculated by the estimation algorithm and the magnitude of the deviation is based on the current position in the energy tube.     

可重复使用航天器金属热防护系统的结构优化进展

根据美国开发的金属热防护系统,分析了用于可重复使用航天器的金属热防护系统的发展和现状,详细介绍了几代金属热防护系统的总体结构、高耐热蒙皮结构、绝热结构的不断演化和设计的优化进展。并且从结构装配方面,阐述了单个金属热防护系统结构、多个金属热防护系统结构以及金属热防护系统与刚性结构的装配设计的优化发展,为工程在结构设计和优化方面提供一定的参考依据。     

Soviet launch failures reviewed

The USSR has always been reluctant to reveal details of failures in its space programme, and only a few failures have been annouced publically. Some official US sources list failures in the Soviet programme, although these official listings end in mid-1964. The aviation press often reports rumoured failures, and it is the job of an analyst to try and separate the wheat from the chaff.     

Rebuilding US launch capabilities

Attempts to rebuild US commercial launch capabilities through stimulating private industry will be constrained by the fact that free-market competition does not really exist in the space industry. As the worldwide supply of launch vehicles grows, the policy now offered by the US government is only likely to fragment the US space launch vehicle industry. The author argues in favour of a proposal to establish a quasi-governmental corporation for space launches which would both safeguard the interests of government and commercial users and ensure that business acumen was applied.     

运载火箭地面测发控设备研制中的“三化”设计

分析目前我国运载火箭地面测发控设备"三化"的现状,简介我国现有的运载火箭地面测发控"三化"标准,提出进一步开展运载火箭地面测发控设备"三化"工作的设想.     

The future of launch vehicles

This article traces the development of satellite launch vehicles from the derivatives of long-range ballistic missiles to the current Ariane and Space Shuttle programmes. Looking to the next generation of launchers, the author outlines current thinking on reusable vehicles, focusing particularly on the British Aerospace/Rolls Royce HOTOL concept.     

Economy of modular low-technology launch vehicles

The paper comprises an assessment of the design and the economics of so-called “low-cost” simple modular launch vehicles. It is shown that the performance is very marginal and that the cost per launch cannot compete with technically more advanced fully reusable vehicles. Especially a private-funded development cannot be amortized economically in case of an expendable launch vehicle.     

Chinese launch services A user's guide

This article describes aspects of the Chinese space programme of interest to potential users of Chinese commercial launch services. A brief history is included along with a review of the current licensing requirements of the US government. The rationale behind Aussat's choice of the Long March launch vehicle is presented as well as a brief comment on the likely future for Chinese launch services in the West.     

The Rockot launch system

EUROCKOT Launch Services GmbH has been founded by Daimler-Benz Aerospace of Germany and Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center of Russia to offer world-wide cost effective launch services on the Rockot launch system. The Rockot commercial program is described. Rockot can launch satellites weighing up to 1850 kg into polar and other low earth (LEO) orbits. The Rockot launch vehicle is based on the former Russian SS-19 strategic missile. The first and second stages are inherited from the SS-19, the third stage named Breeze is newly developed and has multiple ignition capability. The Rockot launch system is flight proven. In addition to the currently adapted Rockot launch site Plesetsk for high inclinations, EUROCKOT is in the process to also adapt the Baykonur cosmodrome as their complementary Rockot launch site for lower inclinations. The wide range of Rockot performance is provided. The first commercial launch is foreseen in the middle of 1999. The expected launch capacity for Plesetsk and Baykonur will exceed 10 launches per year. The complete Rockot system including performance is presented.