FlightGlobal.com
Home
Premium
Archive
Video
Images
Forum
Atlas
Blogs
Jobs
Shop
RSS
Email Newsletters
You are in:
Home
Aviation History
1964
1964 - 0219.PDF
148 FLIGHT International, 23 January (964 Fig I Artist's impression of M-l engine prior to assembly in a space launch vehicle at Cape Kennedy, Florida. The M-l programme is directed by NASA's Lewis Research Center at Cleveland Missiles and Spaceflight IN April 1962, the National Aeronautics and Space Administra-tion awarded the Aerojet-General Corporation a contract todevelop a large liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen rocket engine designated the M-l. Award of the contract followed many months of study which clearly showed the requirement for a high-perform- ance, high-thrust upper stage engine to fulfil the future objectives of the US space exploration programme. The formal development programme for the engine, with a rated vacuum thrust of 1.2m lb, began under the cognizance of NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center at Huntsville, Alabama. In October 1962 this was trans- terred from Marshall to NASA's Lewis Research Center at Cleve- land, Ohio. Engineering designs of engine components and the overall sys- tem, as well as manufacturing and test facilities, have progressed rapidly. Engine hardware fabrication is under way. Modification of existing component test stands, the construction of very large liquid hydrogen storage facilities, and the expansion of manufac- turing facilities for use in the M-l are nearing completion. During the early phase of M-l development, payload require- ments for the post-Saturn vehicle increased significantly. This factor and related schedule revisions necessitated design changes and permitted the incorporation of advanced features into the M-l OXIDIZER PUMP FUEL TCV " 1 c \ c1 i ~ .!. 3=.? .. 1 •THRUST CHAMBER AEROJET'S M-1 ENGINE Fig 2 Schematic diagram showing M-l fluid flow By D. E. Price and J. C. Moise (Aerojet-General Corporation) Fig 3 Candidate post-Saturn boosters (1,000,0001b payload to 120 a.m. orbit): launch thrust (liquid first stage) 24m Ib, (solid first stage) 36m Ib; launch weight (liquid first stage) 19.2m Ib, (solid first stage) 25.7m Ib ZOO 100 1AA engine design. The more significant of these design changes include: an increase in the nominal thrust rating to 1.5m lb; use of design features allowing for even greater thrust and performance growth potential; and reduction of pump suction pressure requirements. The M-l is a high-performance rocket engine using liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen propellants with a nominal engine vacuum thrust of 1.5m lb. An artist's concept of the engine and its fluid flow schematic are shown in Figs 1 and 2. Propellants are supplied to the thrust chamber by separate fuel and oxidizer turbopump assemblies. The fuel pump is a multi-stage axial flow pump and the oxidizer pump a single-stage centrifugal pump. Both pumps are mounted on the fuel regeneratively cooled thrust chamber, and each pump is driven by its own gas turbine. A fuel-rich liquid hydrogen/liquid oxygen gas generator supplies the turbine drive gases in series; first to the fuel pump turbine and then to the oxi- dizer pump turbine. Over 100,000 s.h.p. is delivered by the turbopump assemblies. The liquid-hydrogen pump has approximately three times as much shaft horsepower as any other liquid rocket engine turbopump under development. In addition to providing turbine power, the gases are utilized for two other purposes: to cool the thrust-chamber nozzle skirt, and to provide additional thrust as it is exhausted through small nozzles at the main nozzle exit plane. The regenera- tive coolant tubes extend along the DeLaval contoured nozzle to the point where the nozzle is cooled by turbine exhaust gases. The engine is gimballed to provide thrust-vector control capability. The M-l engine starting sequence is initiated electrically. At the start signal, both the thrust chamber and the gas generator spark
Sign up to
Flight Digital Magazine
Flight Print Magazine
Airline Business Magazine
E-newsletters
RSS
Events
