Program Critical Hardware

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GregGleason

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I ran across this interesting bit of "Program Critical Hardware". Can you guess what it is?

Greg

RocketX.jpg
 
Casting tooling.
Jeroen

Congratulations!

I guess it helps to have a professional background for this kind of thing, but a "win is a win"!

:clap:

Greg

313073main_Picture_029_665.jpg
 
So if I'm understanding this properly, this whole structure is solid rocket propellant?
 
Not quite. It's the mold into which they will pour solid rocket propellant. Those vanes will create slots in the motor core to increase the surface area of the burn.
 
The caption on the link:
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To provide additional thrust for the Ares I rocket, NASA engineers have designed a new 12-fin forward casting core. The 12-fin core is created by pouring propellant into an insulated and lined segment containing grain core tooling. The propellant mold is then inserted in to the solid rocket motor (SRM) casing. This creates open space in the center of the solid rocket which allows surface area for the propellant to burn.
 
At first I was gonna say it is the mixer blade for one heck of an EX project.


This would result in what is referred to as a Finocyl configuration?
 
Until I realized that the outboard stuff was fins not tubes, I though it looked like the aft end of a really really big Kraken.
 
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