Orbital ATK solid motor manufacturing

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Winston

Lorenzo von Matterhorn
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Orbital ATK solid motor manufacturing

https://www.popularmechanics.com/sp...d-rocket-fuel-spacex-orbital-atk-blue-origin/

Liner/inhibiter:

186773-010-1523307512.jpg


Cores:

186773-019-2-1523307291.jpg


aft-cast-coreinstall-2-1523307458.jpg


Igniter:

186773-ignition-1523307559.jpg


Final assembly:

final-assembly-jpg-1523307379.jpg


Peacekeeper missile motor test at Orbital ATK, Corinne, Utah on March 29, 2018. While the Peacekeeper missile itself has been decommissioned its motors are still good and are being tested for other applications in U.S. space programs.

[video=youtube;qPkopVJ44K0]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPkopVJ44K0[/video]
 
The visitor viewing area is about 4,000 feet away from the PK static test firing area, so it takes a few seconds for the sound to get there. Being there is much more exciting than a video. Even though the PK is considerably smaller than the Shuttle SRB, it is quite a bit louder, because the chamber pressure is considerably louder. The PK performance use to be classified including the chamber pressure and probably still is. High chamber pressure allows the missile to get up and away quickly during the vulnerable lift-off part of the trajectory.
 
Seemed like there was some instabilities in the burn or they were trying to throttle it somehow. Can anyone explain the "bursting" I saw in the flame plume?

I lived in "Happy Valley" for 2 years and never made it to a test burn. Kinda bummed about that.
 
Saw this article a few days ago, but it seemed like an Orbital Ad more than anything. All the rivalry hyperbole stuff is BS. Anybody who seriously works in the industry knows the engineering compromises of both and fits it to the constraints placed on the mission.
 
Its always fun to go out and see a static test. Its about 30 miles from here to ATK. Then a small drive 10 miles out to see Promontory Golden Spike and see 119 and Jupiter, then 16 miles out to the Spiral Jetty... Then you have seen Box Elder County highlights! :)
 
Seemed like there was some instabilities in the burn or they were trying to throttle it somehow. Can anyone explain the "bursting" I saw in the flame plume?

I lived in "Happy Valley" for 2 years and never made it to a test burn. Kinda bummed about that.

I know nothing about this solid motor but I interpreted that as thrust vectoring possibly by some sort of gimbaled nozzle.

I saw that, too, and then realized it's probably due to exercising the thrust vectoring system. Not sure what stage they were testing, but all three stages of the Peacekeeper have thrust vector controls:

Indeed, you are all correct. This is the thrust vector nozzle duty cycle. The Shuttle SRB's also had a nozzle duty cycle. For the Shuttle SRB the static test duty cycle was way more severe than whatever was seen in an actual flight. On the SRB the aft dome insulation erosion would be consistent with nozzle vector duty cycle.
 
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The igniter still gets me. Probably more N-s in that thing than any of us will burn.


It'll be interesting to see if they get successfully bought up and rebranded NG Innovation Systems
 
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