88635main_H-2330 (Раздаточные материалы)

THE HISTORY OF SOLID-PROPELLANT ROCKETRY:WHAT WE DO AND DO NOT KNOWJ. D. Hunley*NASA Dryden Flight Research CenterEdwards, CaliforniaAbstractContributions to the evolution of solid-propellantrocketry have come from a variety of sources. WorldWar II research on large solids enabled one company tocapitalize on work in the area of castable double-basepropellants. Separate development of castablecomposite propellants led to production of Polaris andMinuteman powerplants.

Pivotal to the development ofthese missiles were Edward Hall’s advocacy of theMinuteman missile within the Air Force and contractfunding to resolve problems. The discovery that addinglarge amounts of aluminum significantly increased thespecific impulse of a castable composite propellantfurther aided large-missile technology. These separatelines of research led to the development of large solidpropellant motors and boosters. Many more discoverieswent into the development of large solid-propellantmotors. Ammonium perchlorate replaced potassiumperchlorate as an oxidizer in the late 1940’s, and binderswere developed. Discoveries important in the evolutionof large solid-propellant motors appear to have resultedfrom innovators’ education and skills, an exposure tocontemporary problems, an awareness of theory but awillingness not to let it dictate empirical investigations,and proper empirical techniques.

Other importantcontributions are the adequate funding and exchange ofinformation. However, many questions remain aboutthese and other innovations.aluminumAPammonium perchlorateCMDBcomposite-modified double basecarboxyl-terminated polybutadieneHMXtetramethylene tetranitramineHTPBhydroxyl-terminated polybutadieneIspspecific impulse, lbf-sec/lbmJANNAFJoint Army Navy NASA Air Force (anInteragency Propulsion Committee)JPLJet Propulsion LaboratoryPBAApolybutadiene–acrylic acidPBANacrylic acid, acrylonitrile, and butadieneterpolymerpsipounds per square inch (lbf/in2)IntroductionThe history of solid- and liquid-propellant rocketry isparticularly difficult to write for a variety of reasons,including the technical complexity of the subject and theresultant division of labor among rocket engineers into avariety of disciplines and subdisciplines.

Other reasonsinclude the comparatively large number of firms thathave contributed various technologies to a very largenumber of large and small rockets and missiles; the factthat customers for rockets and missiles have includedthe U. S. Army, U. S. Navy, U. S. Air Force, NASA, anda growing commercial sector; and the fact that mostpeople with technical expertise in rocketry know only apart of the history of their subject, and many of themdisagree regarding technical details or matters ofinterpretation such as the origins of a particulartechnology or its relative importance.NomenclatureAlCTPBFor several years, I have been engaged in an effort toproduce a general, technical history of the origins andevolution of both solid- and liquid-propellant rocketry inthe United States with the intent to publish my findingsin a book in the NASA History Series.

Initially, whileworking in the History Office at NASA Headquarters(Washington, D. C.), I was able to devote quite a bit oftime to my research and writing. For the past four years,*NASA Dryden Flight Research Center Historian.Copyright  1999 by the American Institute of Aeronautics andAstronautics, Inc. No copyright is asserted in the United States underTitle 17, U.S. Code. The U.S. Government has a royalty-free licenseto exercise all rights under the copyright claimed herein for Governmental purposes. All other rights are reserved by the copyright owner.1American Institute of Aeronautics and AstronauticsCalifornia), Aerojet General Corporation (Azusa,California), Thiokol Chemical Corporation (Trenton,New Jersey), Hercules Powder Company (Wilmington,Delaware), Lockheed Aircraft Company (Burbank,California), Atlantic Research Corporation (Vienna,Virginia), United Technology Corporation (now theChemical Systems Division of Pratt & Whitney;Sunnyvale, California), and many other contributors torocket technology.

But a vast amount of work still needsto be done.I have been the historian at the NASA Dryden FlightResearch Center (Edwards, California) and have had todevote approximately 50 hours each week to the historyof aeronautics. I now pursue my rocket research in thewee hours of the morning and on weekends.I have also studied the history of liquid-propellantrocketry in Germany through the end of World War IIbecause members of the von Braun group in Germanyemigrated to the United States after the war andeventually formed the nucleus of the NASA MarshallSpace Flight Center (Huntsville, Alabama), whence theymade important contributions in overseeing thedevelopment of liquid-propellant rocketry. In the UnitedStates, I have studied the work of Robert Goddard; thegroup that founded Reaction Motors, Inc.

(Dover, NewJersey); and especially the work of the CaliforniaInstitute of Technology (Caltech; Pasadena, California),the Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL; Pasadena,I have been asked to present my major findings thusfar about the history of solid-propellant rocketry at thissession and also to present the major questions I havethat are unanswered as well as the major areas thatremain to be explored.

Table 1 shows key missiles androcket boosters studied. Hopefully, members of thesolid-propellant history group could suggest where Icould devote my limited time to the best advantage.Table 1. Key missiles and rocket boosters.Missile orboosterMotormanufacturerIsp*PropellantGrain configurationOperationaldateSergeantThiokolAP/polysulfideca. 1855-point star1962Polaris A1Stage 1Stage 2AerojetAerojetAP/Al/polyurethaneAP/Al/polyurethaneca. 230ca. 2556-point star6-point star19601960Hercules PowderCompanyAP/nitrocellulose/nitroglycerine/Alca. 26012-point star1962Hercules PowderCompanyHMX/Al/AP/nitrocelluloseca. 280slotted cylindricalcenter port1964ThiokolAerojetHercules PowderCompanyAP/PBAA/AlAP/polyurethane/AlAP/HMX/nitrocellulose/nitroglycerine/Alca. 245ca. 270ca.

2756-point star4-point starcore and slotted tubemodified end burner196219621962AP/PBAN/Alca. 2658-point star andcircular perforations1965AP/PBAN/Alca. 24511-point star andtapered perforations1981Polaris A2Stage 2Polaris A3Stage 2Minuteman IStage 1Stage 2Stage 3Titan 3 solidrocket motorSpace Shuttlesolid-rocketboosterUnitedTechnologyCorporationThiokol*Under firing conditions, expressed in terms of lbf-sec/lbm (pounds of thrust per pound of propellant burned per second).2American Institute of Aeronautics and AstronauticsPerhaps promotion of a collaborative effort to gather thehistory of rocketry before it is lost to shredders and trashheaps throughout the country is possible.to the Sergeant missile powerplant and later, withdifferent ingredients, the Polaris and Minutemanmissiles.9 Figure 1 shows a Polaris A2X testmissile.Use of trade names or names of manufacturers in thisdocument does not constitute an official endorsement ofsuch products or manufacturers, either expressed orimplied, by the National Aeronautics and SpaceAdministration.• Aerojet (which was founded by some of the leadersat JPL), Thiokol (which had links to JPL because ofLP-2), and United Technology Corporation (whichwas founded by people with ties to JPL andelsewhere) all used this basic technology.Major Findings• These companies might not have made thecontribution to rockets and missiles that they didhad it not been for the vision of a U.

S. Air Forceofficer, Edward N. Hall. Hall ensured funding ofcontracts to resolve problems with long-durationfirings of solid propellants, thrust termination,thrust-vector control, and the exposure of nozzlesto the heat associated with high specific impulses.He also advocated the Minuteman missile withinthe U. S. Air Force.†, ‡, 7, 10–13The major findings of this research to date include thefollowing:• Goddard began investigating the use of solids forpropulsion but spent most of his life exploringliquid propellants.

His secrecy and penchant forpatents rather than sharing his discoveries withothers interested in the development of rocketry leftlittle in the way of a legacy. Most of his findingshad to be rediscovered by others.1• A further line of development that enabled largemissile technology started at Atlantic ResearchCorporation, working under contract with the U. S.Navy. Two young engineers named Keith Rumbeland Charles Henderson found that the addition oflarge amounts of aluminum significantly increasedthe specific impulse of a castable compositepropellant. The propellant they used was 21 percentaluminum, 59 percent ammonium perchlorate, and20 percent plasticized polyvinyl chloride.• During World War II, important work on tacticalmissiles occurred at the Naval Proving Ground(Indian Head, Maryland), Caltech (Eaton Canyon,California), Allegany Ballistics Laboratory (WestVirginia), the Explosives Research Laboratory(Bruceton, Pennsylvania), and elsewhere.2–6• The Hercules Powder Company appears to havebeen the major beneficiary of this research in thearea of large solids, especially capitalizing on thework of John Kincaid and Henry Shuey in the areaof castable double-base propellants.• These separate lines of research led fromdevelopment of the Polaris and Minuteman missilesto development of the large solid-rocket motors onTitan 3 and Titan 4 rockets and the solid-rocketboosters on the Space Shuttle.14 Figure 2 shows aTitan 3E launch vehicle, and Figure 3 shows theSpace Shuttle.• The Hercules Powder Company also participated inthe development of several tactical missiles for theU.