National Institute for

Rocket Propulsion Systems

Dale Thomas, Ph.D., P.E.

Associate Director –Technical, Marshall Space Flight Center

State of the Propulsion Industry:

A Shared Situation

�“The time for industry and governm

ent to work together to define future space

policy is now. W

e must establish an overarching policy that rec

ogniz

es the

syner

gy

among a

ll gove

rnm

ent sp

ace

launch

cust

om

ers…

. The need to move

with clear velocity is imperative if we are

to s

ust

ain o

ur en

dan

ger

ed U

.S. s

pac

e

indust

rial

bas

e, to protect our national security, and to retain our positions as the

world leader in hum

ans spaceflight and space exploration.”

Jim

Mas

er, C

hairm

an o

f Cor

pora

te M

embe

rshi

p C

omm

ittee

AIA

A a

nd P

resi

dent

, Pra

tt &

Whi

tney

Roc

ketd

yne.

Tes

timon

y to

Con

gres

s (3

/30/

11)

�“A

nyt

hin

g that

NA

SA

does

is im

port

ant to

us

in ter

ms

of th

e in

dust

rial

bas

e.

And anything that we do is important to NASA as well.”

Gre

gory

Sch

ulte

, Dep

uty

Ass

ista

nt S

ecre

tary

of D

efen

se fo

r S

pace

Pol

icy,

The

Nat

iona

l Jou

rnal

(7/

20/1

1)

A Shared Industrial Base Underlies Both DoD & NASA Propulsion Systems

Collaboration: A National Pursuit

�“Departments and agencies shall improve their partnerships through

cooper

atio

n, c

olla

bora

tion, i

nfo

rmat

ion s

har

ing, a

nd/o

r al

ignm

ent of

com

mon p

urs

uits. Departments and agencies shall make their

capabilities and expertise available to each other to s

tren

gth

en o

ur

abili

ty to a

chie

ve n

atio

nal

goal

s, id

entify

des

ired

outc

om

es, l

ever

age

U.S

. cap

abili

ties

, and d

evel

op im

ple

men

tation a

nd res

ponse

stra

tegie

s .”

Nat

iona

l Spa

ce P

olic

y June 28, 2010

�“We seek to foster a U.S. space industrial base that is robust,

competitive, flexible, healthy, and delivers reliable space capabilities on

time and on budget. DoD and the IC [Intelligence Com

munity], in concert

with the civil space sector, w

ill b

ette

r m

anag

e in

vest

men

ts a

cross

port

folio

s to

ensu

re the

indust

rial

bas

e ca

n s

ust

ain those

critica

l

tech

nolo

gie

s an

d s

kills

that produce the system

s we require.

Nat

iona

l Sec

urity

Spa

ce S

trat

egy (Unclassified Sum

mary) January 2011

NIRPS is Responsive to National Space & Security Space Policies

The Challenges Before Us

�Recent G

AO report highlights the need for better

information and government-wide coordination to

support acquisition strategy decisions

�More than 40 industrial base studies and assessments, focused on

the challenges facing the propulsion com

munity, have been

performed over the past decade.

�Continued budgetary constraints lead to a lack of development

programs to sustain workforce and suppliers

The Challenges are Known –Multi-agency Collaboration is Required to Address

Partial Listing of Studies Under Review

Ye

ar

Tit

le o

f Stu

dy

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licy

Sp

on

sor

20

11

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sta

inin

g C

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cto

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efe

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20

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T P

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al

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se

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RA

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OM

20

11

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al Se

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n o

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SST

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ase

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OM

20

11

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mp

reh

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ub

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mit

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F

20

11

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tio

na

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curi

ty S

pa

ce S

tra

teg

yD

oD

20

11

EE

LV P

lan

fo

r Su

sta

inm

en

t to

20

30

USA

F

20

11

Re

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rt t

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n t

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Liq

uid

Ro

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t E

ng

ine

In

du

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al B

ase

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inm

en

t a

nd

Im

ple

me

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tio

n P

lan

OSD

20

11

Se

cto

r-b

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ect

or,

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r-b

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ier

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T2

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ev

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du

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al B

ase

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20

11

Sp

ace

"d

ee

p d

ive

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ase

Ass

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me

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& D

oC

20

11

NA

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D C

ost

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tiv

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Stu

dy

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SA

20

10

Tip

pin

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t: M

ain

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ea

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ecu

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20

10

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ua

l In

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ap

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rt t

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20

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l Sp

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use

20

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e F

utu

re o

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un

ch V

eh

icle

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ms

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the

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Air

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AB

20

10

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ust

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con

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ic A

sse

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en

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pa

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sile

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A

20

10

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nu

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ap

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20

10

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r X

USA

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20

09

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20

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20

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20

09

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P

20

09

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nch

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H

20

09

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20

08

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20

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20

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Re

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ecl

ine

: A

Ro

le f

or

the

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fen

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ud

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.

20

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ase

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20

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niz

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r N

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20

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ide

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20

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20

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alt

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l B

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pa

ct o

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xpo

rt C

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20

07

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xpo

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.S.

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20

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20

06

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20

06

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ev

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tate

s A

ir F

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20

06

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20

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20

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P

20

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Ad

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L

20

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tio

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90

Na

tio

na

l R

ock

et

Pro

pu

lsio

n S

tra

teg

ic P

lan

NC

AT

Su

rve

yin

g T

he

se R

ep

ort

s fo

r C

orr

ela

tio

n w

ith

Iss

ue

s a

nd

to

Ha

rve

st R

eco

mm

en

da

tio

ns

The Grand Challenges

�Reduce developm

ent and sustainment costs for missile and rocket systems

�Support the competitiveness and resilience of the industrial base

�Foster access to facilities and expertise across Governm

ent, industry, and

academ

ia

�Develop and im

plem

ent an integrated science and technology plan for

propulsion systems

�Invigorate the STEM pipeline

�Collaborate across agencies for missile and rocket propulsion system

developm

ent

NIRPS: A Responsive Solution

Tri-faceted approach:

�Ste

war

dsh

ip:Formulate and recommend National Policy options and strategies that

prom

ote a healthy industrial base

�Tec

hnolo

gy:Identify technology needs and recom

mend technology insertions

�Solu

tions

faci

litat

or:

Maintain relationships and awareness across the Governm

ent

and industry to align available capacity with emerging dem

and

A Jointly Created and Sponsored Institute Providing Coherent Policy

Recommendations to National Decision Authorities

Scope:

National

Multi-organizational

Multi-sector

Purpose:

NIRPS will help preserve and align government and private rocket

propulsion capabilities to meet present and future US com

mercial,

civil, and defense needs, while providing authoritative insight and

recommendations to National decisional authorities

Proposed Operational Model

�Initial Operations

�NASA has com

mitted to fund initial baseline operating requirements

�Estimated staff required to fulfill baseline stewardship and technology roles is 12-15

civil service FTEs with som

e billets possibly filled by other agencies

�Technical staff requirements in support of the solutions provider component will scale

as required

�Future Operations

�As NIRPS matures, it will employ a multi-agency funding model

�Sponsorships from

NASA and other governm

ent agencies to sustain baseline

activities

�Reimbursable Space Act process to support dem

and for the solutions provider

component

NIRPS will have a Small Footprint, but a Very Long Reach

Planning Team

All Sectors of the Propulsion Community are Engaged in NIRPS Form

ulation Efforts

Areas for Collaboration

�Governm

ent

�Joint support for technology developments and the developm

ent of

propulsion systems

�Technical and program

matic support contributing to mission success

�Industry

�Identification of methods to improve the health of the propulsion industry

�Access to governm

ent facilities and expertise

�Maturation and certification of propulsion system

s and components

�Academia

�Identification of new areas of research that energize the creative talents

of tomorrow’s workforce

�Inclusion in technology development and planning

Collaborative Areas of Interest:

Past, Current, and Future

�Past collaborative efforts include:

�Integrated Powerhead Dem

onstrator (IPD)

�Upper Stage Engine Technology (USET)

�Rocket Propellant (RP) fuel characterization

�Current collaborative efforts include:

�Advanced metallic material research

�Aerospike nozzle testing

�Hydrocarbon Boost Technology Dem

onstrator (HC Boost)

�Future collaborative efforts and technology transition include:

�Next Gen Engine (NGE) a Upper Stage Engine Development Program

�National Dom

estic Hydrocarbon Engine Development

�Advanced monopropellants and monopropellant catalysts

�Electrodynamic Propulsion

AFRL and NASA Have Long Shared Interests in

Propulsion Research and Technology Development

IPD

Su

cce

ssfu

lly

De

mo

nst

rate

d F

eb

‘0

5 -

Au

g ‘

06

Ste

nn

is S

pa

ce C

en

ter

The Next Generation Engine

�A pathfinder for collaboration between the USAF and NASA

�Recognizes the mission-unique needs of both

�Leverages the unique capabilities of both for engine design, development, test,

& evaluation

�An exam

ple of DoD & NASA meeting the intent of the National Space

Policy & National Security Space Strategy

�Provides timely impetus to the US Propulsion industrial base

�Improves affordability of US Governm

ent space launch

One of Several Collaborative Opportunities with Mutual Benefit

Co

nce

ptu

al

Re

nd

eri

ng

of

the

Ne

xt G

en

En

gin

e,

a j

oin

t

US

AF/

NA

SA

pro

gra

m

Summary

�NIRPS is a responsive solution to the current needs of

Nation and the direction of the National Space Policy

�NIRPS will leverage the capabilities of the entire community

�NIRPS is a distributed and low-cost solution

As a Jointly Created and Sponsored Institute, NIRPS can serve asthe Nation’s

Authoritative Voice for Rocket and Missile Propulsion Systems

Path Forward

Vo

n B

rau

n S

ym

po

siu

m

Oct

ob

er

26

, 2

01

1

Fo

rum

:JA

NN

AF

De

cem

be

r 5

-9,

20

11

Na

tio

na

l S

pa

ce S

ym

po

siu

m

Ap

ril

16

-19

, 2

01

2

•R

efi

ne

d lis

t o

f ke

y

issu

es/

con

cern

s

Act

ivit

ies:

•P

reli

min

ary

Go

ve

rna

nce

/

Org

an

iza

tio

n s

tru

ctu

re

•K

ey i

ssu

es/

con

cern

s

cate

go

rize

d

•K

ey p

art

icip

an

ts id

en

tifi

ed

•In

itia

l p

rio

riti

es

•P

reli

min

ary

re

solu

tio

n

ap

pro

ach

es

for

ke

y

con

cern

s

•C

ha

rte

r

•M

OA

’s &

ag

ree

me

nts

in

pla

ce

•F

ina

lize

d G

ove

rna

nce

/

Org

an

iza

tio

n s

tru

ctu

re

•R

efi

ne

d r

eso

luti

on

ap

pro

ach

es

•In

itia

l im

ple

me

nta

tio

n i

nto

bu

dg

eta

ry p

lan

nin

g

Panelists

�Brett Alexander (Blue Origin)

�Dr. Bob Frederick (University of Alabama in

Huntsville)

�Julie Van Kleeck (Aerojet)

�Dr. Jam

ie Neidert, (U. S. Army Aviation and Missile

Research Development and Engineering Center

(AMRDEC))