Designing for solid rocket booster reusabilityThe Solid Rocket Booster (SRB) of the Space Shuttle Program has been designed to be recovered, refurbished, and reused up to 19 times on subsequent launches. The design modifications to the SRB to incorporate this capability include the addition of a parachute recovery system and minor structural modifications to the nose cone, forward skirt, aft skirt, and solid rocket motor structures for withstanding the water impact loading. In addition, the detail design of subsystem hardware requires careful attention to corrosion prevention and facility of refurbishment operations. A cost analysis comparing the reusable SRB with an expendable version shows a substantial reduction in Space Shuttle cost per flight is achieved with the reusable design approach.
Document ID
19750061534
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Nevins, C. D. (NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Solid Rocket Booster Integration Branch, Huntsville, Ala., United States)