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A History of Welding on the Space Shuttle Main Engine (1975 to 2010)The Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) is a high performance, throttleable, liquid hydrogen fueled rocket engine. High thrust and specific impulse (Isp) are achieved through a staged combustion engine cycle, combined with high combustion pressure (approx.3000psi) generated by the two-stage pump and combustion process. The SSME is continuously throttleable from 67% to 109% of design thrust level. The design criteria for this engine maximize performance and weight, resulting in a 7,800 pound rocket engine that produces over a half million pounds of thrust in vacuum with a specific impulse of 452/sec. It is the most reliable rocket engine in the world, accumulating over one million seconds of hot-fire time and achieving 100% flight success in the Space Shuttle program. A rocket engine with the unique combination of high reliability, performance, and reusability comes at the expense of manufacturing simplicity. Several innovative design features and fabrication techniques are unique to this engine. This is as true for welding as any other manufacturing process. For many of the weld joints it seemed mean cheating physics and metallurgy to meet the requirements. This paper will present a history of the welding used to produce the world s highest performance throttleable rocket engine.
Document ID
20100022062
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Zimmerman, Frank R.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Russell, Carolyn K.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Date Acquired
August 24, 2013
Publication Date
May 4, 2010
Subject Category
Spacecraft Propulsion And Power
Report/Patent Number
M10-0256
Meeting Information
Meeting: 4th Spacecraft Propulsion Joint Subcommittee Meeting
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Country: United States
Start Date: May 3, 2010
End Date: May 7, 2010
Sponsors: Department of the Navy, Department of the Army, NASA Headquarters, Department of the Air Force
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.

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