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LADEE Propulsion System Cold Flow TestLunar Atmosphere and Dust Environment Explorer (LADEE) is a NASA mission that will orbit the Moon. Its main objective is to characterize the atmosphere and lunar dust environment. The spacecraft development is being led by NASA Ames Research Center and scheduled for launch in 2013. The LADEE spacecraft will be operated with a bi-propellant hypergolic propulsion system using MMH and NTO as the fuel and oxidizer, respectively. The propulsion system utilizes flight-proven hardware on major components. The propulsion layout is composed of one 100-lbf main thruster and four 5-lbf RCS thrusters. The propellants are stored in four tanks (two parallel-connected tanks per propellant component). The propellants will be pressurized by regulated helium. A simulated propulsion system has been built for conducting cold flow test series to characterize the transient fluid flow of the propulsion system feed lines and to verify the critical operation modes, such as system priming, waterhammer, and crucial mission duty cycles. Propellant drainage differential between propellant tanks will also be assessed. Since the oxidizer feed line system has a higher flow demand than the fuel system does, the cold flow test focuses on the oxidizer system. The objective of the cold flow test is to simulate the LADEE propulsion fluid flow operation through water cold flow test and to obtain data for anchoring analytical models. The models will be used to predict the transient and steady state flow behaviors in the actual flight operations. The test activities, including the simulated propulsion test article, cold flow test, and analytical modeling, are being performed at NASA Marshall Space Flight Center. At the time of the abstract submission, the test article checkout is being performed. The test series will be completed by November, 2012
Document ID
20130013870
Acquisition Source
Marshall Space Flight Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Williams, Jonathan Hunter
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Chapman, Jack M.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Trinh, Hau, P.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Bell, James H.
(NASA Marshall Space Flight Center Huntsville, AL, United States)
Date Acquired
August 27, 2013
Publication Date
April 29, 2013
Subject Category
Spacecraft Propulsion And Power
Report/Patent Number
M13-2429
Meeting Information
Meeting: 60th JANNAF Propulsion Meeting
Location: Colorado Springs, CO
Country: United States
Start Date: April 29, 2013
End Date: May 3, 2013
Sponsors: Department of the Air Force, NASA Headquarters, Department of the Army, Department of the Navy
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Work of the US Gov. Public Use Permitted.
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