DOCSLIB.ORG

RS-25 for NASA's Space Launch System

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text

Load more

AEROJET ROCKETDYNE PROPRIETARY 0 THIS DOCUMENT CONTAINS NO EXPORT CONTROLLED – ITAR/USML CATEGORY IV September 2016 Aerojet Rocketdyne Footprint International Offices: Redmond, WA Moscow Tokyo London Belfast UAE Picatinny Arsenal, NJ Sacramento, CA Clearfield, UT ARDÉ, NJ Headquarters Washington, D.C. Denver, CO Gainesville, VA Orange, VA Los Angeles, CA Jonesboro, TN Vernon, CA Camden, AR Socorro, NM Tucson, AZ Huntsville, AL Headquarters Dallas, TX Orlando, FL Operating Locations Stennis, MS Eglin AFB, FL Field Offices West Palm Beach, FL Nearly 5,000 Employees Across 14 States 140 and Growing at NASA Stennis Space Center Aerojet Rocketdyne Proprietary 1 Aerojet Rocketdyne & NASA Stennis Space Center (SSC): A Fifty Year Partnership • NASA-SSC is the nation’s Center of Excellence for large space transportation propulsion systems testing • Tested each of the F-1 rocket engines that powered the first stage of the Saturn V launch vehicle for the Apollo missions • Early 1970s, SSC’s facilities were modified to test the space shuttle's main engines (SSMEs) • All the 405 flown engines supporting 135 shuttle flights tested and proven flight-worthy at SSC • SSC’s state-of-the-art facilities continues to assemble and test components and engines for future Space Launch System (SLS) missions (RS-25 and J-2X) • RS-68/A engines supporting the Delta IV program launching national security satellites and recently the Orion Capsule for NASA’s Exploration Flight Test-1 Aerojet Rocketdyne Proprietary 2 SSC Facilities Occupied by Aerojet Rocketdyne • A1 Test Stand– RS-25 (1st Stage booster for SLS) • Primary Customer – NASA • Aerojet Rocketdyne Test Article Contractor • B Test Stand • B1 - RS-68 (1st Stage booster for Delta-IV) • Primary Customer – Air Force (ULA) • Test Stand is operated under a Space Act Agreement • B2 (RS-25 Space Launch System Stage Testing) • B Complex Test Control Center (BTCC) • Engine Assembly Facility (EAF – Bldg. 9101) • Leased Facility from NASA via Space Act Agreement • 40,000 sf Assembly Space • 100,000 sf Warehouse / Office Space • Key Capabilities • Assembly of Large Rocket Engines (RS-25, RS-68A) • Development and Flight Certification Testing • Warehouse, Store and Ship Flight & Development Engines and Associated Hardware Aerojet Rocketdyne Proprietary 3 Aerojet Rocketdyne at Stennis Current Activities . Large Liquid Rocket Engine Final Assembly and Testing RS-25 o RS-25 for NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) o RS-68 for ULA’s Delta IV Launch Vehicle Future Activities RS-68 . Final Assembly and Testing of AR1 Launch Engine o Advanced Kerosene Engine to replace the Russian RD-180 on National Security Space Launch missions AR-1 Aerojet Rocketdyne Proprietary 4 Current Activities -- RS-25 Hot Fire Testing • RS-25 – Slated to serve as core propulsion of NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS) • Four engines per SLS Rocket – Upgraded version of the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME) • 100% Mission Success on Space Shuttle Program – Fueled by Liquid Oxygen/Hydrogen – Staged Combustion – Approximately 500,000 lbs of thrust RS-25 – Testing began in Jan 2009 Core Engine for SLS – Maintaining Affordability is Paramount 5 Aerojet Rocketdyne Proprietary 7,300 PSI Pressures equal to 3 miles under the ocean -423° F 2nd coldest fluid on Earth 6,000° F Hotter than boiling iron 35,000 RPM Turbopumps rotating 580 times per second THE RS-25: STATE OF THE ART PROPULSION FOR THE WORLD’S MOST POWERFUL ROCKET RS-25 Engine Four RS-25 Engines Current Activities -- Hot Fire Testing of RS-68 RS-68 1st Stage Booster: Launch of ULA’s Delta IV • Powers ULA’s Delta IV Heavy Rocket Rocket • Powered by three RS-68 • Liquid Oxygen/Liquid Boost Engines Hydrogen Fuel • Over 700,000 pounds of thrust 8 Aerojet Rocketdyne Proprietary Propulsion on All ULA Launch Vehicles • Primary propulsion provider to ULA Launch System Solution every ULA launch vehicle: Delta II, Delta IV and Atlas V • AR supplies boost main engines, upper stage main engines, upper stage RCS, solid strap-on motors • 100% mission success in >100 ULA launches to date • Cost reduction initiatives • Delivering the nation’s most important security and civil payloads The Nation’s Leading Provider of Every Type Of Space Launch Propulsion Aerojet Rocketdyne Proprietary 9 Component Testing in the E Complex Full power level test of 40k Overhead Support Trolley preburner System (OSTS) System is used to support component change out LOX inlet piping for FSPB This document contains no ITAR or EAR controlled technical information Aerojet Rocketdyne10 Proprietary AR1 Baseline Production Plan is Based on 10 Flights/Year 20 Engines/ Year and Integration of 10 MPS Component Fabrication Procurement, & Assembly Engine Hot-Fire Test (AR-LA, Sacramento, WPB & Supplier (Mississippi - NASA SSC) Locations) Vehicle Ass’y & Launch Ops (CCAFS or VAFB) Engine Assembly (Mississippi - NASA SSC) Booster Stage Integration This document contains no ITAR or EAR controlled technical information Aerojet Rocketdyne Proprietary 11 Facility Layout Development • Refining 9101 Facility Layout through requirements definition, modeling/simulations, IMS development and three phase 3P Process This document contains no ITAR or EAR controlled technical information Aerojet Rocketdyne Proprietary Assembly Facility Modeling This document contains no ITAR or EAR controlled technical information Aerojet Rocketdyne13 Proprietary AR1 Program Status Assembly Facility Modeling (Pneumatic Panels) This document contains no ITAR or EAR controlled technical information Aerojet Rocketdyne14 Proprietary AR1 Program Status Assembly Facility Modeling (Kit Staging) This document contains no ITAR or EAR controlled technical information Aerojet Rocketdyne15 Proprietary AR1 Program Status Questions? Image courtesy of Explore Mars, Inc. .
Recommended publications
  • RD-180—Or Bust?

    RD-180—Or Bust?

    RD-180—or By Autumn A. Arnett, Associate Editor As it stands, the US could sustain its Bust? manifest for two years with the current supply of RD-180 engines. But a new he United States’ sustained access he doesn’t really know what that R&D engine could take seven or more years to space is in question. Heavily amounts to, but said he is hopeful the to be operational, making LaPlante’s Treliant on the Russian-made En- partnership will mean a new engine on “$64 million question” a “hydra-headed ergomash RD-180 engine to power its the market soon. monster,” in the words of former AFSPC launches, US military space personnel “Three years of development is better Commander Gen. William L. Shelton. are looking for a replacement because than starting at ground zero,” Hyten said. “I don’t think we build the world’s best of the tense and uncertain status of “If we start at ground zero to build a rocket engine,” Shelton said last July. “I American and Russian relations. new engine in the hydrocarbon technology would love for us as a nation to regain the Funds are already being appropriated area we’re fi ve years away from produc- lead in liquid rocket propulsion.” for research and development of a new tion, roughly, maybe four, maybe six. Both LaPlante and Hyten are propo- engine, but Gen. John E. Hyten, com- The one thing you would have to do is nents of the United States continuing to mander of Air Force Space Command, spend the next year or two driving down fund research and development of a new considers the issue to be urgent.
  • ULA Atlas V Launch to Feature Full Complement of Aerojet Rocketdyne Solid Rocket Boosters

    ULA Atlas V Launch to Feature Full Complement of Aerojet Rocketdyne Solid Rocket Boosters

    April 13, 2018 ULA Atlas V Launch to Feature Full Complement of Aerojet Rocketdyne Solid Rocket Boosters SACRAMENTO, Calif., April 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The upcoming launch of the U.S. Air Force Space Command (AFSPC)-11 satellite aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, will benefit from just over 1.74 million pounds of added thrust from five AJ-60A solid rocket boosters supplied by Aerojet Rocketdyne. The mission marks the eighth flight of the Atlas V 551 configuration, the most powerful Atlas V variant that has flown to date. The Atlas V 551 configuration features a 5-meter payload fairing, five AJ-60As and a Centaur upper stage powered by a single Aerojet Rocket RL10C-1 engine. This configuration of the U.S. government workhorse launch vehicle is capable of delivering 8,900 kilograms of payload to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), and also has been used to send scientific probes to explore Jupiter and Pluto. The Centaur upper stage also uses smaller Aerojet Rocketdyne thrusters for pitch, yaw and roll control, while both stages of the Atlas V employ pressurization vessels built by Aerojet Rocketdyne's ARDÉ subsidiary. "The Atlas V is able to perform a wide variety of missions for both government and commercial customers, and the AJ-60A is a major factor in that versatility," said Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake. "Aerojet Rocketdyne developed the AJ-60A specifically for the Atlas V, delivering the first booster just 42 months after the contract award, which underscores our team's ability to design and deliver large solid rocket motors in support of our nation's strategic goals and efforts to explore our solar system." The flight of the 100th AJ-60A, the largest monolithically wound solid rocket booster ever flown, took place recently as part of a complement of four that helped an Atlas V 541 place the nation's newest weather satellite into GTO.
  • Privacy Statement Link at the Bottom of Aerojet Rocketdyne Websites

    Privacy Statement Link at the Bottom of Aerojet Rocketdyne Websites

    Privacy Notice Aerojet Rocketdyne – For external use Contents Introduction ...................................................................................................................... 3 Why we collect personal information? ............................................................................. 3 How we collect personal information? ............................................................................. 3 How we use information we collect? ............................................................................... 4 How we share your information? .................................................................................... 4 How we protect your personal information? ..................................................................... 4 How we collect consent? .............................................................................................. 4 How we provide you access? ........................................................................................ 4 How to contact Aerojet Rocketdyne privacy?.................................................................... 5 Collection of personal information .................................................................................. 5 Disclosure of personal information.................................................................................. 5 Sale of personal information .......................................................................................... 6 Children’s online privacy ..............................................................................................
  • 6. Chemical-Nuclear Propulsion MAE 342 2016

    6. Chemical-Nuclear Propulsion MAE 342 2016

    2/12/20 Chemical/Nuclear Propulsion Space System Design, MAE 342, Princeton University Robert Stengel • Thermal rockets • Performance parameters • Propellants and propellant storage Copyright 2016 by Robert Stengel. All rights reserved. For educational use only. http://www.princeton.edu/~stengel/MAE342.html 1 1 Chemical (Thermal) Rockets • Liquid/Gas Propellant –Monopropellant • Cold gas • Catalytic decomposition –Bipropellant • Separate oxidizer and fuel • Hypergolic (spontaneous) • Solid Propellant ignition –Mixed oxidizer and fuel • External ignition –External ignition • Storage –Burn to completion – Ambient temperature and pressure • Hybrid Propellant – Cryogenic –Liquid oxidizer, solid fuel – Pressurized tank –Throttlable –Throttlable –Start/stop cycling –Start/stop cycling 2 2 1 2/12/20 Cold Gas Thruster (used with inert gas) Moog Divert/Attitude Thruster and Valve 3 3 Monopropellant Hydrazine Thruster Aerojet Rocketdyne • Catalytic decomposition produces thrust • Reliable • Low performance • Toxic 4 4 2 2/12/20 Bi-Propellant Rocket Motor Thrust / Motor Weight ~ 70:1 5 5 Hypergolic, Storable Liquid- Propellant Thruster Titan 2 • Spontaneous combustion • Reliable • Corrosive, toxic 6 6 3 2/12/20 Pressure-Fed and Turbopump Engine Cycles Pressure-Fed Gas-Generator Rocket Rocket Cycle Cycle, with Nozzle Cooling 7 7 Staged Combustion Engine Cycles Staged Combustion Full-Flow Staged Rocket Cycle Combustion Rocket Cycle 8 8 4 2/12/20 German V-2 Rocket Motor, Fuel Injectors, and Turbopump 9 9 Combustion Chamber Injectors 10 10 5 2/12/20
  • Jpc-Final-Program.Pdf

    Jpc-Final-Program.Pdf

    49th AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit (JPC) Advancing Propulsion Capabilities in a New Fiscal Reality 14–17 July 2013 San Jose Convention Center 11th International Energy Conversion San Jose, California Engineering Conference (IECEC) FINAL PROGRAM www.aiaa.org/jpc2013 www.iecec.org #aiaaPropEnergy www.aiaa.org/jpc2013 • www.iecec.org 1 #aiaaPropEnergy GET YOUR CONFERENCE INFO ON THE GO! Download the FREE Conference Mobile App FEATURES • Browse Program – View the program at your fingertips • My Itinerary – Create your own conference schedule • Conference Info – Including special events • Take Notes – Take notes during sessions • Venue Map – San Jose Convention Center • City Map – See the surrounding area • Connect to Twitter – Tweet about what you’re doing and who you’re meeting with #aiaaPropEnergy HOW TO DOWNLOAD Any version can be run without an active Internet connection! You can also sync an Compatible with itinerary you created online with the app by entering your unique itinerary name. iPhone/iPad, MyItinerary Mobile App MyItinerary Web App Android, and • For optimal use, we recommend • For optimal use, we recommend: rd BlackBerry! iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch (3 s iPhone 3GS, iPod Touch (3rd generation), iPad iOS 4.0, or later generation), iPad iOS 4.0, • Download the MyItinerary app by or later searching for “ScholarOne” in the s Most mobile devices using Android App Store directly from your mobile 2.2 or later with the default browser device. Or, access the link below or scan the QR code to access the iTunes s BlackBerry Torch or later device Sponsored by: page for the app.
  • Los Motores Aeroespaciales, A-Z

    Los Motores Aeroespaciales, A-Z

    Sponsored by L’Aeroteca - BARCELONA ISBN 978-84-608-7523-9 < aeroteca.com > Depósito Legal B 9066-2016 Título: Los Motores Aeroespaciales A-Z. © Parte/Vers: 1/12 Página: 1 Autor: Ricardo Miguel Vidal Edición 2018-V12 = Rev. 01 Los Motores Aeroespaciales, A-Z (The Aerospace En- gines, A-Z) Versión 12 2018 por Ricardo Miguel Vidal * * * -MOTOR: Máquina que transforma en movimiento la energía que recibe. (sea química, eléctrica, vapor...) Sponsored by L’Aeroteca - BARCELONA ISBN 978-84-608-7523-9 Este facsímil es < aeroteca.com > Depósito Legal B 9066-2016 ORIGINAL si la Título: Los Motores Aeroespaciales A-Z. © página anterior tiene Parte/Vers: 1/12 Página: 2 el sello con tinta Autor: Ricardo Miguel Vidal VERDE Edición: 2018-V12 = Rev. 01 Presentación de la edición 2018-V12 (Incluye todas las anteriores versiones y sus Apéndices) La edición 2003 era una publicación en partes que se archiva en Binders por el propio lector (2,3,4 anillas, etc), anchos o estrechos y del color que desease durante el acopio parcial de la edición. Se entregaba por grupos de hojas impresas a una cara (edición 2003), a incluir en los Binders (archivadores). Cada hoja era sustituíble en el futuro si aparecía una nueva misma hoja ampliada o corregida. Este sistema de anillas admitia nuevas páginas con información adicional. Una hoja con adhesivos para portada y lomo identifi caba cada volumen provisional. Las tapas defi nitivas fueron metálicas, y se entregaraban con el 4 º volumen. O con la publicación completa desde el año 2005 en adelante. -Las Publicaciones -parcial y completa- están protegidas legalmente y mediante un sello de tinta especial color VERDE se identifi can los originales.
  • Environmental, Social & Governance Report

    Environmental, Social & Governance Report

    ESG Environmental, Social & Governance Report Aerojet Rocketdyne 2020 ESG Report Table of Contents About Us Aerojet Rocketdyne is a world-recognized supports our business and our efforts to meet Section One - Social Responsibility technology-based engineering and or exceed the expectations of our customers, Aerojet Rocketdyne Foundation .......................................................... 7 manufacturing company that develops and deliver best-in-class products and services, Employee Volunteer and Giving .......................................................... 8 produces specialized power and propulsion and uphold our high ethical standards while Sponsorship and Donations ................................................................ 8 systems, as well as armament systems. We conducting business with a regard for the develop and manufacture liquid and solid rocket preservation and protection of human safety, Employees and Community ................................................................. 9 propulsion, air-breathing hypersonic engines, health, and the natural environment. Human Resources and electric power and propulsion for space, Section Two - Our Shared Values of Accountability, defense, civil and commercial applications. Tuition Assistance Program ............................................................... 13 Adaptability, Excellence, Integrity and In addition, we are engaged in the rezoning, Scholarship Program ......................................................................... 14 Teamwork are intended
  • Aerojet Marks 70 Years Serving the Warfighter and Powering Exploration

    Aerojet Marks 70 Years Serving the Warfighter and Powering Exploration

    March 19, 2012 Aerojet Marks 70 Years Serving the Warfighter and Powering Exploration SACRAMENTO, Calif., March 19, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Aerojet, a GenCorp (NYSE:GY) company, announced its 70th anniversary today, marking the March 19, 1942 founding of Aerojet Engineering Corporation by world-renowned aerodynamicist Dr. Theodore von Kármán and five California Institute of Technology colleagues. These rocket pioneers leveraged their ingenuity and shared passion for rocketry to create a company that today has powered some of the nation's most critical defense and exploration missions. Launching as a single-product company, Aerojet manufactured critical Jet Assisted Take Off (JATO) propulsion, which led to increased allied pilot safety by enabling heavily laden aircraft to take off from short runways and carrier decks. Following the allied forces' victory in WWII, Aerojet's production efforts turned to the development of solid rocket propellant motors for the Intercontinental Ballistic Missile (ICBM) Minuteman, as well as solid rocket motors for the two-stage submarine- launched ballistic missile, Polaris. Aerojet also began work on the Titan program. The company ultimately spent the next 50 years producing liquid rocket engines for the entire Titan launcher family: Titan I, Titan II, Titan III and Titan IV. Space Exploration and Defending Freedom With the launch of the space race in the 1960s, Aerojet's propulsion expertise powered the nation's early exploration accomplishments. In 1966, three of every four rockets launched from Cape Canaveral, Fla. were powered by Aerojet propulsion systems. Following the two-man missions of Gemini, Aerojet's Service Propulsion System placed Apollo astronauts in orbit around the moon and brought them home again.
  • The Annual Compendium of Commercial Space Transportation: 2017

    The Annual Compendium of Commercial Space Transportation: 2017

    Federal Aviation Administration The Annual Compendium of Commercial Space Transportation: 2017 January 2017 Annual Compendium of Commercial Space Transportation: 2017 i Contents About the FAA Office of Commercial Space Transportation The Federal Aviation Administration’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation (FAA AST) licenses and regulates U.S. commercial space launch and reentry activity, as well as the operation of non-federal launch and reentry sites, as authorized by Executive Order 12465 and Title 51 United States Code, Subtitle V, Chapter 509 (formerly the Commercial Space Launch Act). FAA AST’s mission is to ensure public health and safety and the safety of property while protecting the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States during commercial launch and reentry operations. In addition, FAA AST is directed to encourage, facilitate, and promote commercial space launches and reentries. Additional information concerning commercial space transportation can be found on FAA AST’s website: http://www.faa.gov/go/ast Cover art: Phil Smith, The Tauri Group (2017) Publication produced for FAA AST by The Tauri Group under contract. NOTICE Use of trade names or names of manufacturers in this document does not constitute an official endorsement of such products or manufacturers, either expressed or implied, by the Federal Aviation Administration. ii Annual Compendium of Commercial Space Transportation: 2017 GENERAL CONTENTS Executive Summary 1 Introduction 5 Launch Vehicles 9 Launch and Reentry Sites 21 Payloads 35 2016 Launch Events 39 2017 Annual Commercial Space Transportation Forecast 45 Space Transportation Law and Policy 83 Appendices 89 Orbital Launch Vehicle Fact Sheets 100 iii Contents DETAILED CONTENTS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .
  • AEHF-6 Launch Marks 500Th Flight of Aerojet Rocketdyne's RL10 Engine

    AEHF-6 Launch Marks 500Th Flight of Aerojet Rocketdyne's RL10 Engine

    AEHF-6 Launch Marks 500th Flight of Aerojet Rocketdyne’s RL10 Engine March 27, 2020 CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., March 26, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The successful March 26 launch of the U.S. Space Force’s sixth and final Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) military communications satellite aboard a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V rocket marked the 500th flight of Aerojet Rocketdyne’s RL10 upper-stage engine. The RL10, which powers the ULA Atlas V Centaur upper stage, is one of several Aerojet Rocketdyne propulsion products supporting the mission. Aerojet Rocketdyne propulsion can be found on both the rocket and the AEHF-6 satellite. Built by Lockheed Martin, the AEHF satellites provide secure, jam-proof communications, including nuclear command and control, to U.S. and allied forces. “This launch marks an important milestone for Aerojet Rocketdyne and for the country,” said Eileen Drake, Aerojet Rocketdyne’s CEO and president. “The RL10 has supported a majority of the nation’s most important national security and scientific missions, including all of the AEHF satellites which provide communication links that are critical to our warfighters.” The Atlas V in the 551 configuration is the most powerful vehicle in the Atlas V family, featuring five Aerojet Rocketdyne AJ-60A solid rocket strap-on motors, each generating 348,500 pounds of thrust. Designed specifically to provide extra lifting power to the Atlas V, the AJ-60A is the world’s largest monolithic solid rocket motor ever flown. The AEHF-6 satellite, meanwhile, is outfitted with three different types of Aerojet Rocketdyne thrusters for attitude control, orbital station keeping and maneuvering.
  • SLS Case Study

    SLS Case Study

    CASE STUDY Supporting Space Flight History with the Space Launch System (SLS) Technetics Group is a proud sup- Boeing representatives held a sup- plier to NASA, Boeing and Aerojet plier recognition presentation for Rocketdyne, and proved instru- the Technetics team members, mental in working with these orga- citing outstanding performance nizations on the development of in providing hydraulic accumula- NASA’s Space Launch System (SLS). tors and reservoirs for the Thrust The SLS is an advanced, heavy-lift Vector Control hydraulic system, BELFAB Edge-Welded launch vehicle that will send astro- located within the Core Stage of Metal Bellows nauts into deep space and open the rocket. Technetics was one up the possibility for missions to of the first suppliers on the pro- Qualiseal Mechanical neighboring planets. The program gram to have provided all Flight 1 Seals is enabling humans to travel fur- requirements and subsystem test ther into space than ever before units. and paving the way for new sci- Aerojet Rocketdyne also rec- entific discoveries and knowledge ognized Technetics and stated that was once out of reach. that Technetics “has gone above Technetics has worked closely and beyond to produce quality with program design teams for hardware and support aggressive critical applications for the Core schedules,” and that “Technetics Stage and Upper Stage on the SLS. efforts and those of Technetics NAFLEX Seals Specifically, a number of preci- employees have not gone unno- sion sealing solutions and fluid ticed.” To express their appre- management components were ciation, Aerojet Rocketdyne needed for Aerojet Rocketdyne’s representatives visited the RS-25 and RL10 engines to ensure Technetics Deland, FL facility to the integrity of the overall system.
  • NSIAD-87-215 NASA Procurement: the 1973 Space Shuttle Solid

    NSIAD-87-215 NASA Procurement: the 1973 Space Shuttle Solid

    United States General Accounting Office 13Y32? Report to the Honorable Albert Gore, Jr., U.S. Senate September 1987 NASA PROCUREMENT The 1973 Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Motor Contractor Selection /I I I~11 I IIIll ll.~11 134329 GAO/NSIAD-87-216 * ,Id, , :: “. United States General Accounting Office GAO Washington, D.C. 20648 National Security and International Affairs Division B-227523 September 23, 1987 The Honorable Albert Gore, Jr. United States Senate Dear Senator Gore: In your December 17,1986, letter and subsequent discussions with your office, you requested that we evaluate certain circumstances surround- ing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s (NASA’S) 1973 shuttle solid rocket booster motor source selection. Specifically, we addressed the following three questions: . Did NASA'S reply to our bid protest decision on the 1973 source selection comply with applicable procurement regulations? . Did NASA staff responsible for the source selection violate Executive Order 11222, which provides standards for federal employees to follow in avoiding conflicts of interest? l Did the membership of NASA's Source Evaluation Board for the solid rocket booster motor comply with the Federal Advisory Committee Act? We briefed your representatives on February 10, March 23, April 17, and August 6, 1987. At our final briefing, we agreed to provide you with a report summarizing our work. The results of our work are discussed below and in appendix I. NASA’S reply to our 1974 decision was not in violation of applicable bid protest regulations and procedures. Also, our review of the limited number of available documents and discussions with government and industry officials did not disclose violations of Executive Order 11222 or related statutes, regulations, and rulings concerning conflicts of interest on the part of the NASA Administrator or Source Evaluation Board mem- bers.