Liquid Propulsion Technical Committee (LPTC) Annual Report

Liquid Propulsion Technical Committee

Liquid Propulsion Technical Committee (LPTC) Annual Report For TC Activities May 1, 2011- April 30, 2012

1. Name of Technical Committee

Liquid Propulsion Technical Committee

2. Name and address of TC Chair

Prof. Eric Besnard California State University, Long Beach Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering 1250 Bellflower Blvd Long Beach, CA 90840

3. Membership

As of January 2013, there are 47 total members on the committee. Names and resumes of committee members are maintained on the TC website. Of the 47 members, 5 are young members less than 35. With our 8 international members, 13 members (8 + 5) are not counted in the full time TC regular member limit of 35. Thus, we have 34 regular members (47 - 13) and 1 regular opening.

The membership distribution is shown in the figures below by activity and rank within AIAA.

Figure 1. LPTC membership distribution by activity

1 Figure 2. LPTC membership distribution by AIAA rank

Associate members - number and names -There are no associate members on the committee

Number of foreign members and which countries -There are 8 foreign members on the committee representing France, Germany, Japan, Netherlands, and Australia

Young members -There are 5 young members on the committee

4. Meetings Number of TC meetings this year -The TC committee met twice this year, at the AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting in January 2012 in Nashville, TN and at the AIAA Joint Propulsion Conference in August 2012 in Atlanta GA.

Special events at TC meetings (plant tours, invited speakers, etc.) - TC meetings included visits and presentations from the Director of the Propulsion and Energy Group (Ashwani Gupta), representatives from TAC, and candidates for AIAA elective offices. In addition, the committee conducted its traditional Monday night dinner excursion at the San Diego JPC, with good attendance from the members.

Participation in AIAA national Technical Conferences -The LPTC organized 32 Liquid Propulsion sessions at the AIAA Joint Propulsion Conference in 2011 in San Diego, CA, including two special, well-attended sessions: - History Session at JPC with invited panel of distinguished liquid propulsion experts: Liquid Propulsion Pioneers; Atlas - Birth, Evolution, and Options; session taped and archived by CPIA, with DVDs available for sale. The LPTC is planning a history Liquid Propulsion Technical Committee session for the 2012 JPC with another invited panel of distinguished liquid propulsion experts. - Invited Session: The Legacy of Robert Sackheim LPTC sessions experienced a 24% withdrawal/no-show rate, almost twice of the prior year, often due to lack of travel budgets. -Representatives from the LPTC also attended AIAA 2012 Aerospace Sciences Meeting, among others.

Participation in non-AIAA conferences -Representatives from the LPTC attended the National Space Symposium and the JANNAF Propulsion Meeting in December 2011.

Participation at AIAA co-sponsored conferences -None

5. Honors and Awards presented by the TC Name of award: Wyld Propulsion Award (along with EPTC, SPTC, and NFFPTC, the LPTC participates in the selection committee and Chaired the selection committee in 2011) To whom awarded: Kenneth Kuo Where awarded: 2011 JPC

Name of award: Liquid Propulsion Best Paper Award To whom awarded: Adam Butt and Chris Popp (NASA MSFC), Hank Pitts (Qualis Corporation, ESTS Group), and David Sharp (Jacobs Engineering, ESTS Group) for their paper AIAA-2010-6660 “NASA Ares I Launch Vehicle Roll and Reaction Control Systems Design Status” Where awarded: 2011 JPC

Name of award: LPTC Student Award To whom awarded: Tom Feldman (Purdue) Where awarded: 2011 JPC

Name of award: LPTC Young Professional Award To whom awarded: Dr. Jeffrey D. Moore (AMPAC-ISP) Where awarded: 2011 JPC

The committee is formulating requirements for Service and Lifetime Achievement awards specific to the LPTC.

6. TC Publication activities Aerospace America Highlights article -The LPTC organized and published the Liquid Propulsion Highlights article for Aerospace America in 2011

3 Handbook Newsletter White papers/position papers Books Journal articles

7. TC participation/activities with AIAA sections TC representatives have been active in their local sections, including in student chapters such as that of California State University, Long Beach.

8. TC participation in other AIAA committees/activities Standards Young Professionals Honors & Awards Public outreach activity Short course Summer camp K-12 Public Policy Other(s) -The LPTC sponsors a liquid propulsion short course every year at the Joint Propulsion Conference. The short course was presented at the 2011 JPC in San Diego and well attended. -The LPTC has liaisons to the following committees: JANNAF Liquid Propulsion, ASME, AIAA Liquid Hydrogen, AIAA Electric Propulsion, and multiple foreign committees. We are also exploring working with the AIAA Standards committee to revise several storable propellant standards. • - The LPTC provided 4 inputs to AIAA’s Congressional Visit Day key issue request in the following areas: Integrated Space Launch Roadmap, Balance between SLS / MPCV and Commercial Crew programs, Need for ITAR Reform, and Need for Sustained Propulsion R&D

9. Please provide a paragraph summarizing what you feel was the most significant achievement or activity of your TC this year.

The Liquid Propulsion Technical Committee is a vibrant group, with active members from around the world, representing most global propulsion organizations. Though by far our most effort- consuming task every year is the preparation for the Liquid Propulsion sessions in the JPC, we also are active in several other key efforts, including preparing and presenting an annual liquid propulsion short course at the JPC, presenting annual student and young professional liquid propulsion awards (paid for by the revenues generated by the short course), preparing the Liquid Propulsion Aerospace America highlights article, and upgrading committee member AIAA membership status. The LPTC is also very active in preserving the history of liquid propulsion, encouraging trailblazers in the industry to tell their stories in specially-arranged invited history sessions at each JPC. This is perhaps our most significant ongoing achievement. We have recorded and archived these sessions since 2004, covering topics from Apollo to hydrazine and bipropellant engine development to early propulsion systems. Also, the TC has added a special session to be organized on an as-needed basis, approximately 2-3 years, dedicated to the recognition of the contributions of a particular living individual to the field (Robert Sackheim in 2011). Liquid Propulsion Technical Committee Two significant achievements in 2011 were the second iteration in improving the JPC liquid propulsion short course, and the submission –after TC deliberations- of input which was integrated into 4 AIAA’s Congressional Visit Day key issues.