Vehicle Systems Title Banner

The NSROC Vehicle Systems Group is responsible for Structural Engineering, Hardware Resource Planning, Ordnance & Vehicle Assembly Procedures, Propulsion Systems, Coordination and Inspection of Recovery Systems, and Field Support, as defined below:

Structural Engineering:
Blue Rocket Bullet Research, obtain and keep structural design data for all rocket motors, interstages, fins, launcher interfaces and other related hardware in the sounding rocket stable.
Blue Rocket Bullet Perform structural analysis of vehicle hardware for every mission and provide factors of safety to DR and MRR panels for review.
Blue Rocket Bullet Perform structural testing as needed to verify analysis mentioned above.
Blue Rocket Bullet Design, analyze and test hardware for new and/or existing vehicles.
Blue Rocket Bullet Support design, analysis, test and survey of launchers as needed.
Blue Rocket Bullet Present design and vehicle readiness data at mission milestone/deliverable meetings.
Blue Rocket Bullet Identify, track, and mitigate risks associated with vehicle hardware.
 

Hardware Resource Planning

Blue Rocket Bullet Define vehicle hardware requirements for every mission.
Blue Rocket Bullet Work closely with Logistics Group to forecast vehicle hardware inventory needs.
Blue Rocket Bullet Act as main point of contact for vehicle hardware vendors.
Blue Rocket Bullet Provide vehicle hardware cost estimates to mission managers for every mission.
Blue Rocket Bullet Identify, track, and mitigate risks associated with vehicle hardware planning & procurement.
 
Ordnance Engineering
Blue Rocket Bullet Principal point of contact for all NSROC standard ordnance systems (in-house CDI's and vendor-provided ignition systems). Coordinate/approve any design changes to these standard systems.
Blue Rocket Bullet Coordinate development of new FTS/TTS system designs and revisions to existing designs.
Blue Rocket Bullet Principal point of contact for all vehicle assembly procedures. Develop new procedures and coordinate approval of revisions to existing procedures. Provide disposition/approval for deviation from procedures.
Blue Rocket Bullet Identify, track, and mitigate risks associated with ordnance systems.
 
Propulsion Engineering
Blue Rocket Bullet Research, obtain, and keep all technical data on propulsive grain and performance characteristics for every motor in our stable. This includes data on ignition train and exit nozzle/expansion cone characteristics.
Blue Rocket Bullet Review x-rays and all other propulsion-system-related inspection reports of every motor. Define new inspection requirements for all motors in order to have consistent policies across the stable.
Blue Rocket Bullet Perform analysis on performance of propulsion events for each mission. This includes considerations for age of motor and propellant, altitude of ignition; spin rate, acceleration, etc. Provide report to DR and MRR panels for review.
Blue Rocket Bullet Analyze flight data after every mission to verify proper performance of motor. Work closely with Flight Performance Engineers to perform this evaluation.
Blue Rocket Bullet Consult with industry experts/propulsion houses on new materials/processes, aging/shelf life issues, verification and validation of propulsion systems.
Blue Rocket Bullet Identify, track, mitigate risks associated with propulsion systems.

NSROC Propulsion Engineer, Cathy Herman, developed the Test Plan for the Static Fire picture below. The test was designed to validate the new igniter design for the Black Brant XI configuration, September 2006.

Image of Static Fire

Recovery Systems Engineering
The primary use of recovery systems is to retrieve the payload so it can be refurbished and flown again; or to retrieve payloads to obtain scientific data (exposed film, onboard data recorders, or atmospheric samples). Land and Water Payload recovery are both possible on sounding rocket missions. Responsibilities include:

Blue Rocket Bullet Research, obtain and keep design data for all components and assemblies of recovery systems.
Blue Rocket Bullet Coordinate procurement of recovery system hardware, including hardware manufactured in-house.
Blue Rocket Bullet Write necessary procedures and requirements documents that will guide vendors in building our systems properly.
Blue Rocket Bullet Coordinate inspection of recovery system hardware, including x-rays of packed chutes.
Blue Rocket Bullet Assign recovery systems for every mission, if required.
Blue Rocket Bullet Create a process flow document for each recovery system variant.
Blue Rocket Bullet Using defined/published industry standard analysis tools, perform analysis of critical components during parachute staging for every mission. Provide factors of safety to DR and MRR panels for review.
Blue Rocket Bullet Review flight data from every recoverable mission to verify proper staging of parachutes. Provide report for mission closeout.
Blue Rocket Bullet Inspect all parachutes after every flight and provide report for mission closeout.
Blue Rocket Bullet Identify, track, mitigate risks associated with recovery systems.
 
Field Support Personnel (White Sands Missile Range)
Blue Rocket Bullet Receive and inspect standard vehicle support systems (ORSA, BB ign.) from Wallops.
Blue Rocket Bullet Perform field support for integration, testing and launch of these systems. This includes installation and testing of TTS hardware.
Blue Rocket Bullet Review flight data and provide report for mission closeout.

These tasks are performed for missions at fixed launch sites in the US and Europe and remote launch sites throughout the world .


Return to What We Do