Description Chrysler SERV

1 description

1.1 vehicle design
1.2 operational modes
1.3 construction , operations

description
vehicle design

serv consisted of large conical body rounded base chrysler referred modified apollo design . resemblance due fact both vehicles used blunt body re-entry profiles, lessen heating load during re-entry creating large shock wave in front of rounded surface. tilting vehicle in relation direction of motion changes pattern of shock waves, producing lift can used maneuver spacecraft - in case of serv, 100 nm on either side of ballistic path. aid lift generation, serv stepped , lower portion of cone angled in @ 30 degrees, , upper portion closer 45 degrees. serv 96 feet (29 m) across @ widest point, , 83 feet (25 m) tall. gross lift off weight on 6,000,000 lb (2,700,000 kg), same saturn v s 6,200,000 lb (2,800,000 kg) more shuttle s 4,500,000 lb (2,000,000 kg).

the majority of serv airframe consisted of aluminum composite honeycomb. base covered screw-on ablative heat shield panels, allowed easy replacement between missions. upper portions of airframe, received dramatically lower heating loads, covered metal shingles covering quartz insulation below. 4 landing legs extended bottom, foot forming portion of heat shield surface when retracted.

a twelve module lh2/lox aerospike engine arranged around rim of base, covered movable metal shields. during ascent shields move out body adjust decreasing air pressure, forming large altitude compensating nozzle. module fed set of 4 cross-linked turbopumps designed run @ 120% of nominal power, allowing orbital insertion if 1 pump failed after takeoff. engine whole provide 7,454,000 lbf (25.8 mn) of thrust, same s-ic, first stage of saturn v.

also arranged around base forty 20,000 lbf (89 kn) jet engines, fired prior touchdown in order slow descent. movable doors above engines opened feed air. 2 rl-10 s provided de-orbit thrust, main engine did not have restarted in space. on-orbit maneuvering, not extensive serv (see below), provided small lox/lh2 engines instead of thrusters using different fuels.

a series of conical tanks around outside rim of craft, above engines, stored lox. lh2 stored in larger tanks closer center of craft. smaller spherical tanks, located in gaps below rounded end of lox tanks, held jp-4 used feed jet engines. orbital maneuvering , de-orbit engines clustered around top of spacecraft, fed own tanks interspersed between lh2. arrangement of tanks left large open space in middle of craft, 15 60 feet (18 m), served cargo hold.

operational modes

two basic spacecraft configurations , mission profiles envisioned. mode missions flew serv high-altitude parking orbit @ 260 nmi (480 km) inclined @ 55 degrees, below space station s orbit @ 270 nmi (500 km). mode b missions flew 110 nmi (200 km) low earth orbit (leo) inclined @ 28.5 degrees, due-east launch kennedy space center. in either case serv paired long cargo container in bay, , optionally combined manned spacecraft on top.

the original proposals used lifting body spaceplane known murp support manned missions. murp based on hl-10 design under study north american rockwell part of sts efforts. murp fitted on top of cargo container , fairing, 114 feet (35 m) long overall. in second version of study, chrysler added option replaced murp personnel module , based on apollo csm, 74 feet (23 m) long when combined same cargo container. original, serv-murp , 137 ft (42 m) when combined serv, while new configuration, serv-pm , 101 ft (31 m) tall. both systems included all-aspect abort of manned portion throughout entire ascent.

after considering 4 combinations of mode , module, 2 basic mission profiles selected efficient. serv-pm high-earth orbit used , pm maneuver short distance reach station. serv-murp, low earth orbit used , murp maneuver rest of way on own. in either case, serv return earth , let pm or murp land on own, or more commonly, wait in parking orbit cargo module earlier mission rendezvous return earth. weight , balance considerations limited return payload.

both configurations delivered 25,000 lb (11,000 kg) of cargo space station, although in pm configuration overall thrown weights lower. if pm configuration used fairing instead of capsule, serv deliver 112,000 lb (51,000 kg) leo, or as 125,000 lb (57,000 kg) extended nosecone . extended nosecone long spike high fineness ratio lowered atmospheric drag creating shock waves cleared vehicle body during ascent.

in addition, chrysler outlined ways support 33 ft (10 m) wide loads on front of serv. diameter of s-ic , s-ii, lower stages of saturn v. nasa had proposed wide variety of payloads apollo applications program based on diameter intended launched on saturn int-21. chrysler demonstrated launched on serv, if weight considerations taken account. however, these plans based on earlier serv designs larger 23 ft (7.0 m) cargo bay. when nasa s loads adapted fit smaller 15 ft (4.6 m) bay common sts proposals, option dropped.

serv not expected remain on orbit extended periods of time, longest missions outlined in report @ under 48 hours. typically return after small number of orbits brought ground track close enough kennedy, , abort-once-around missions contemplated. vehicle designed return location within 4 miles (6 km) of touchdown point using re-entry maneuvering, rest made during jet-powered descent.

construction , operations

nasa had partnered chrysler build nasa-designed saturn ib, @ michoud assembly facility outside new orleans. chrysler proposed building servs @ michoud well, delivering them ksc on bay-class ships used deliver boeing s s-ic same factory. since serv wider ships, had carried tilted in order reduce overall width. pontoons added side of ships protect spacecraft spray.

servs fitted out in vehicle assembly building (vab) high bay, mated pm or murp prepared in low bay, , transported lc39 pads on existing crawler-transporters. lc39 pads required minor modifications serv use, similar needed launch saturn ib. chrysler proposed building several serv landing pads between lc39 , vab, , landing strip murp near existing space shuttle landing strip. servs returned vab on enormous flatbed truck. other new infrastructure set of test stands @ mississippi test operations engine testing complex, near michoud.

re-using of existing infrastructure lowered overall program costs; total costs estimated $3.565 billion, each serv costing $350 million in fy1971 dollars, , being rated 100 flights on 10-year service life. far less expensive two-stage flyback proposals entered companies, had peak development costs on order of $10 billion.

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