"6_2_15_10.TXT" (4905 bytes) was created on 05-02-89 Enter {V}iew, {X}MODEM, {Y}MODEM, {K}ERMIT, ? for HELP, or {M}enu [V]... ADVANCED SOLID ROCKET MOTOR (ASRM) PROJECT The Advanced Solid Rocket Motor project is intended to substantially improve the flight safety, reliability and performance of the Space Shuttle's Solid Rocket Boosters for the many years in the future that the Shuttle will remain a principal U.S. launch vehicle. Key objectives of the project are to achieve significant improvements over the current Redesigned Solid Rocket Motor in the areas of: o Flight safety design margins; o System reliability, through enhancements in motor quality and reproducibility; o Booster performance, along with the related aspect of Shuttle payload capacity; and o Reduced overall program cost, through increased efficiency. In terms of performance, the Shuttle's projected 12,000- pound extra lifting capability with the new motors will enable additional payload deliveries equivalent to 2.4 Shuttle missions per year, above the currently planned maximum of 14 per year. In addition to improved safety, reliability and performance, the next-generation booster project promises several broad national benefits. For example, it will strengthen the nation's existing technology foundation as a base for future advances in solid fuel propulsion. It will help promote a competitive solid rocket motor industry and reduce Shuttle operational costs. Substantial improvements are possible because of great technological progress made by the solid rocket motor industry since the current Shuttle booster was designed. Some of the most significant strides have been in process control technology and automation, which enable achieving a high degree of product reproducibility and reliability. These improvements will be incorporated in modern production facilities that are to be built for the Advanced Solid Rocket Motor project and which will have a capacity of producing up to 30 motors per year. The facilities are planned for construction at the Yellow Creek site in extreme northeastern Mississippi, which is NASA's preferred site for the hardware production. Additional specialized facilities will be built at the John C. Stennis Space Center near Bay St. Louis, Miss., NASA's preferred location for ground testing of the motors. It also is planned that part of the effort will use NASA's existing facilities at the Michoud Assembly Facility near New Orleans. The Advanced Solid Rocket Motor development program is expected to take approximately 5 years, with first use of the new motors in a Shuttle flight possible by 1994. The cost of design and development is estimated at just under $1 billion, exclusive of facility costs, which are estimated at between $200 and $300 million. The design and development cost will include delivery of rocket motors for six Shuttle missions (which will save $170- 180 million currently being paid for the old-technology motors). Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala., manages the Advanced Solid Rocket Motor program for NASA. Evolution of ASRM Since 1977, the Space Shuttle has consisted of a manned reusable orbiter, an expendable external tank for its liquid propellants, and two recoverable and reusable solid rocket boosters. Each booster comprises several subsystems, the largest of which is the solid rocket motor with its igniter and nozzle. In 1986, following the Challenger accident, NASA contracted for a redesigned solid rocket motor, which would incorporate a number of design changes determined to be necessary before the Shuttle could return to flight. The redesign effort was oriented toward providing a motor that is safe to fly, while at the same time keeping impact to the Shuttle launch schedule at a minimum. Therefore, the redesign was based on use of existing hardware wherever possible, without compromising safety. To meet its longer-term solid rocket motor requirements, NASA in March 1987 presented to Congress an acquisition strategy and plan. The plan analyzed three options: recompeting the redesigned solid rocket motor; continuing single-source procurement of the redesigned motor; or proceeding with an Advanced Solid Rocket Motor, which had already been the subject of NASA-funded studies by industry. NASA recommended the third option, and in October 1987, through the NASA Authorization Act of 1988, Congress indicated its approval for that approach. In March 1988, NASA published an acquisition plan detailing how it would implement the Advanced Solid Rocket Motor program. With issuance of the request for proposals in August 1988, the procurement began in earnest. Evaluation of proposals has been under way since November 1988, and selection of a prime contractor is expected to be announced this month (April 1989). - end -