Session

Technical Session VI: Delivery Systems

Abstract

Scorpius is a Microcosm program to develop an entirely new launch vehicle family with the following objectives: 1) Better than 99% reliability; 2) Launch within 8 hours of payload arrival at the launch site; 3) Weather and equipment delays comparable to commercial airlines; 4) Very low initial recurring cost: -SR-S Small Sounding Rocket: 220 lbs to 200 km for $95,000, -SR-1 Sounding Rocket: 900 lbs to 200 km for $275,000, -SR-3 Micro Lift: 170 lbs to LEO for $700,000, -Liberty Light Lift: 2,200 lbs to LEO for $1.7 million, -Exodus Medium Lift: 15,000 lbs to LEO for $7.9 million, -Extendible to heavy lift; 5)Total non-recurring development cost for all of the above vehicles through light lift of less than $25 million ($FY94). The program is funded under multiple contracts with the US Air Force Phillips Laboratory and Microcosm internal IR&D. Microcosm has developed an overall system design and built and fired multiple test engines for the sounding rocket and light lift vehicles. Southwest Research Institute has delivered the prototype avionics system. At present, the program has substantial design margin in all key cost and technical areas. Scorpius is an R&D program with no guarantee of success. Nonetheless, at each stage the program has been ahead of schedule and done more for the money than called for. It has been through multiple formal reviews with no major show-stoppers identified. We are building major hardware elements at far less than 1/10th the traditional cost. We anticipate more than a factor of 30 fewer parts than a traditional vehicle with almost no machined or tight tolerance components. If funding proceeds, we anticipate being able to reduce total launch costs by a factor of 10 for small payloads within 3 years and for medium payloads within 4 years.

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Sep 20th, 3:30 PM

The Scorpius Low Cost Launch System

Scorpius is a Microcosm program to develop an entirely new launch vehicle family with the following objectives: 1) Better than 99% reliability; 2) Launch within 8 hours of payload arrival at the launch site; 3) Weather and equipment delays comparable to commercial airlines; 4) Very low initial recurring cost: -SR-S Small Sounding Rocket: 220 lbs to 200 km for $95,000, -SR-1 Sounding Rocket: 900 lbs to 200 km for $275,000, -SR-3 Micro Lift: 170 lbs to LEO for $700,000, -Liberty Light Lift: 2,200 lbs to LEO for $1.7 million, -Exodus Medium Lift: 15,000 lbs to LEO for $7.9 million, -Extendible to heavy lift; 5)Total non-recurring development cost for all of the above vehicles through light lift of less than $25 million ($FY94). The program is funded under multiple contracts with the US Air Force Phillips Laboratory and Microcosm internal IR&D. Microcosm has developed an overall system design and built and fired multiple test engines for the sounding rocket and light lift vehicles. Southwest Research Institute has delivered the prototype avionics system. At present, the program has substantial design margin in all key cost and technical areas. Scorpius is an R&D program with no guarantee of success. Nonetheless, at each stage the program has been ahead of schedule and done more for the money than called for. It has been through multiple formal reviews with no major show-stoppers identified. We are building major hardware elements at far less than 1/10th the traditional cost. We anticipate more than a factor of 30 fewer parts than a traditional vehicle with almost no machined or tight tolerance components. If funding proceeds, we anticipate being able to reduce total launch costs by a factor of 10 for small payloads within 3 years and for medium payloads within 4 years.