摘要
固体火箭用于航天飞行已有近30年历史。30年来美国航天发射的历史记录表明,固体火箭发动机工作可靠性相当于或优于液体发动机,研制成本和使用成本则低于液体发功机,因而获得了广泛的应用。当前美国政府正组织航天界积极探索进一步降低运载火箭的成本和提高其可靠性,要实现这一目标,无论对固体技术还是液体技术来说均需进一步提高和发展,但采用固体系统,技术上易于实现,所需投资较低。固体火箭在下一代先进的运载系统中将继续发挥重要作用。
The historical record of solid rocket motor in launch vehicles illustrates that their reliability is equal to or better than liquid propulsion, and relatively low in development and production cost. Solid propulsion systems, when used in conjunction with liquid propulsion, can build on the current record and help to achieve the near-term goal of $ 1000 per pound to Low Earth Orbit(LEO). Further, this can be accomplished without the high upfront DDT&E, operational and annualized costs required for an all liquid boost propulsion system. Implementation of the design, manufacturing and material initiatives outlined in this paper contribute to meeting the US longer term system cost reduction goals and further reliability enhancement.
