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Completed TRL 5 (started at 3, targeting 5)
NASA is seeking critical high performance and high reliability propulsion technology in order to meet exploration goals and objectives. Early hardware demonstrations are critical, and a path towards qualification is essential for adoption of new technology such as additively manufactured GRCop-alloy chambers and injectors. The LLAMA task has completed fabrication and testing of a lander thrust chamber concept with the key goal of demonstrating high duty cycle and high performance targeting throttling capabilities. The thrust chamber integrated an additive manufactured GRCop copper-alloy chamber and composite nozzle sized for 7k-lbf thrust. Fifty hot-fire tests were demonstrated that validated throttling, stability, interfaces and restarts. The second half of the test series incorporated a composite nozzle and demonstrated throttling and stability to further the technology along the path towards qualification.
Significantly reduced risk to lander systems by demonstrating reliability of the thrust chamber assembly hardware. This testing leads the way on a path for qualification of this technology to be fully used in a lander or in-space system. The task demonstrated high risk off-nominal testing to understand reliability before subsystem or full system development and it will provide data to lander and commercial lander projects. Testing generated data from immediate restarts (5-20 sec between tests) and will allow for the opportunity to test lunar dust impact to nozzle components. Testing met the 25x start requirement while providing integration with subsystems and understanding of stability characteristics of the throttled subsystem.
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This is early/mid-stage (TRL 5) — the most realistic path in is NASA SBIR/STTR, which funds small businesses and research institutions to develop technology aligned with NASA's needs (equity-free, phased funding). Check whether a current SBIR/STTR solicitation topic overlaps with this project's technology area, or contact the project directly (above) to ask.
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