The inertial upper stage - A key transportation element of future unmanned planetary missions
Abstract
The inertial upper stage (IUS), described in the present paper, is being developed to provide a highly reliable cost effective vehicle with built-in flexibility and adaptability for integration with the space shuttle. It will accurately deliver spacecraft into a wide range of earth orbits. Two high-performance solid-propellant rocket motors, an interstage structure, and an avionics module are the fundamental building blocks for the two-stage, twin-stage, and twin-stage-with-spinner configurations. The simplicity of this IUS family is illustrated.
- Publication:
-
Munich International Astronautical Federation Congress
- Pub Date:
- September 1979
- Bibcode:
- 1979muni.iafcU....S
- Keywords:
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- Inertial Upper Stage;
- Interplanetary Spacecraft;
- Multistage Rocket Vehicles;
- Space Transportation;
- Spacecraft Design;
- Avionics;
- Galileo Project;
- Nasa Programs;
- Reliability Engineering;
- Solid Propellant Rocket Engines;
- Spacecraft Configurations;
- Launch Vehicles and Space Vehicles