Unique requirements drive design of OTV tankage
Abstract
Designs, performance and mission profiles for an orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) under development are summarized. The cryogenically-fuelled vehicle would be reusable and function between LEO and GEO. Its launch would be either from the base of the STS main tank or from the Space Station. The return to LEO after payload deployment in GEO would include use of an aerobrake to shed velocity and shield the OTV against heat damage. The cost of the OTV is driven by the weight, which in turn drives the propellant requirements. The tank skin thickness reaches a minimum at the threshold of weldability, although meteoroid protection will also be necessary.
- Publication:
-
AIAA, SAE, ASME, and ASEE, 21st Joint Propulsion Conference
- Pub Date:
- July 1985
- Bibcode:
- 1985jpmc.confQ....H
- Keywords:
-
- Orbit Transfer Vehicles;
- Propellant Tanks;
- Spacecraft Design;
- Structural Design;
- Aerobraking;
- Aluminum Alloys;
- Design Analysis;
- Membrane Structures;
- Meteoroid Protection;
- Structural Weight;
- Launch Vehicles and Space Vehicles