October 2002

Second Visit to DC

This time we met with more of the NASA senior management, including Dan Mulville, Ed Weiler, and Ghassem Asrar. Both Dr Weiler, who heads up Space Science, and Dr Asrar, who runs Earth Science, felt that their organizations would make regular use of the Falcon rocket, provided we are able to meet our projected cost and reliability is demonstrated. We also had encouraging meetings with the White House, the Naval Research Laboratory and the National Reconnaissance Office.

Turbo-pump Critical Design Review Completed

The engine turbo-pump is often the most difficult and expensive part of a rocket to get right. They have higher power to weight ratios than anything else on the planet - an Indy Car or fighter jet doesn’t even begin to compare. In our case, the challenge is compounded by the fact that we are using a single shaft to pump both cryogenic liquid oxygen and room temperature kerosene, so the temperature differences are substantial and even a small leak between the LOX and kerosene sections would be a problem. The advantage of the single shaft approach is that once the pump is fully debugged, there is much less complexity, cost and failure potential than having two separate pumps.

We spent a full day reviewing the details with Barber-Nichols (our manufacturing & development partner) and feel quite confident that our turbo-pump design will meet efficiency and thrust requirements with plenty of margin to spare. This is going to be one kick-ass machine and a big improvement in power to weight ratio and cost over prior turbo-pumps in this class. Drawings were released to Citation for casting and we should start to see the major parts being delivered in a few months.

World Space Congress Party

This year there was a huge space industry convention in Houston. We didn’t have a booth, but hosted a great party on the top floor of the Warwick hotel with a jazz band, great view and top shelf beverages. Attendance was good, with people from many sectors of the military, NASA and industry present.

Main Engine Gas Generator Testing Complete

We finished testing of the gas generator (a small rocket engine that powers the turbo-pump) without a hitch. Temperatures and pressures were all close to expected values, so no major modifications to the design were necessary. Development of the first major component of the main engine is now complete only five months after starting the company!