Florida Research and Development Center

West Palm Beach, Florida VIctor 4-7311 Ext. 455

SATURN HISTORY DOCUMENT

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S a t u r n S-IV and The RLlO Engine

Table of Contents

Page

I.

RLlO Milestones and RLlO S t a t i s t i c s .

...

11 1.
IV. V.

.. The Development of Liquid Hydrogen. . . . . . . . The F l o r i d a R e s e a r c h and Development Center . . . The P r a t t & Whitney A i r c r a f t Division. . . . . . . . . . . . . .
The RLlO Liquid Hydrogen Rocket Engine.

F o r Additional Information: Public Relations Department, P r a t t & Whitney A i r c r a f t F l o r i d a R e s e a r c h and Development C e n t e r , P o s t Office Box 2691, West P a l m Beach, F l o r i d a 33402 Telephone: A r e a Code 305, 844-731 1, Extension 455, West P a l m Beach, F l o r i d a .

I.

R L 10 MILES TONES October 1958 J u l y 1959 November 1961

.
.

Design Begins F i r s t Engine F i r e d RL1 OA- 1 Engine P a s s e s P r e l i m i n a r y Flight Rating T e s t F i r s t Centaur T e s t Vehicle Static F i r e d AdvancedEngine (RLlOA-3) P a s s e s P r e l i m i n a r y Flight Rating T e s t F i r s t Six-Engine Saturn S-IV Static F i r e d Full-Scale Engine Throttleability (to 10%) Demonstrated Hyper golic Ignition Demonstrated

M a r c h 1962 J u n e 1962

August 1962 S e p t e m b e r 1962

May 1963 J u n e 1963

. .

Instant S t a r t F e a s i b i l i t y D e m o n s t r a t e d Low Idle Operation ( p r e s s u r i z e d mode) for Settling P r o p e l l a n t Demonstrated R L l O ' s Power F i r s t Centaur Vehicle in O r b i t

October 1963

November 1963 J a n u a r y 1964

. .

. .

R L l O ' s Power F i r s t S a t u r n S-IV Vehicle in O r b i t

RLlO STATISTICS Rated Thrust Height Width Weight Fuel 15, 000 Pounds

69 Inches

. .
. . .

40 Inches 292 Pounds Liquid Hydrogen Liquid Oxygen 431 Seconds 300 p s i a Regenerative

Oxidizer

Specific Impulse

Chamber P r e s s u r e Type Cooling

. .
. .

Total F i r i n g Time TotalFirings

170 Hours through November 1963 4, 500 through November 1963 (more)
s

The RLlO LIQUID HYDROGEN ROCKET ENGINE

Page 2

The RL10, which powers the National Aeronautics and Space Adminis t r a t i o n ' s S a t u r n S-IV, i s the n e w e s t propulsion s y s t e m to be put to w o r k in advancing o u r nation's space effortr On November 27, 1963, a p a i r of R L l O ' s s u c c e s s f u l l y powered a five-ton Centaur space vehicle in e a r t h o r b i t i n the f i r s t flight demonstration of the outer space powerplant which u s e s highe n e r g y liquid hydrogen a s fuel. A six-engine c l u s t e r of RLlO' s , generating The 15, 000-

a t o t a l of 90, 000 pounds of t h r u s t , powers the S a t u r n S-IV stage.

pound-thrust engine w a s designed and developed for NASA's Mar s h a l l Space F l i g h t Center a t P r a t t & Whitney A i r c r a f t ' s F l o r i d a R e s e a r c h and Development C e n t e r , 20 m i l e s northwest of W e s t P a l m Beach. L e s s than seven months a f t e r the s t a r t i n g date of the c o n t r a c t in m i d October 1958, the f i r s t RLlO t h r u s t c h a m b e r w a s tested. The official P r e -

l i m i n a r y F l i g h t Rating T e s t w a s completed successfully in the r e c o r d t i m e of t h r e e y e a r s a f t e r beginning initial engine design. In the development p r o g r a m ,

the RLlO h a s completed m o r e than 4, 500 f i r i n g s f o r a n accumulated firing* t i m e of m o r e than 170 hours. Many endurance t e s t s have been conducted with

the engine, with one f i r i n g lasting 28 minutes, approximately four t i m e s the m i s s i o n r e q u i r e m e n t s for engine b u r n i n the S a t u r n S-IV p r o g r a m . While the RLlO r e s e m b l e s other r o c k e t engines outwardly, i n t e r n a l l y
it contains m a n y advances i n s t a t e - o f - t h e - a r t design, among t h e m the method

by which i t obtains multiple utilization f r o m i t s fuel. -423O F plays two r o l e s before i t i s burned.

The liquid hydrogen a t

In i t s f i r s t r o l e , the hydrogen

s e r v e s a s a coolant by passing through the s e r i e s of tubes which f o r m the thrust chamber. In i t s second r o l e , the hydrogen, which h a s picked up h e a t

e n e r g y a s a r e s u l t of i t s cooling the c h a m b e r , i s expanded through a turbine (more\

The RLlO Liauid Hvdrogen Rocket Engine

Page 3

to provide power to pump both propellants into the s y s t e m . The engine w a s designed to provide a capability of multiple r e s t a r t s in s p a c e , with long coasting p e r i o d s between firings. The p r o b l e m s of m a i n -

taining a conventional lubrication s y s t e m under conditions of coasting made i t d e s i r a b l e to e l i m i n a t e o i l lubrication i n the gearbox. The g e a r s and b e a r i n g s

in the RLlO turbopump w e r e developed to o p e r a t e d r y and to be cooled with hydrogen gas. The RLlO h a s a nozzle expansion r a t i o of 40 to 1 and o p e r a t e s a t a nominal c h a m b e r p r e s s u r e of 300 pounds p e r s q u a r e inch.

11 1.

THE DEVELOPMENT O F LIQUID HYDROGEN The s u c c e s s f u l development of P r a t t & Whitney A i r c r a f t ' s RLlO r o c k e t

engine w a s b a s e d upon the m a s t e r y of a powerful fuel

- - hydrogen.

At the

advent of the s p a c e a g e , hydrogen held out the p r o s p e c t of g r e a t l y - i n c r e a s e d t h r u s t p e r pound o v e r hydrocarbon fuels such a s kerosene. When burned with

liquid oxygen (LOX), liquid hydrogen d e l i v e r s 35 p e r c e n t m o r e t h r u s t p e r pound of propellant than conventional fuels. E n g i n e e r s knew that i f hydrogen

could be l e a s h e d a s a fuel for r o c k e t engines i t would make possible substantial payload i n c r e a s e s . An e n t i r e new technology had to be established before hydrogen could become a p r a c t i c a l fuel. unknown. Techniques for handling hydrogen a s a fuel w e r e

B e c a u s e of i t s low boiling point (-423O F),i t i s difficult to keep in I t w i l l vaporize immediately i f exposed to heat. Liquid hydrogen

liquid f o r m .

i s c o l o r l e s s , o d o r l e s s , a n d of v e r y light weight. (more)

The Development of Liauid Hvdrogen

Page 4

P r a t t & Whitney A i r c r a f t ' s experience h a s proved that liquid hydrogen c a n be t r a n s p o r t e d and s t o r e d practicably and that, in many ways i f handled p r o p e r l y , the f r o s t y liquid i s s a f e r than gasoline. Liquid hydrogen i s c h e m i -

c a l l y i n e r t i n the p r e s e n c e of all common m a t e r i a l s around a t e s t stand, including a i r , oil, and oxygen. corrosive. I t is non-toxic, n o n - i r r i t a t i n g , and non-

I t does not d e t e r i o r a t e o r decompose f r o m long-time s t o r a g e .

Today, it i s possible to k e e p liquid hydrogen just a s "ready" a s liquid oxygen. The f u e l is s t o r e d in dewar tanks, which a r e double-walled c o n t a i n e r s with a vacuum between the w a l l s , s i m i l i a r to a t h e r m o s bottle. tanks follow the s a m e p a t t e r n of construction. L a r g e - s c a l e testing of liquid hydrogen fuel became possible i n 1958, with the opening of the P r a t t & Whitney A i r c r a f t F l o r i d a R e s e a r c h and Development Center i n W e s t P a l m Beach, F l o r i d a . Adjacent to the plant, the The P o r t a b l e dewar

A i r F o r c e built the f i r s t tonnage production facility for liquid hydrogen.

facility t a k e s n a t u r a l gas, b r e a k s i t down into hydrogen gas, c a r b o n dioxide, and other p r o d u c t s , then r e f r i g e r a t e s and purifies the hydrogen. The purity

of the liquid hydrogen produced t h e r e i s about 99. 9999 per cent, among the p u r e s t m a t e r i a l s produced in quantity by man. By l a t e 1963, P r a t t & Whitney A i r c r a f t a t i t s F l o r i d a Center h a d handled n e a r l y 4 0 million gallons of liquid hydrogen in the development p r o g r a m f o r i t s hydrogen fueled r o c k e t engines.

(more)

The F l o r i d a R e s e a r c h and Development Center IV.

Page 5

THE FLORIDA RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER United A i r c r a f t Corporation's P r a t t & Whitney A i r c r a f t Division

established the Florida R e s e a r c h and Development Center in 1956, p r i m a r i l y to t e s t highly advanced jet engines.

. Work was

s t a r t e d that year and the

main buildings w e r e completed in 1958.

Soon afterward, the R e s e a r c h Center The Research Center i s

was expanded to include rocket engine r e s e a r c h .

located on a n isolated 6, 750-acre t ~ a c on the edge of F l o r i d a ' s Everglades t in P a l m Beach County.

The R e s e a r c h C e n t e r ' s rocket t e s t a r e a includes horizontal and v e r t i c a l engine firing stands and complete component t e s t facilities. All

engine firing stands a r e equipped to simulate conditions the engines will encounter in space. The two. horizontal stand complexe s include single-engine

s t r u c t u r e s that a r e adaptable to engines developing up to 250, 000 pounds of thrust. The v e r t i c a l t e s t stand complexes a r e designed to accommodate rocket One v e r t i c a l

propulsion s y s t e m s developing up to 500, 000 pounds of thrust.

t e s t stand i s used to check out dual-engine vehicle propulsion systems. A multi-million-dollar addition to the Research C e n t e r ' s rocket engine t e s t complex will soon be in operation. The addition will give P r a t t & Whitney

A i r c r a f t the nation's m o s t advanced liquid rocket propellant r e s e a r c h capability. With the new facility, the R e s e a r c h Center will be able to handle safely a l l known combinations of liquid propellants, including high-ener gy types such a s fluorine, hydrazine, diborane, and hydrogen.
i

Looking to the future, the R e s e a r c h Center h a s an extensive department of applied r e s e a r c h . A r e a s of study for this department include mission

analysis, engine and controls analysis, systems engineering, combustion, (more)

The F l o r i d a R e s e a r c h and D e v e l o ~ m e n t Center h e a t t r a n s f e r , turbomachinery, and fluid flow.

Page 6

Over the p a s t four y e a r s , P r a t t & Whitney A i r c r a f t h a s conducted a c o m p r e h e n s i v e study to define the propulsion r e q u i r e m e n t s for the next generation of launch vehiclesA m a j o r development in this study w a s achieved

a t the R e s e a r c h Center r e c e n t l y with the s u c c e s s f u l t e s t f i r i n g of a cooled h i g h - p r e s s u r e hydrogen r o c k e t chamber. About the s i z e of a m i l k bottle,

t h e c h a m b e r o p e r a t e d a t about 3 , 0 0 0 p s l a and generated 1 1 , 0 0 0 pounds of t h r u s t during the firing. P r a t t & Whitney A i r c r a f t ' s F l o r i d a R e s e a r c h and Development Center employs 5, 300 and h a s a n annual payroll of about $43 million. In 1962, the

company spent m o r e than $18 million in purchasing f r o m o r subcontracting with 679 F l o r i d a b u s i n e s s e s of which 539 w e r e classified by Government standards a s small Florida businesses.

THE PRAT T & WHITNEY AIRCRAFT DIVISION The F l o r i d a R e s e a r c h and Development Center i s o p e r a t e d by P r a t t & Whitney A i r c r a f t , the m a j o r division of United A i r c r a f t Corporation. Pratt &

Whitney A i r c r a f t was organized in Connecticut in 1925 to design and build a i r c r a f t engines. a i r - c o o l e d wasp. Double Wasp. I t s f i r s t engine, revolutionary f o r i t s t i m e , w a s the r a d i a l , I t w a s followed by the Hornet, the Twin Wasp, and the

These famous engines ultimately provided half the a i r c r a f t With the advent of

power u s e d by the Allied a i r f o r c e s during World War PI.

the jet a g e , the s k i l l s and technology developed by P r a t t & Whitney A i r c r a f t during the piston-engine e r a helped the division to move to the f o r e f r o n t i n
i

m a n u f a c t u r e of jet engines.

P r a t t & Whitney A i r c r a f t engines today power (more)

The P r a t t & Whitney A i r c r a f t Division

Page 7 In

many of the nation's m o s t advanced m i l i t a r y and commercial a i r c r a f t .

addition to the work being c a r r i e d out a t i t s Florida R e s e a r c h and Development Center, P r a t t & Whitney A i r c r a f t i s developing other space -age power s y s t e m s . Among t h e m a r e fuel c e l l s to e l e c t r i c i t y

- - devices which

convert chemical energy directly The Apollo command vehicle,

--

for space and industrial use.

which will c a r r y man to the #moon, will receive i t s on-board power and drinking w a t e r f r o m a P r a t t & Wbitney A i r c r a f t fuel cell. The division h a s a l s o been At

selected to develop the fuel c e l l syskern for the lunar excursion module. the Connecticut Advanced Nuclear Engineering Laboratory in Middletown,

P r a t t & Whitney A i r c r a f t i s developing SNAP 5O/SPUR, a light-weight nuclear r e a c t o r which will be used to supply e l e c t r i c a l power for deep space exploration. Modified a i r c r a f t jet engines manufactured by the division a r e being u s e d in ground installations to generate electricity and operate c o m p r e s s o r s which pump gas through long pipe lines. power ships and hydrofoils. Other units a r e being developed to

The division employs about 41, 000 p e r s o n s and

h a s i t s h e a d q u a r t e r s in E a s t B a r t f o r d , Connecticut. United A i r c r a f t Corporation, P r a t t & Whitney A i r c r a f t 1 s parent corporation, a l s o h a s five other operating divisions. Hamilton Standard designs and

manufacturer s a i r c r a f t p r o p e l l e r s and environmental controls for a i r c r a f t and space use. helicopters. Sikor sky A i r c r a f t i s the w o r l d ' s leading designer and builder of The Norden Division produces many electronic products for United A i r c r a f t C o r p o r a t e Systems Center c a r r i e s

defense and aerospace.

out r e s e a r c h , development, and study in a number of a r e a s of space technology. United Technology Center i s developing solid propellant r o c k e t engines, principally the f i r s t - stage boosters of the Titan 111-C space launch vehicle. (rnolr ) e

In addition to these divisions, t h e r e a ? e T e rn!%ed%rc?zft

Research

L a b o r a t o r i e s and two subsidiaries, United A i r c r a f t International and United A i r c r a f t of Canada Limited. The corporation employs about 66,000 persons.

Sales in 1962 w e r e $1, 160,458, 684,