TRW Inc. has received a $15.5 million contract under NASA’s Space
Launch Initiative (SLI) to develop technologies that will dramatically
increase the safety, reliability and affordability of next-generation
reusable space launch and transportation vehicles.
TRW will develop a new class of reaction control thrusters using
non-toxic propellants and will continue the development of a
1 million-pound, liquid oxygen-rocket propellant thrust booster
engine. Both are based on TRW’s advanced pintle injector concept and
share heritage with TRW’s reliable Lunar Module Descent Engine and the
100-pound thrust engine used to insert NASA’s Chandra X-ray
Observatory into a highly elliptical orbit.
“TRW is pleased to be a part of this NASA-industry team that will
develop technology to enable a new reusable launch vehicle system to
provide our nation with low-cost access to space,” said Gary Joseph,
director, TRW Propulsion Systems Center. “We will draw on our
innovative propulsion technology to develop engine systems to set new
standards for safety, reliability and low maintenance cost.”
NASA’s SLI is a research and development effort designed to
substantially improve safety and reduce the cost of the second
generation of launch and space transportation vehicles, beyond the
Space Shuttle. The effort is designed to produce propulsion technology
that will reduce cost by a factor of 10, increase reliability by a
factor of 10 and increase safety by a factor of 100.
TRW Space & Electronics builds communications, scientific and
defense spacecraft for military, civil and commercial customers;
produces, integrates and tests payloads; develops advanced space
instruments; and integrates experiments into spacecraft. It is an
operating unit of TRW Inc., which provides advanced technology
products and services for global automotive, aerospace,
telecommunications and information systems markets.
TRW’s Web site is www.trw.com.
