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Robert W Stough

Publications and source records attributed to Robert W Stough.

6 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

NASA’s Space Launch System: High C3 Launch Capability for Science Missions

As NASA’s initial Space Launch System (SLS) Block 1 vehicle enters integration and stacking operations at Kennedy Space Center (KSC) this year in preparation for a 2021 launch, work is in progress on future more powerful variants of the vehicle. Available in the mid 2020s and 2030s, Block 1B and Block 2 will feature increased performance and unparalleled volume for payloads, providing an enabling launch option for science mission planners. The baseline SLS architecture consists of two five-segment solid rocket boosters and four RS-25 LH2/LOX engines. The evolved Block 1B and Block 2 vehicles use a four-engine LH2/LOX upper stage and can be outfitted with an 8.4 m-diameter pay-load fairing. Additional upper stages can be packaged in the 8.4 m fairing to enable high C3 (in the range of 300 km2/sec2) missions to Mercury, the Jovian system, the ice giants, the Kuiper Belt and beyond.

Stephen D Creech↗
NASA NTRSDate not supplied

High-C3 Applications for NASA's Space Launch System

For numerous high-interest science targets in the outer solar system and elsewhere, the limits of available launch vehicles have placed significant constraints on mission designs. Even for the current generation of heavy-lift launch vehicles, baseline capabilities still impose limitations, for example, the outer solar system in areas such as launch window availability, transit time, science payload mass, time at destination, etc. Initial studies show benefits for ultra-high C3 missions from configurations of NASA’s Space Launch System(SLS) adding third or fourth payload stages.

Robert W Stough↗