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Country of origin | United States |
---|---|
First flight | 1959 |
Last flight | 2005 |
Manufacturer | Aerojet |
Application | Main engine |
Associated LV | Titan |
Successor | D LR-91 |
Liquid-fuel engine | |
Propellant | |
Cycle | Gas-generator |
Performance | |
Thrust, sea-level | LR87-11: 1,900 kN (430,000 lbf) |
Chamber pressure | 40–59 bar (4,000–5,900 kPa) |
Specific impulse, vacuum | 290 s (2.8 km/s) |
Specific impulse, sea-level | 256 s (2.51 km/s) |
Dimensions | |
Length |
|
Diameter | 1.14 m (3 ft 9 in) |
Dry mass | 839 kg (1,850 lb) |
References | |
References | [1] |
The LR87 was an American liquid-propellant rocket engine used on the first stages of Titan intercontinental ballistic missiles and launch vehicles. [1] Composed of twin motors with separate combustion chambers and turbopump machinery, [2] it is considered a single unit and was never flown as a single combustion chamber engine or designed for this. The LR87 first flew in 1959. [1]
The LR87 was developed in the late 1950s by Aerojet. [3] : 82,319 It was the first production rocket engine capable (in its various models) of burning the three most common liquid rocket propellant combinations: liquid oxygen/RP-1, nitrogen tetroxide (NTO)/Aerozine 50 (a 50:50 mixture by mass of hydrazine and UDMH), and liquid oxygen/liquid hydrogen. [4] The engine operated on an open gas-generator cycle and utilized a regeneratively cooled combustion chamber. For each thrust chamber assembly, a single high-speed turbine drove the lower-speed centrifugal fuel and oxidizer pumps through gearing, a configuration designed for high turbopump efficiency. This lowered fuel use in the gas generator and improved specific impulse. [3] : 380-385 The LR87 served as a template for the LR-91, which was used in the second stage of the Titan missile. [5]
The LR87 was a fixed-thrust engine, which could not be throttled or restarted in flight. The LR87 delivered approximately 1,900 kilonewtons (430,000 pounds) of thrust in its hypergolic configuration. [1] Early LR87 engines used on the Titan I burned RP-1 and liquid oxygen. [6] [1] Because liquid oxygen is cryogenic, it could not be stored in the missile for long periods of time, and had to be loaded before the missile could be launched. For the Titan II, the engine was converted to use Aerozine 50 and nitrogen tetroxide, which are hypergolic and storable at room temperature. This allowed Titan II missiles to be kept fully fueled and ready to launch on short notice. [1]
For the Titan III and IV, which were larger, more capable space launch vehicles, the LR87 was modified further. Thrust and nozzle area ratio were progressively increased, requiring heavier turbopumps, pipes, and other parts. [3] : 384
Used on the Titan I, the LR87-3 burned liquid oxygen and RP-1. [4] Following the retirement of the Titan missile program, these engines saw no further use.[ citation needed ] The LR87-3 was also operated with NTO/Aerozine 50 and ground tested with LOX/H2 (with a new fuel pump), making it one of very few engines to have been run on three different propellant combinations. [3] : 383
Instead of liquid oxygen and RP-1, the Titan II used nitrogen tetroxide and Aerozine 50. This change was done for storability at the request of the US Air Force. [3] : 381 The engine was generally lighter and simpler than its predecessor, partly due to the use of hypergolic propellants, which do not need an independent ignition system. The engines also had simpler controls, solid-propellant cartridges to start the turbopumps, simplified injectors, and autogenous pressurization, replacing the heavy tanks of cold helium gas. Instead, the fuel tank was pressurized with fuel-rich gas-generator exhaust, and the oxidizer tank with NTO evaporated in a heat exchanger using turbine exhaust. [3] : 383
Beginning in 1984, Titan II missiles were decommissioned and became available as launch vehicles. Their engines were modified for this use. [3] : 383
The LR87-5 was adapted to the needs of the Gemini program. The LR87-7 had added redundancies and safety features for human-rating certification. [3] : 381 The performance was similar to the previous version, only reducing the chamber pressure and nozzle thrust to meet human-rating requirements. This version was only used on the Titan II GLV.
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Used on the Titan IIIA, IIIB, and IIIC. [7]
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Used on Titan 24B, 34B, IIIBS, IIID, 34D, 34D7, IIIE. The LR-87-11A was used on the Titan IV A/B.[ citation needed ]
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Modified to burn liquid oxygen and liquid hydrogen. The development coincided with other variants of the late 1950s. Compared to the -3, it had a number of changes associated with the use of lighter and colder liquid hydrogen. [3] : 383 The fuel injectors were greatly modified, and the RP-1 pump was replaced with a purpose-designed single-stage hydrogen pump. Developed 1958–1961, a total of 52 static tests were performed without serious issue. Aerojet took part in the selection process for a new engine for the second stage of the Saturn IB and Saturn V. Though LR87 LH2 was the best in 10 out of 11 criteria, NASA selected Rocketdyne's J-2. Lessons learned were used during development of the Aerojet M-1. [8] It was only built with 1 chamber.[ citation needed ]
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2022) |
The LR87 was also tested with a gelled Dinitrogen Tetroxide / Alumizine fuel. [9] [10] Though the earlier tests with the LR87 were terminated due to combustion instabilities and funding restraints development of gelled fuel and oxidizers continued to produce fuels for engines currently used in space. [11]
Engine | LR87-3 | LR87-5 | LR87-7 | LR87-9 | LR87-11 | LR87 LH2 |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Aerojet Model | AJ23-130 | AJ23-132 | AJ23-134 | AJ23-136 | AJ23-139 | |
Fuel | LOX/Kerosene | N2O4/Aerozine 50 | N2O4/Aerozine 50 | N2O4/Aerozine 50 | N2O4/Aerozine 50 | LOX/LH2 |
First flight | 1959 | 1962 [lower-alpha 1] | 1962 | 1966 | 1968 | – |
Number built | 140 | 212 | 534 | |||
Thrust, [lower-alpha 2] V [lower-alpha 3] | 733.9 kN | 1096.8 kN | 1086.1 kN | 1218.8 kN | 667 kN | |
ISP, V [lower-alpha 3] | 290s | 297s | 296s | 302s | ||
Thrust, SL [lower-alpha 4] | 647.9 kN | 956.5 kN | 946.7 kN | 956.1 kN | 968.4 kN | 578 kN |
ISP, SL [lower-alpha 4] | 256s | 259s | 258s | 250s | 350 s | |
Burn time | 138s | 155s | 139s | 200s | ||
Height | 3.13m | 3.13m | 3.13m | 3.13m [lower-alpha 5] | 4 m | |
Diameter | 1.53m | 1.14m | 1.53m | 1.14m | 1.14 m | |
Mass [lower-alpha 2] | 839 kg | 739 kg | 713 kg | 758 kg | 700 kg | |
Chamber pressure | 40.00 bar | 53.3 atm (54.01 bar) | 47.00 bar | 58.3 atm (59.07 bar) | ||
Area ratio | 8 | 8 | 9 | 15 | 8 | |
TWR, V [lower-alpha 3] | 89.2 | 151.34 | 155.33 | 163.96 | 97.14 | |
Oxidizer/fuel ratio | 1.91 | 1.93 | 1.9 | 1.91 | ||
Coefficient of Thrust, V [lower-alpha 3] | 1.8453 | 2.23 | 3.03 | |||
Coefficient of thrust, SL [lower-alpha 4] | 1.6453 | 1.98 | 2.78 | |||
Propellant flow | 750 kg/s | 824.7 kg/s | ||||
Source | [12] | [2] | [13] | [14] | [15] | [8] |
Titan was a family of United States expendable rockets used between 1959 and 2005. The Titan I and Titan II were part of the US Air Force's intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) fleet until 1987. The space launch vehicle versions contributed the majority of the 368 Titan launches, including all the Project Gemini crewed flights of the mid-1960s. Titan vehicles were also used to lift US military payloads as well as civilian agency reconnaissance satellites and to send interplanetary scientific probes throughout the Solar System.
A hypergolic propellant is a rocket propellant combination used in a rocket engine, whose components spontaneously ignite when they come into contact with each other.
RP-1 (alternatively, Rocket Propellant-1 or Refined Petroleum-1) is a highly refined form of kerosene outwardly similar to jet fuel, used as rocket fuel. RP-1 provides a lower specific impulse than liquid hydrogen (H2), but is cheaper, is stable at room temperature, and presents a lower explosion hazard. RP-1 is far denser than H2, giving it a higher energy density (though its specific energy is lower). RP-1 also has a fraction of the toxicity and carcinogenic hazards of hydrazine, another room-temperature liquid fuel.
A liquid-propellant rocket or liquid rocket uses a rocket engine burning liquid propellants. (Alternate approaches use gaseous or solid propellants.) Liquids are desirable propellants because they have reasonably high density and their combustion products have high specific impulse (Isp). This allows the volume of the propellant tanks to be relatively low.
Aerozine 50 is a 50:50 mix by weight of hydrazine and unsymmetrical dimethylhydrazine (UDMH), developed in the late 1950s by Aerojet General Corporation as a storable, high-energy, hypergolic fuel for the Titan II ICBM rocket engines. Aerozine continues in wide use as a rocket fuel, typically with dinitrogen tetroxide as the oxidizer, with which it is hypergolic. Aerozine 50 is more stable than hydrazine alone, and has a higher density and boiling point than UDMH alone.
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The Titan II was an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) developed by the Glenn L. Martin Company from the earlier Titan I missile. Titan II was originally designed and used as an ICBM, but was later adapted as a medium-lift space launch vehicle to carry payloads to Earth orbit for the United States Air Force (USAF), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Those payloads included the USAF Defense Meteorological Satellite Program (DMSP), NOAA weather satellites, and NASA's Gemini crewed space capsules. The modified Titan II SLVs were launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, up until 2003.
Titan IV was a family of heavy-lift space launch vehicles developed by Martin Marietta and operated by the United States Air Force from 1989 to 2005. Launches were conducted from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.
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The Titan IIIC was an expendable launch system used by the United States Air Force from 1965 until 1982. It was the first Titan booster to feature large solid rocket motors and was planned to be used as a launcher for the Dyna-Soar, though the spaceplane was cancelled before it could fly. The majority of the launcher's payloads were DoD satellites, for military communications and early warning, though one flight (ATS-6) was performed by NASA. The Titan IIIC was launched exclusively from Cape Canaveral while its sibling, the Titan IIID, was launched only from Vandenberg AFB.
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The Aerojet M-1 was one of the largest and most powerful liquid-hydrogen-fueled liquid-fuel rocket engines to be designed and component-tested. It was originally developed during the 1950s by the US Air Force. The M-1 offered a baseline thrust of 6.67 MN and an immediate growth target of 8 MN. If built, the M-1 would have been larger and more efficient than the famed F-1 that powered the first stage of the Saturn V rocket to the Moon.
The AJ10 is a hypergolic rocket engine manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne. It has been used to propel the upper stages of several launch vehicles, including the Delta II and Titan III. Variants were and are used as the service propulsion engine for the Apollo command and service module, in the Space Shuttle Orbital Maneuvering System, and on the European Service Module – part of NASA's Orion spacecraft.
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