Delta-P

Last updated
Delta-P
Manufacturer TRW and McDonnell Douglas
Country of originUnited States
Used on Delta 1000
Delta 2000
Delta 3000
General characteristics
Height5.9 m (19 ft) [1]
Diameter2.4 m (7.9 ft) [1]
Gross mass6,954 kg (15,331 lb) [1]
Engine details
Powered by1 TR-201
Maximum thrust43.63 kN (9,810 lbf) [1]
Specific impulse 319 seconds (3.13 km/s) [1]
Burn time431 seconds [1]
Propellant Aerozine 50 / N2O4

The Delta-P is an American rocket stage, developed by McDonnell Douglas and TRW, first used on November 10, 1972 as the second stage for the Delta 1000 series. It continued to serve as the second stage for subsequent Delta 2000 and Delta 3000 flights for 17 years, with its last usage on February 8, 1988. It is propelled by a single TRW TR-201 rocket engine, fueled by Aerozine 50 and dinitrogen tetroxide, [1] which are hypergolic.

The Delta-P traces its heritage to the Apollo Lunar Module's Descent Propulsion System. The TR-201 engine is the Descent Propulsion System modified to be a fixed thrust engine. [2] The Descent Propulsion System was first fired in flight during the Apollo 5 mission, in a low Earth orbit test on January 22, 1968.

As the supply of these surplus Apollo engines was depleted, the Douglas/Aerojet Delta-K upper stage was introduced in the Delta 3000 program. The Delta-K was then exclusively used on the second stage for the Delta 4000, Delta 5000, and subsequent Delta II.

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The TR-201 or TR201 is a hypergolic pressure-fed rocket engine used to propel the upper stage of the Delta rocket, referred to as Delta-P, from 1972 to 1988. The rocket engine uses Aerozine 50 as fuel, and N
2
O
4
as oxidizer. It was developed in the early 1970s by TRW as a derivative of the lunar module descent engine (LMDE). This engine used a pintle injector first invented by Gerard W. Elverum Jr. and developed by TRW in the late 1950s and received US Patent in 1972. This injector technology and design is also used on SpaceX Merlin engines.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Wade, Mark (1997-01-30). "Delta P". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2012-06-17. Retrieved 2008-06-22.
  2. Wade, Mark. "TR-201". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-06-22.