Graphite-Epoxy Motor

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Graphite-Epoxy Motor
GEM 40 at SLC-2 for OCO-2.png
A GEM 40 solid rocket motor being prepared for integration with a Delta II launch vehicle
Manufacturer
Country of origin United States
Used on
Associated stages
Comparable
Launch history
StatusActive
First flightNovember 26, 1990

The Graphite-Epoxy Motor (GEM) is a family of solid rocket boosters developed in the late 1980s and first flown in 1990. The motors use casings made from carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer and a propellant consisting of ammonium perchlorate composite propellant, formulated with hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene as a binder, ammonium perchlorate as an oxidizer, and aluminum powder as a fuel.

Contents

Production of GEM motors has passed through several companies due to mergers and acquisitions. They were manufactured by Hercules from 1990 to 1995, Alliant Techsystems from 1995 to 2015, and Orbital ATK from 2015 to 2017, before being taken over by Northrop Grumman in 2017.

GEM boosters are currently used on the Atlas V and Vulcan Centaur launch vehicles operated by United Launch Alliance (ULA), as well as the Ground-Based Interceptor missile, and were previously flown on the Delta II, Delta III, and Delta IV. [1] The motor names include numerals that denote the diameter of the booster in inches.

Active variants

GEM 63

The GEM 63 is a 63.2-inch-diameter (1,610 mm) solid motor used on the Atlas V. It was developed by Orbital ATK as a "drop-in" replacement for the AJ-60A solid rocket booster built by Aerojet Rocketdyne and previously used with the Atlas V. Its dimensions are similar to those of the AJ-60A. The Atlas V first flew with the GEM 63 on the NROL-101 mission in 2020. [2] According to ULA, the GEM 63 provides higher performance at about half the cost of the AJ-60A. [3]

GEM 63XL

The GEM 63XL, developed by Northrop Grumman, is an extended version of the GEM 63, about 73 inches (190 cm) longer. [4] Each booster has a mass of about 117,000 pounds (53 metric tons). [5] Static test firings began in 2020, and the booster entered service with the Vulcan Centaur launch vehicle on its first flight on January 8, 2024. [6] [7] [8] Up to six GEM 63XLs can be mounted on a Vulcan core, depending on mission requirements. [9]

A variant equipped with a thrust-vectoring nozzle, the GEM 63XLT, was under development for the cancelled OmegA launch vehicle. [10]

Anomaly

On October 4, 2024, a GEM 63XL experienced a partial failure 35 seconds after liftoff during the Vulcan Centaur Cert-2 mission. A change in the motor's exhaust plume and falling debris were observed. Analyses suggested that the nozzle was damaged or suffered a structural failure. Despite the anomaly, Vulcan Centaur Cert-2 reached orbit after burnout and separation of its two GEM 63XL boosters at about 2 minutes 10 seconds into flight. [11] The nozzle failure was later attributed to manufacturing defects. [12]

Retired variants

GEM 40

A GEM 40 is hoisted for attachment to a Delta II Delta II GEM 40 Booster.jpg
A GEM 40 is hoisted for attachment to a Delta II

The GEM 40 was a 40.4-inch-diameter (1,030 mm) solid rocket motor developed for the 7000-series Delta II launch vehicle beginning in 1987 by Hercules. [13] Its first flight took place in 1990 on the USA-66 mission, [14] when 9 boosters were used on a Delta II 7925 launcher. The use of composite materials allowed for casings lighter than the steel casings of the Castor 4 SRMs they replaced. The reduction in weight was used to extend the GEM 40 by 5.9 feet (1.8 m) compared to the Castor 4 used on 6000-series Delta II. [13] [15] Delta II vehicles could be configured with three, four, or nine GEM 40 boosters. When using three or four boosters, all GEM 40s were ignited on the ground. On nine-booster Delta II, six were ignited on the ground; the remaining three were ignited in flight after burnout of the first six. [16] A variant with a thrust-vectoring nozzle, the GEM 40VN, was developed for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense anti-ballistic missile program, [17] but GMD later switched to Orion-50-based missile.

Failures

On August 5, 1995, an air-lit GEM 40 failed to separate from a Delta II 7925 carrying Koreasat 1. The excess mass of the booster resulted in the satellite reaching a lower orbit than intended. The satellite was able to correct for the error using on-board propellant. [18]

On January 17, 1997, a Delta II (Delta 241) exploded due to a catastrophic failure in a GEM 40. The failure triggered the launch vehicle's self-destruct function 13 seconds after ignition. An Air Force investigation determined that the motor's casing had been damaged prior to launch, causing the case to split open soon after ignition. [18]

GEM 46

The GEM 46 was a 45.1-inch-diameter (1,150 mm) solid rocket motor originally developed for Delta III by Alliant Techsystems. This solid motor variant included thrust vector control (TVC) to help steer the vehicle. After the discontinuation of the Delta III, GEM 46 motors (without TVC) [16] were used on the Delta II to create the Delta II Heavy, which could only be launched from a modified pad at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, SLC-17B. [19] Both Delta III and Delta II Heavy used nine GEM 46s, with six ignited on the ground and three air-lit. [20]

Failures

On August 27, 1998, the GEM 46 boosters on the first Delta III, carrying the Galaxy 10 satellite, depleted their hydraulic fluid used to control the thrust-vectoring nozzle. This was due to guidance issues with the rest of the rocket, which forced the solid rocket motors to make rapid adjustments to compensate, using up the supply of hydraulic fluid before burnout. The nozzles were then stuck in a position that turned the rocket over, triggering the vehicle's self-destruct function 70 seconds after ignition. [21] [22]

GEM 60

A GEM 60 being prepared for integration onto a Delta IV GEM-60 solid booster of Delta IV rocket.jpg
A GEM 60 being prepared for integration onto a Delta IV

The GEM 60 was a 60-inch-diameter (1,500 mm) solid motor used on the Delta IV family of launch vehicles, used with and without thrust vector control. [16] Developed for the EELV program, its first flight was on November 20, 2002, boosting the first launch of the Delta IV. [23] Delta IV Medium+ launchers were built with either two or four GEM 60. [24] The added performance from the solid rocket motors allowed variants of the Delta IV Medium+ to accommodate a larger second stage. The motor was retired in 2019 after the final Delta IV Medium launch. [25] Throughout its lifetime, 64 GEM 60 boosters were flown; there were no failures. [25]

Version comparison

Data from Northrop Grumman catalog [1]

NameApplicationLengthDiameterMassThrust Specific impulse Burn time (sec.)PropellantFirst flightFinal flight
GrossPropellant
GEM 40 Delta II 11.0 m (435 in)1.03 m (40.4 in)12,962 kg (28,577 lb)11,770 kg (25,940 lb)
  • SL: 643.8 kN (144,740 lbf)
  • Air-lit: 665.7 kN (149,660 lbf)
  • SL: 274 s (2.69 km/s)
  • Air-lit: 283.4 s (2.779 km/s)
63 AP  /  HTPB  /  Al November 26, 1990September 15, 2018
GEM 46 Delta II, Delta III 14.7 m (580 in)1.15 m (45.1 in)19,140 kg (42,196 lb)16,860 kg (37,180 lb)601 kN (135,200 lbf)
  • SL: 242 s (2.37 km/s)
  • Air-lit: 284 s (2.79 km/s)
77August 26, 1998September 10, 2011
GEM 60 Delta IV 13.2 m (518 in)1.5 m (60 in)33,638 kg (74,158 lb)29,697 kg (65,471 lb)879 kN (197,500 lbf)SL: 245 s (2.40 km/s)91November 20, 2002August 22, 2019
GEM 63 Atlas V 20.1 m (792 in)1.61 m (63.2 in)49,300 kg (108,600 lb)44,200 kg (97,500 lb)1,663 kN (373,800 lbf)vac: 279 s (2.74 km/s)94November 13, 2020—
GEM 63XL Vulcan Centaur 22 m (865 in)53,400 kg (117,700 lb)48,000 kg (105,800 lb)2,026 kN (455,400 lbf)vac: 280 s (2.7 km/s)84January 8, 2024—
GEM 63XLT OmegA Un­knownUn­knownUn­knownUn­knownUn­knownUn­knownUn­known— [a]

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ OmegA rocket was cancelled, without ever being flown or produced.

References

  1. 1 2 Propulsion Products Catalog (PDF). Northrop Grumman. pp. 29–39. Retrieved October 24, 2024.
  2. ↑ "NROL-101". www.nro.gov. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
  3. ↑ Tory Bruno [@torybruno] (April 3, 2018). "Higher performance. Approaching half the cost" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  4. ↑ "GEM 63 Updates". Northrop Grumman. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  5. ↑ "Launching the Vulcan Rocket For the First Time – Smarter Every Day 297". Smarter Every Day. YouTube. Retrieved May 5, 2024.
  6. ↑ Foust, Jeff (July 13, 2023). "Centaur modifications push first Vulcan launch to fourth quarter". SpaceNews. Retrieved August 2, 2023.
  7. ↑ "ULA Vulcan Rocket Debut Slips To 2022". Aviation Week. June 22, 2022. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022.
  8. ↑ Clark, Stephen (September 22, 2015). "Orbital ATK beats out Aerojet". Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. Retrieved September 23, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Vulcan". www.ulalaunch.com. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  10. ↑ Northrop Grumman [@northropgrumman] (November 21, 2019). "We've started winding our first GEM 63XLT!" (Tweet). Retrieved May 9, 2022– via Twitter.
  11. ↑ Foust, Jeff (October 4, 2024). "Vulcan competes second flight despite SRB anomaly". SpaceNews. Retrieved September 4, 2025.
  12. ↑ Foust, Jeff (March 12, 2025). "Manufacturing defect blamed for Vulcan solid rocket motor anomaly".
  13. 1 2 Vlahakis, Nick; Va, Darryl (1989), "Graphite epoxy motors (GEM) for the Delta II launch vehicle" , 25th Joint Propulsion Conference, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, doi:10.2514/6.1989-2313 , retrieved May 7, 2022
  14. ↑ McDowell, Jonathan (May 7, 2022). "Launch Log". Jonathan's Space Report. Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Launch Vehicle: Solid Rocket Motors". JPL. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  16. 1 2 3 "ATK Product Catalog" (PDF). ATK. Archived from the original (PDF) on July 30, 2018. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  17. ↑ "Northrop Grumman GEM Capabilities". Northrop Grumman. Archived from the original on February 3, 2019.
  18. 1 2 Kyle, Ed (December 2, 2012). "Delta 2 Productive Years". Space Launch Report. Archived from the original on March 21, 2022. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  19. ↑ Graham, William (July 2, 2014). "ULA Delta II successfully lofts OCO-2 to orbit". NASASpaceflight.com. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2014.
  20. ↑ "Propulsion Products Catalog GEM MOTOR SERIES pdf" (PDF).
  21. ↑ "Boeing Pinpoints Cause of Delta III Failure, Predicts Timely Return to Flight". MediaRoom. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  22. ↑ Furniss, Tim (September 1, 1998). "Boeing Delta III explodes on maiden flight". FlightGlobal. Archived from the original on May 7, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  23. ↑ Ray, Justin (November 20, 2002). "Spaceflight Now | Delta Launch Report | Boeing's Delta 4 rocket debuts successfully". spaceflightnow.com. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. Retrieved May 7, 2022.
  24. ↑ "Delta IV Medium+ (4,2)". Spaceflight 101. Retrieved July 24, 2014.
  25. 1 2 Siegel, Jim (August 25, 2019). "Delta IV Medium ends 17-Year run with 100% success". SpaceFlight Insider. Archived from the original on May 9, 2022. Retrieved May 9, 2022.
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