Engineering:AJ-60A

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AJ-60A is a solid rocket booster produced by Aerojet Rocketdyne. Up to 2020 they were used as strap-on boosters on all United Launch Alliance Atlas V rocket configurations. They continue to be used on the Atlas V N22 configuration used to launch the Boeing Starliner.[1]


History

The AJ-60A rocket motor was developed between 1999 and 2003 for use on the Atlas V.[2]

On January 19, 2006 the New Horizons spacecraft to Pluto was launched directly into a solar-escape trajectory at 16.26 kilometers per second (58,536 km/h; 36,373 mph) from Cape Canaveral using an Atlas V version with 5 of these SRBs and Star 48B third stage.[3] New Horizons passed the Moon's orbit in just nine hours.[4][5]

In 2015, ULA announced that the Atlas V will switch to new GEM 63 boosters produced by Northrop Grumman Innovation Systems. (GEM 63XL, a stretched version of the GEM 63 booster is used on the Vulcan rocket.)[6] The first Atlas V launched with GEM 63 boosters on November 13, 2020.[7]

Design

AJ-60A is a solid fueled rocket burning HTPB-based composite solid propellant.[8] The casing is composed of a graphite-epoxy composite, and the engine throat and nozzle are made of carbon-phenolic composite. As configured for use on Atlas V, the nozzle is fixed at a 3 degree cant away from the attachment point, but Aerojet offers a variant with thrust vectoring capability.[2] The Atlas V configuration also features an inward slanting nosecone, but it is available with a conventional nosecone or none at all for use on other rockets. The stages are designed to be transported by truck.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Clark, Stephen (May 15, 2021). "Billion-dollar missile defense satellite ready for launch Monday in Florida". Spaceflight Now. https://spaceflightnow.com/2021/05/15/billion-dollar-missile-defense-satellite-ready-for-launch-monday-at-cape-canaveral. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Atlas V Solid Rocket Booster". http://www.rocket.com/atlas-v-solid-rocket-motor. 
  3. ↑ Scharf, Caleb A. (February 25, 2013). "The Fastest Spacecraft Ever?". Scientific American. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/life-unbounded/the-fastest-spacecraft-ever/. 
  4. ↑ Neufeld, Michael (July 10, 2015). "First Mission to Pluto: The Difficult Birth of New Horizons". Smithsonian. https://airandspace.si.edu/stories/editorial/first-mission-pluto-difficult-birth-new-horizons. 
  5. ↑ "New Horizons: Mission Overview". International Launch Services. January 2006. http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/Mission/The-Path-to-Pluto/FINAL-PLUTO_MO.pdf. 
  6. ↑ Jason Rhian (23 September 2015). "ULA selects Orbital ATK's GEM 63/63 XL SRBs for Atlas V and Vulcan boosters". Spaceflight Insider. http://www.spaceflightinsider.com/organizations/ula/ula-selects-orbital-atks-gem-6363-xl-srbs-for-atlas-v-and-vulcan-boosters/. 
  7. ↑ Northrop Grumman Ships GEM 63 Engines to United Launch Alliance For Atlas V July 2020
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 "Atlas V User's Guide 2010". 2010. http://www.ulalaunch.com/uploads/docs/AtlasVUsersGuide2010.pdf. 



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