Engineering:Orbital Maneuvering System

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Short description: Hypergolic orbital maneuvering engines used on NASA's Space Shuttle
Space Shuttle OMS/RCS Pod
OMS Pod removal.png
The underside of a left OMS/RCS pod on Space Shuttle Endeavour
ManufacturerAerojet
Country of originUnited States
Used onSpace Shuttle/Orion European Service Module
General characteristics
Length21.8 feet (6.6 m)
Width
  • 11.37 feet (3.47 m) (aft)
  • 8.14 feet (2.48 m) (forward)
Launch history
StatusPod Retired/Engines Active
Total launches135 Space Shuttle/ 1 Orion
Successes
(stage only)
134 Space Shuttle/ 1 Orion
Lower stage
failed
1 (STS-51-L)
First flightSTS-1 (12 April 1981)
Last flight
  • STS-135 (8 July 2011) for the Space Shuttle
  • Artemis 1 (16 November 2022) for the Orion
OMS Engine
Engines1 AJ10-190
Thrust26.7 kilonewtons (6,000 lbf)
Specific impulse316 seconds (vacuum)
Burn time
  • 15 hours (maximum service life)
  • 1250 seconds (deorbit burn)
  • 150–250 seconds (typical burn)
FuelMMH/N2O4
Aft Primary RCS
EnginesPrimary RCS engines
Thrust3.87 kilonewtons (870 lbf)
Burn time
  • 1–150 seconds (each burn)
  • 800 seconds (total)
FuelMMH/N2O4
Aft Vernier RCS
EnginesVernier RCS engines
Thrust106 newtons (24 lbf)
Burn time1–125 seconds (each burn)
FuelMMH/N2O4

The Orbital Maneuvering System (OMS) is a system of hypergolic liquid-propellant rocket engines used on the Space Shuttle and the Orion MPCV. Designed and manufactured in the United States by Aerojet,[1] the system allowed the orbiter to perform various orbital maneuvers according to requirements of each mission profile: orbital injection after main engine cutoff, orbital corrections during flight, and the final deorbit burn for reentry.[2] From STS-90 onwards the OMS were typically ignited part-way into the Shuttle's ascent for a few minutes to aid acceleration to orbital insertion. Notable exceptions were particularly high-altitude missions such as those supporting the Hubble Space Telescope (STS-31) or those with unusually heavy payloads such as Chandra (STS-93). An OMS dump burn also occurred on STS-51-F, as part of the Abort to Orbit procedure.[3]

The OMS consists of two pods mounted on the orbiter's aft fuselage, on either side of the vertical stabilizer.[2] Each pod contains a single AJ10-190 engine,[4] based on the Apollo Service Module's Service Propulsion System engine,[5] which produces 26.7 kilonewtons (6,000 lbf) of thrust with a specific impulse (Isp) of 316 seconds.[4] The oxidizer-to-fuel ratio is 1.65-to-1, The expansion ratio of the nozzle exit to the throat is 55-to-1, and the chamber pressure of the engine is 8.6 bar.[2] The dry weight of each engine is 118kg (260lb). Each engine could be reused for 100 missions and was capable of a total of 1,000 starts and 15 hours of burn time.[2]

These pods also contained the Orbiter's aft set of reaction control system (RCS) engines, and so were referred to as OMS/RCS pods. The OM engine and RCS both burned monomethylhydrazine (MMH) as fuel, which was oxidized with MON-3 (mixed oxides of nitrogen, 3% nitric acid), with the propellants being stored in tanks within the OMS/RCS pod, alongside other fuel and engine management systems.[6] When full, the pods together carried around 4,087 kilograms (9,010 lb) of MMH and 6,743 kilograms (14,866 lb) of MON-3, allowing the OMS to produce a total delta-v of around 305 metres per second (1,000 ft/s) with a 29,000-kilogram (64,000 lb) payload.[6][7]

Proposed OMS Payload Bay Kit

It was never built, but to augment the OMS an OMS Payload Bay Kit was proposed.[8] It would have used one, two or three sets of OMS tanks, installed in the payload bay, to provide an extra 150 m/s, 300 m/s or 450 m/s( (500 ft, 1000 ft/s or 1500 ft/s) of delta-V to the orbiter.[8] The orbiter control panels had related switches and gauges but they were nonfunctional.[9]:1–2

Orion ESM Main Engine

Orion ESM main engine at the top left on the service module

Following the retirement of the Shuttle, these engines were repurposed for use on the Orion spacecraft's service module.[10] This variant uses Monomethylhydrazine as fuel, with MON-3 Mixed Oxides of Nitrogen as oxidizer.[11] It is planned to be used for the first six flights of the Artemis program, afterwards it would be replaced by a new "Orion Main Engine" starting Artemis 7.[12]

References

  1. D. Craig Judd (1992). "Capability and flight record of the versatile space shuttle OMS engine". Space Technology and Science (NASA): 107. Bibcode1992spte.symp..107J. 
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 "Orbital Maneuvering System". NASA. 1998. http://science.ksc.nasa.gov/shuttle/technology/sts-newsref/sts-oms.html. 
  3. Legler R. D. and Bennett F. V. (2011). "Space Shuttle Missions Summary, NASA TM-2011-216142". NASA. https://spaceflight.nasa.gov/outreach/SignificantIncidents/assets/space-shuttle-missions-summary.pdf. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 Encyclopedia Astronautica (2009). "OME". Encyclopedia Astronautica. http://www.astronautix.com/o/ome.html. 
  5. Gibson, C.; Humphrles, C.. Orbital Maneuvering System Design Evolution (Report). NASA NTRS. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/19850008634/downloads/19850008634.pdf. Retrieved December 6, 2022. 
  6. 6.0 6.1 NASA (1998). "Propellant Storage and Distribution". NASA. http://spaceflight.nasa.gov/shuttle/reference/shutref/orbiter/oms/storage.html. 
  7. David Palmer, Allie Cliffe and Tim Kallman (9 May 1997). "Spacecraft Fuel". NASA. http://imagine.gsfc.nasa.gov/docs/ask_astro/answers/970509c.html. 
  8. 8.0 8.1 SHUTTLE PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENTS USING AN OMS PAYLOAD BAY KIT 1991
  9. Orbital Maneuvering System Workbook 2006
  10. Bergin, Chris (20 June 2015). "Plum Brook prepped for EM-1 Orion Service Module testing". NASASpaceFlight.com. http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2015/06/plum-brook-orion-service-module-testing/. 
  11. "Aerojet Rocketdyne - In-Space Propulsion Data Sheets". https://www.rocket.com/sites/default/files/documents/In-Space%20Data%20Sheets%209.13.19.pdf. 
  12. "Aerojet Rocketdyne Awarded NASA Contract for Orion Spacecraft Main Engine | Aerojet Rocketdyne". https://www.rocket.com/article/aerojet-rocketdyne-awarded-nasa-contract-orion-spacecraft-main-engine.