SACRAMENTO, Calif. --- Aerojet conducted a full propulsion system, hot fire test of the solid propellant divert and attitude control system (SDACS) it is developing for the U.S. Navy's Standard Missile 3. The 60-second test on Jan. 29 met all objectives, demonstrating the capability of the SDACS to withstand the stress of advanced missions of extended length.
The SDACS is a propulsion system for the kinetic weapon, or kill vehicle, propelled into space by the Standard Missile 3 to intercept incoming ballistic missile warheads outside the atmosphere. The SDACS consists of 10 proportionally controlled thrusters that, when properly sized, will take commands from the kinetic weapon onboard sensors and electronic unit. Proportional firing is an efficient use of the total energy, making thrust available at any commanded level from any or all thrusters.
"This test demonstrates the success of Aerojet-developed, proportionally controlled divert technology for specialized missile defense propulsion applications," said Pete Massey, Aerojet director of Standard Missile programs. "This technology has been previously flight-qualified on the attitude control system Aerojet is supplying for the first-stage booster on the Ground-based Mid-course Defense System (formerly known as National Missile Defense) program."
During the test at Aerojet's Sacramento facility, the 10 thrusters (four divert, six attitude) fired for five divert periods and four energy-management coast periods over 60 seconds. The thrusters received commands from an Aerojet-designed electronic control unit developed specifically for the Standard Missile 3 program. Test results indicated that the thrust and pressure values delivered by the SDACS met the electronic commands in all cases.
Aerojet is developing the SDACS, now in risk reduction phase, for the Raytheon Company Missile Systems business unit in Tucson, Ariz., the prime contractor for the Standard Missile program. The next phase will focus on integration of the resized propulsion unit with a kinetic warhead and continued ground testing.
Aerojet, a GenCorp company, is a world-recognized aerospace and defense leader principally serving the missile and space propulsion, and defense and armaments markets.
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