Publications

Abstract not provided.

Abstract not provided.

Less toxic, storable, hypergolic propellants are desired to replace nitrogen tetroxide (NTO) and hydrazine in certain applications. Hydrogen peroxide is a very attractive replacement oxidizer, but finding acceptable replacement fuels is more challenging. The focus of this investigation is to find fuels that have short hypergolic ignition delays, high specific impulse, and desirable storage properties. The resulting hypergolic fuel/oxidizer combination would be highly desirable for virtually any high energy-density applications such as small but powerful gas generating systems, attitude control motors, or main propulsion. These systems would be implemented on platforms ranging from guided bombs to replacement of environmentally unfriendly existing systems to manned space vehicles.

The continued exploration of Mars is a high priority item with NASA`s interplanetary science community. It has long been a desire of this group to define an experiment that would investigate the possible presence and location of water/ice beneath the Martian surface. Until recently, however, there has not been a flight experiment dedicated to achieving this goal. This paper describes a concept design effort conducted at Sandia National Labs in collaboration with JPL and CalTech that has produced a feasible flight system to investigate this question.

Potentially hazardous test activities have historically been a part of Sandia National Labs mission to design, develop, and test new weapons systems. These test activities include high speed air drops for parachute development, sled tests for component and system level studies, multiple stage rocket experiments, and artillery firings of various projectiles. Due to the nature of Sandia's test programs, the risk associated with these activities can never be totally eliminated. However, a consistent set of policies should be available to provide guidance into the level of risk that is acceptable in these areas. This report presents a general set of guidelines for addressing safety issues related to rocket flight operations at Sandia National Laboratories. Even though the majority of this report deals primarily with rocket flight safety, these same principles could be applied to other hazardous test activities. The basic concepts of risk analysis have a wide range of applications into many of Sandia's current operations. 14 refs., 1 tab.