Pendleton@UTAH-20@sri-unix (08/05/82)
From: Pendleton at UTAH-20 (Bob Pendleton)
Thiokol is working on kevlar SRB casings? Very curious!
Hercules Aerospace has been awarded a contract to start BUILDING carbon fiber
cases for the SRB. According to the Hercules in house paper, the tooling
needed for production of the FWC ( Filament Wound Case ) has already
started arriving.
I have been told by engineers at Hercules that FWCs "might" be reusable.
The FWCs are based on technology developed for the MX transporter launch tube,
whose development costs were paid for by the Air Force. These tubes have stood
up very well in testing.
The engineers I have talked to claim that the cost of expendable FWCs vs.
the improvement in payload gives a lower cost per pound in orbit. I haven't
seen figures to back this up, but a 30 to 50 percent increase in payload is
expected.
Bob Pendleton
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