Enabling Long Duration Spaceflight via an Integrated Vehicle Fluid System

摘要

This paper offers a summary of capabilities for the Integrated Vehicle Fluids (IVF) system that United Launch Alliance (ULA) is developing in order to reduce cost, reduce upper stage mass and reduce the number of independent upper stage systems. In addition, IVF increases the upper stage capability to enable long duration spaceflight. IVF is a single system that replaces three independent upper stage subsystems, the helium pressurization system, the reaction control system and the electrical power storage subsystem. IVF is critical to this long duration capability and is essential for the Advanced Cryogenic Upper Stage (ACES) that will replace Centaur and increase performance for the Vulcan booster. This capability is revolutionary and is a departure from the incremental evolution of the existing Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle cryogenic upper stages. This paper will explore the basic concept of operations and results of development and proof of concept testing recently accomplished. The results show that there is a high technical readiness and a valid risk reduction approach to using the otherwise unusable gases from the liquid oxygen and hydrogen tanks to fuel an internal combustion engine that powers the pressurization, attitude control and electrical needs of the upper stage. It will also explore the possibility of in-space refueling from lunar or other resources already in space.