NASA has awarded contracts to five companies that will provide research and technology development activities at Glenn Research Center.
The selected companies are: Aerojet, ATK Mission Systems, Northrup Grumman Aerospace Corporation, Orbital Technologies Corporation and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. According to a NASA press release, these companies will focus their work on six disciplines: propulsion system design and trade studies; non-toxic chemical propulsion systems; hypergolic propulsion systems; propellant systems; electric propulsion and rocket-based combined cycle propulsion systems.
The aim of the companies’ work is to develop space propulsion technologies that will ensure missions with higher performance, reduced cost, and improved reliability and safety.
Fluid dynamics, thermal control and cryogenics are just some of the technical challenges that the companies will have to address.
