Bayesian Reliability Estimation of a New Expendable Launch Vehicle

A Bayesian Networks Approach to Reliability Analysis of a Launch Vehicle Liquid Propellant Engine

This paper presents an extension of Bayesian networks (BN) applied to reliability analysis of an open gas generator cycle Liquid propellant engine (OGLE) of launch vehicles. There are several methods for system reliability analysis such as RBD, FTA, FMEA, Markov Chains, and etc. But for complex systems such as LV, they are not all efficiently applicable due to failure dependencies between compo...

On the Estimation of Space Launch Vehicle Reliability

The paper reviews the common definitions of reliability that are relevant to launch vehicles (LVs) and discusses their theoretical and practical interpretations. The paper then proceeds to a discussion of the data and methods available for reliability estimation at various LV system maturity stages, presenting examples of results and estimations obtained by past and recent studies. This leads t...

Global and Local Multidisciplinary Design Optimization of Expendable Launch Vehicles

Economic Model of Reusable vs. Expendable Launch Vehicles

It is generally assumed by the community that reusable launch vehicles will dramatically reduce launch costs because you don’t “throw away the vehicle” every time it is used. However, this is usually taken as an element of faith, without any substantive analysis to support the conclusion. The example of the Space Shuttle, originally sold to Congress on the basis of dramatically cutting launch c...

Demonstration of a New Smallsat Launch Vehicle: The Orbital/Suborbital Program (OSP) Space Launch Vehicle Inaugural Mission Results

The United States Air Force and Orbital Sciences Corporation (Orbital) completed development and demonstration of a new low cost space launch vehicle for launching small satellites using surplus Minuteman II rocket motors melded with commercial launch vehicle technology. The Orbital Suborbital Program Space Launch Vehicle (OSPSLV, aka OSP Minotaur) successfully achieved all mission objectives w...