NNC10BA13B/NNC13TA66T for additive manufacturing study NASA and the united states air force (USAF) employ launch vehicles with upper stages that utilize pratt whitney rocketdyne (PWR) corporation RL10…

NNC10BA13B/NNC13TA66T for additive manufacturing study NASA and the united states air force (USAF) employ launch vehicles with upper stages that utilize pratt whitney rocketdyne (PWR) corporation RL10 class engines. The RL10 engine is renowned in the history of liquid rocket propulsion with versions powering launch vehicles for over 60 years. While certain aspects and technologies used in the RL10 class engines have been updated, many of the parts are still handmade which significantly increases the production time and cost of the finished engine build. The RL10 class of engines is currently baselined for USAF and NASA related expendable launch vehicles through 2030. With current fiscal challenges for our country, IT is imperative that the RL10 production unit price be reduced. One of the biggest contributors to its cost is the large number of touch labor hours necessary to produce this engine. The purpose of this task is to investigate the applicability of an advanced manufacturing method referred to as additive manufacturing to reduce component fabrication time, cost and potentially enable performance improvements. The contractor shall perform trade studies and, in conjunction with the government, select high payback parts of the RL10 engine to be manufactured by additive manufacturing process and execute an engineering and verification effort to certify the selected components are ready for production transition. These high payback parts include, but are not limited to: injector inter propellant plate, iddsi bracket, turbopump mount brackets, a-4-2 nozzle extension mount brackets, gimbal, main fuel shutoff valve, etc under the proposed task order no. NNC13TA66T, pratt and whitney rocketdyne using additive manufacturing techniques shall design, develop, fabricate, test, verify, and certify selected components such that they meet performance criteria of RL10 engine specifications. The contractor shall perform program management, systems engineering and integration, and manufacturing / production transition support planning.