RL10 - EUSE_RFI_Requirements_HEFLIN KWB Final_10.15.2024.pdf

National Aeronautics and Space Administration

Engines Element, Space Launch System Program Marshall Space Flight Center AL 35812

Exploration Upper Stage Engine (EUSE) Request for Information

Revision 2

October 15, 2024

EUSE RFI

18 October 2024

Background The first launch vehiclewas designed, developed, and built as part of the NASA Space Launch System (SLS) Program and is designated as the Block 1 configuration. Beyond this initial configuration, an upgrade – the Block 1B vehicle – is being implemented by NASA.

BLOCK 1B

Exploration Upper Stage

For this upgraded configuration, the vehicle core stage, core stage engines, and boosters remain unchanged. The Block 1B vehicle will replace the Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage (ICPS) with a more powerful upper stage called the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS), which shall provide for fulfillment of more ambitious missions beyond the capabilities of the Block 1 vehicle and provide greater mission margin at comparable vehicle costs. The EUS design is for a high-performance, liquid oxygen / liquid hydrogen stage. Currently, the first two flights of the EUS use four RL10C-3 engines.

BLOCK 1

Interim Cryogenic Propulsion Stage

(ICPS)

Common Elements

Engine Description The current concept for the EUSE is that it is a high-performance liquid oxygen / liquid hydrogen rocket engine consistent with the EUS stage-to-engine interface. The EUSE shall be designed, developed, built, and certified for flight consistent with NASA design, construction, workmanship, and qualification standards and other technical and programmatic requirements associated with human rating considerations including configuration management, reliability analysis, and safety assessment processes. It would be the broader objective for any proposed engine development effort to minimize the development cost impacts to NASA and to achieve cost-efficient production and operations in the long term.

Current technical requirements for the EUSE are provided below and in Appendix A.

Requested Response Topics The specific objective of this RFI is to solicit information that may potentially enhance NASA’s planned approach for EUSE and assist in developing the acquisition strategy.

The SLS Block 1B design is moving towards Design Certification Review (DCR) in the first quarter of CY2027. The new elements of the SLS Block 1B (relative to Block 1) the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) and the EUS engine (EUSE). The Core Stage, Boosters, and Core Stage Engines are the existing Block 1 design. The design is constrained by Exploration Systems Directorate (ESD) performance requirements and the interfaces to the ground systems. To meet the ground interface requirements, the Exploration Upper Stage (EUS) envelope must be maintained, fixing the length of the stage at ~60 ft, diameter at ~27.5 ft and a propellant load of ~278,000 lb. These vehicle-level constraints are the design parameters of the EUSE. Therefore, the critical EUSE design parameters are Specific Impulse, propellant mixture ratio, engine length, and engine weight. The current vehicle is designed to the following engine parameters.

Isp ~ 460 MR ~ 5.5 - 5.9 (range) Weight ~ 2100 lbs (total of 4 engines) Length ~ 10.5 ft (gimbal to nozzle exit)

These engine design parameters may be traded with each other to maintain the vehicle design constraints noted above.

Performance goals for new EUSE are as follows.

Thrust ~ 24,750 Isp ~ 465.5 MR ~ 5.5 – 5.9 (range) Weight ~ 2100 lbs (total of 4 engines) Length ~ 13.6 ft (gimbal to nozzle exit)

Heflin, Johnny L. (MSFC-XP20) We need to verify all these performance numbers. The would has changed a great deal since the initial RL10 buy.

In addition to performance and vehicle envelope, the EUS Main Propulsion System (MPS), Avionics and Thrust Vector Control (TVC) designs are approaching DCR. The current engine parameters that influence MPS and TVC design are:

Number of engines – 4 Thrust - ~90,000 – 100,000 lbf (total)

These parameters may be traded, but EUS redesign cost and impacts to vehicle performance are figures of merit that will be assessed.

Comments are requested but not limited to any of the following topics:

• Engine configuration conceptual design, performance, and capabilities;

• Engine life cycle design maturity, Technology Readiness Level (TRL) assessment, and engine test/flight history;

• The viability of the inclusion within an engine development activity of certain main propulsion system elements including, for example, thrust vector control systems, feed lines, or other ancillary systems;

• Proposed long-term affordability considerations, including the use of advanced manufacturing methods, minimization of fixed production infrastructure costs, and minimization of variable production and operations costs;

• Suggested engine development program including top-level schedule and rough, order-of-magnitude required funding profiles. Schedule and cost data should be of sufficient detail to determine feasibility;

• Suggestions for potential cost sharing opportunities between industry and the Government;

• Suggested means for achieving compliance with the intent of NASA technical and programmatic standards and processes consistent with a human-rated program;

• Notional top-level concept of operations, including engine fabrication schedule, assembly, calibration and acceptance, and delivery to stage integration site

• Identification of any perceived barriers to competition, and any suggested mitigations, assuming NASA’s intent to require the production of multiple units.

If a respondent wishes to provide a broader input beyond the topics described above or beyond the technical scope of the EUSE as described herein and in Appendix A, then it is requested that such alternate responses be submitted separately. However, if a respondent includes an alternate approach than that described herein and in Appendix A, the respondent shall identify which, if any, of the requirements and objectives herein and in Appendix A could not be met or would need to be revised to accommodate the alternate approach. The respondent should also identify the cost implications, both impacts and savings, associated with the suggested changes to those requirements.

Contract Type / Incentive Arrangement It is contemplated that this effort will utilize, to the greatest extent possible, Firm-Fixed-Price contracting. However, suggestions for contract type(s), incentive structure(s), and ordering strategy (e.g. block buy ordering vs. single unit ordering) that would properly balance risk, reward excellent performance, and reliably reduce unit cost and production schedule duration are welcome. Please include any suggested time-phasing approaches, as applicable, for the suggested contract type and incentive structure. We request any input regarding incentive arrangements to include previous experiences that worked well plus any non-traditional ideas on contract types and incentives.

Teaming Arrangements NASA is also interested in Industry inputs regarding potentially advantageous and synergistic teaming arrangements amongst potential suppliers. Such arrangements or partnerships could offer the opportunity to achieve long-term affordability goals, bring into the arena new and potentially innovative partners, and encourage broader participation for both this suggested engine development effort and related NASA activities. We request any input regarding teaming arrangements to include previous experiences that worked well, advice with regards to potential pitfalls, and any non-traditional ideas that apply to this topic.

Commercialization NASA does not wish to preclude the potential commercial use of engine or engine component designs. We are interested in industry input on approaches that NASA should take in the development or acquisition process to avoid creating barriers to commercialization.

Response Instructions Any organization that intends to respond to this RFI is requested to email a “Notice of Intent” to the Point of Contacts (POC) listed below within 5 business days of this RFI posting date.

However, failure to submit a notice of intent does not preclude anyone from submitting a response. The information obtained will be used by NASA for planning and acquisition strategy development. NASA will use the information obtained as a result of this RFI on a non-attribution basis. Providing data/information that is limited or restricted for use by NASA for that purpose would be of very little value and such restricted/limited data/information is not solicited. No information or questions received will be posted to any website or public access location. NASA does not plan to respond to the individual responses. This RFI is being used to obtain information for planning purposes only and the Government does not presently intend to award a contract at this time. As stipulated in FAR 15.201(e), responses to this notice are not considered offers and cannot be accepted by the Government to form a binding contract. This RFI is subject to FAR 52.215-3.

All responses should be provided in MS Word document format via electronic media. Font should be Times New Roman, size 12. Responses should not exceed 10 pages. Text provided on both sides of a page will be counted as two pages. The cover page is excluded from the page count.

Provide name of submitter and contact information (Company Name, Location, Contact Name, Phone Number and Email Address) on the cover page.

Please submit responses no later than November 8, 2024, to NASA/MSFC Office of Procurement, Attn: PS42/Renatta America Contracting Officer, Marshall Space Flight Center, AL 35812 or via e-mail at renatta.r.america@nasa.gov and cc: Andrea Basham at mailto:renatta.r.america@nasa.gov andrea.c.basham@nasa.gov.

Points of Contact

Primary:

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center PS42/Renatta America Contracting Officer Phone: 256-544-0229 Email: renatta.r.america@nasa.gov

Secondary:

NASA Marshall Space Flight Center PS42/Andrea Basham Phone: 256-993-0635 Email: andrea.c.basham@nasa.gov mailto:andrea.c.basham@nasa.gov mailto:jennifer.b.mccaghren@nasa.gov

APPENDIX A

Current EUSE Engine Requirements

A.1 Documents The listed documents and their contents form a part of the overall technical requirements set to the extent specified herein.

A.1.1 Standards

D&C Standards Levied on EUS Engine by SLS-

SPEC-032J

Title

Levied on Engine by SLS-SPEC-032J

Title

ANSI/AIAA S-080

Space Systems – Metallic Pressure Vessels, Pressurized Structures and Pressure Components

MIL-STD-1540C Test Requirements for Launch, Upper- Stage, and Space Vehicles

ANSI/ESD S20.20

ESD Association Standard for the Development of an Electrostatic Discharge Control Program for Protection of Electrical and Electronic Parts, Assemblies and Equipment

MSFC-STD-3663 MSFC Standards for Configurable Logic Device Developments

GEIA-STD-0005-1

Performance Standard for Aerospace and High Performance Electronic Systems Containing Lead-Free Solder

NASA-STD-4003

Electrical Bonding For NASA Launch Vehicles, Spacecraft, Payloads, And Flight Equipment

IPC J-STD-001 Requirements for Soldered Electrical and Electronic Assemblies

NASA-STD-5020 Requirements for Threaded Fastening Systems in Spaceflight Hardware

IPC J-STD-001DS or

IPC J-STD-001ES

(Chapter 10 does not apply)

Space Applications Electronic Hardware Addendum to J-STD 001D, Requirements for Soldered Electrical and Electronic Assemblies

NASA-STD-6008

NASA Fastener Procurement, Receiving Inspection, and Storage Practices for Spaceflight Hardware

IPC-2221 Generic Standard on Printed Board Design

NASA-STD-8739.1 Workmanship Standard for Polymeric Applications on Electronic Assemblies

IPC-2222 Sectional Design Standard for Rigid Organic Printed Boards

NASA-STD-8739.4 Crimping, Interconnecting Cables, Harnesses, and Wiring

IPC-2223 Sectional Design Standard for Flexible Printed Boards

SLS-RQMT-019

SLSP Electrical, Electronic, and Electromechanical (EEE) Parts Management and Control Requirements Document

IPC-6011, Class 3 Generic Performance Specification for Printed Boards

SLS-RQMT-161 (for GSE only)

Space Launch System Program (SLSP) Human Systems Integration Requirements (HSIR)

IPC-6012 Class 3/A Qualification and Performance Specification for Rigid Printed Boards

SLS-SPEC-030-02

SLSP Support Equipment Specification Volume II: Ground Support Equipment (GSE) Design and Construction Requirements

IPC-6013, Class 3 Qualification and Performance Specification for Flexible Printed Boards

SMC-S-016 Test Requirements for Launch, Upper- Stage, and Space Vehicles

Levied on EUS Engine by SLS-

SPEC-032J

Title

Levied on Engine by SLS-SPEC-032J

Title

MIL-STD-130

Department of Defense Standard Practice, Identification Marking of U.S. Military Property

NASA-STD-5017 Design and Development Requirements for Mechanisms

NASA-STD-5019 Fracture Control Requirements for Spaceflight Hardware

NASA-STD-6016 Standard Materials and Processes Requirements for Spacecraft

NASA 7150.2A NASA Software Engineering Requirements

NASA-SPEC-164

Cleanliness of Components for use in Oxygen, Fuel, and Pneumatic Systems, Specifications For

MSFC-SPEC-3679 Process Specification-Welding Aerospace Hardware

NASA-STD-5009

Nondestructive Evaluation Requirements for Fracture-Critical Meticallic Components

NASA-STD-5012

Strength and Life Assessment Requirements for Liquid Fueled Space Propulsion System Engines

NPD 8710.5 Policy for Pressure Vessels and Pressurized Systems

The NASA standards can be found here: https://standards.nasa.gov https://standards.nasa.gov/ America, Renatta R (MSFC-PS40) This hyperlink doesn't work.

Burleson, Keith W. (MSFC-XP20) Corrected