The primary benefit of using a plateau-burning composite propellant formulation on the MAV is an increase in solid rocket motor (SRM) propellant mass fraction. Further, using a low temperature binder with a high density fuel will increase the overall motor performance, as well as its capability to withstand stresses at low temperatures. As such, potential NASA applications include SRMs used in space exploration systems, as well as earth and planetary launch vehicles where high performance is a major performance objective.
The application of our technology can be extended to missile defense programs such as THAAD, Patriot, and the SM-3/6, where low temperature missile requirement are on the order of -65 Deg F. Those programs can also benefit from the high density-Isp of the propellant to increase ??V performance. In addition, the low sensitivity of burn rate to temperature provided by our novel propellant formulation can also be advantageous, providing uniform performance over a wide range of operating conditions. Further, our high-density propellant would also be beneficial for a ramjet, where high density-Isp performance and high burn rates are desirable.
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