You might recall the recent mention of The Exploration Company, a European launch company that was attracting attention for its novel "Mission Possible" spacecraft.
Payload reports today that Colorado-based Agile Space Industries will provide the in-space propulsion system for The Exploration Company’s Nyx reusable spacecraft, the companies announced today.
The contract is the result of a rapid development process, in which Agile designed, 3D-printed, assembled, and hotfire-tested the DS250 in just 10 weeks.
“When we asked Agile to develop and prove out a brand-new thruster in three months, and they delivered beautiful performance on the test stand in 10 weeks, we knew we had the right propulsion partner,” TEC CEO Hélène Huby said in a statement.
During the development, Agile Space hotfire-tested its DS250 for more than ~1,100 seconds (18+ minutes). Agile also demonstrated a range of high- and low-thrust modes that will be necessary for the precise maneuvers of in-orbit docking.
A rendering of the The Exploration Company’s Nyx vehicle. Image: The Exploration Company/Agile Space Industries
You'll recall that problems with the thrusters on Starliner is what ruined their mission last June. It sounds like perhaps Boeing should talk with Agile Space. The way the thruster assembly is talked about in the Payload article sounds like a similar approach to Starliner's thruster "Doghouse".
“With a thruster that gets embedded into the vehicle, the biggest challenge is the operation,” [Agile’s chief engineer, Lars] Osborne told Payload. “The robustness in design for an engine is different than, say, optimizing for maximum performance. You are attempting to make something that has very few things that can go wrong with it.”
The Exploration Company is European and the continent is pushing companies like TEC to only use European suppliers. TEC found their match in Colorado.
As Einstein said, "things should be as simple as possible, but no simpler." A guy I raced with many, many moons ago said "the parts you leave off save weight and cause you no trouble."
ReplyDeleteExactly right. I remember seeing a video where Elon Musk had a talk some years ago and said, the first law is The Best Part is No Part. Somewhere along I heard of him saying the biggest waste of time was optimizing a part that could be left out.
DeleteCome to think of it, let me leave this link here.
DeleteIt's a 2021 post about Everyday Astronaut's three hour walkaround Starbase with Musk, in which he talks about leading the company in that direction.
His Rules for Engineering don't include the "The Best Part is No Part" - they're more detailed than that.
Easy enough for Agile to create a Eurpean unit and 3d print the parts in Europe. Could subcontract it but for control may be best for a European subsidiary. 10 weeks seems like a lot of time for a printed part but Agile probably spent 90% of the time testing it to be sure it would work as needed.
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprised if they printed several designs and then tested them, possibly iteratively, to find the best one.
DeleteJonathan
Boeing adopting a third-party working solution? Have you gotten in to the recreational pharmaceuticals?
ReplyDeleteBoeing has a severe case of Not Invented Here syndrome, and coupled with the inability to do ANYthing rapidly any more, you'd have better luck getting A Trip To The Moon On Gossamer Wings. Just pointing out the fact that they are neither agile nor fast.
And the word "Inexpensive" just ain't in their lexicon, either.
As Igor says: the problem isn't technical, it is Boeing's management and culture.
ReplyDeleteI will note that while Agile's ground testing is all well and good, the proof of the pudding is in the flight test, as Boeing (re)discovered.