by Laurie Stauber
Technology Transfer & Partnership Office

NASA’s Inventions and Contributions Board (ICB) has announced that Dr. Bruce Steinetz and Patrick Dunlap, Mechanical Components Branch, have won the prestigious Government Invention of the Year Award for 2004 for developing a thermal barrier and solid rocket motor (SRM) joint design for the Space Shuttle. Their innovation is a unique, flexible braided carbon-fiber thermal barrier designed to withstand the extreme temperature environments in current and future SRMs and other industrial equipment.

The revolutionary new thermal barrier solves the vexing problem of blocking 5500+ °F rocket combustion gases from reaching temperature-sensitive O-rings, while still allowing 900-psi gases to position the O-rings in their grooves for proper sealing—a problem that has challenged rocket motor designers for decades. This innovation is recognized as a significant improvement over the current silicone joint-fill approach to safeguarding O-rings, which may allow hot combustion gases to penetrate the joint.

As a case in point, Aerojet, manufacturer of the SRMs for the Lockheed-Martin Atlas V Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV), used the Glenn thermal barrier technology to quickly recover from a dramatic full-scale test stand failure. In this test, 5500+ °F gases reached the O-rings and flange in the original joint design, severing the nozzle from the SRM. After incorporating three Glenn thermal barriers in their redesigned joint, Aerojet certified the new design to meet an aggressive schedule to launch a commercial satellite.

The breakthrough also promotes shuttle and astronaut safety and allows nozzle joints to be assembled in one-sixth the time of previous approaches with much higher degrees of reproducibility.

NASA Senior Technologist Dr. Paul Curto, representing the ICB, affirmed, "This unique innovation is one of the best examples of how Glenn technology is critical to exploration, aerospace, and commercial activities all at once."

The new thermal barrier will enter service on Space Shuttle Mission STS–123, expected to launch in May 2007. The first Atlas V mission using the redesigned Aerojet SRMs launched the Rainbow direct-to-home digital TV satellite in June 2003. Subsequent flights launched the AMC–16 satellite providing DISH Network service (December 2004) and the Inmarsat 4–F1 satellite delivering broadband communications to 86 percent of the world (March 2005).

NASA will use Atlas V to launch the Pluto Horizons Spacecraft in 2006. The agency is also considering using Atlas V to launch payloads for the International Space Station, future Exploration Initiative missions, and versions of the Crew Exploration Vehicle.

The Invention of the Year Award warrants high respect by the ICB, according to NASA Chief Engineer Rex Geveden, who chairs the Board. "Our technical evaluation placed a present value on the (Glenn) invention at approximately $25 billion dollars to America. Its use on the shuttle and Atlas V Programs represents mission-critical successes."