more PR
ULA Innovation: Integrated Vehicle Fluids (IVF)
Surprised to hear the involvement of Jack Roush and the fact that a piston driven, internal combustion engine will be operating in space
Might seem primitive and counter-intuitive, but it turned out to be a good solution. Engine exhaust is used for ullage thrust and engine cooling heats up the very cold boil-off gases for autogenous pressurization. This may be the first time an internal combustion piston engine will be used in space. An elegant solution that should have been done decades ago with Centaur; reduces costs and increases payload, especially for long-duration missions. Might even make a lunar Centaur possible.
And yeah, this is a more informative video.
I feel like if they were going to puff their chest a little with something like this they could have done it a lot better. A Pratt and Whitney video comes to mind. A little hamfisted? Sure. But you knew what it was from start to finish:
"LAUNCHES ARE F&*(IN' AWESOME! LOOK AT OUR S$%& FLY! WE OWN! THEY ARE SUCK AND ARE FEEDING YOU A LINE FOR MONEY, WOOOOOOOO!"
"LAUNCHES ARE F&*(IN' AWESOME! LOOK AT OUR S$%& FLY! WE OWN! THEY ARE SUCK AND ARE FEEDING YOU A LINE FOR MONEY, WOOOOOOOO!"
How times have changed. PwR aren't so bullish these days. Shuttle is retired, and ULA is working on phasing out all of their engines bar two - the RL-10 and the Atlas V solid boosters. (And the RL-10 could be dropped as well)