Comparative Analysis of Different Grain Configurations for a Multi-thruster Kinetic Warhead

The S-DACS multi-thruster warhead consists of 4 divert and 6 attitude thrusters fed from a common gas generator. Successful S-DACS intercept requires careful selection of the internal ballistics (grain configuration, chamber pressure, etc.), the sensors (seeker range, guidance law, etc.) as well as the external ballistics and sizing (booster diameter, S-DACS release velocity, flight time, maneuverability, etc.). These requirements and constraints are inter-dependent making the S-DACS mission analysis and sizing a difficult task. This work explores the connections between the choice of S-DACS grain configuration and sizing with the chamber pressure as a key parameter. Various parameters and center of gravity/ moment of inertia variations are compared for three different S-DACS grain configurations. Keywords: DACS, grain configuration, mission analysis