BATES is an acronym for BAllistic Test and Evaluation System, which is a standardized system for measuring solid rocket propellant performance developed by the United States Air Force Research Laboratory in the early 1960s,[1] used for almost forty years thereafter, and again beginning in 2010.[2]
In modern usage, BATES often refers to a type of solid-fuel rocket motor grain geometry. A BATES grain consists of two or more cylindrical grain segments with the outer surface inhibited, but free to burn both on the segment ends and the cylindrical core. Such grains can be configured to achieve a desired thrust-time profile while maintaining an acceptable center of gravity.[3]
References
- ^ Geisler, R., Beckman, C. "The History of the BATES Motors at the Air Force Rocket Propulsion Laboratory" (PDF). AIR FORCE RESEARCH LAB EDWARDS AFB CA PROPULSION DIRECTORATE WEST (1998). Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ Thuloweit, Kenji. "AFRL test marks return to 'in-house' rocket fuel development". Press Release. US Air Force. Retrieved 16 September 2011.
- ^ Nakka, Richard. "RNX Composite Propellant". Richard Experimental Rocketry. Retrieved 16 September 2011.