JANNAF MISSION AND SCOPE

HISTORY OF
JANNAF

JANNAF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

TECHNICAL MEETINGS AND WORKSHOPS

ABOUT CPIAC

The JANNAF Interagency Propulsion Committee is composed of representatives from the DoD and NASA, and consists of an Executive Committee, technical subcommittees, and ad hoc committees. JANNAF exists to promote and facilitate exchange of technical information; establish standards; effect coordination of research, exploratory development, and advanced development programs in the areas of missile, gun, and space propulsion; and accomplish problem solving in areas of joint agency interest. The JANNAF scope includes propulsion systems based upon chemical or electrical energy release, intended for use in missiles, rockets, boosters, spacecraft, satellites, or guns.

HISTORY OF JANNAF

JANNAF was established in November 1969 when the Charter was approved by the Assistant Secretaries for Research and Development of the Army, Navy, and Air Force and the Associate Administrator for Aeronautics and Space Technology of NASA. The Charter specifies the purpose, scope, fields of interest, and organization of JANNAF.

Although JANNAF was not officially formed until 1969, the concept of an interagency effort by Government agencies to promote the exchange of information on rocket propulsion technology started in 1946. At that time, the Army and Navy jointly funded the creation of the Rocket Propellant Intelligence Agency (RPIA) at The Johns Hopkins University's Applied Physics Laboratory (APL), creating an informal Joint Army-Navy committee for the exchange of rocket propulsion information. The Air Force joined this committee in 1948, and the name of the RPIA was changed to the Solid Propellant Information Agency (SPIA).

Information in the field of liquid propulsion was exchanged by the military services in various ways prior to 1956. At that time, a Liquid Propellant Information Agency (LPIA) was formed at APL by these services. The Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) and NASA began participating in SPIA and LPIA activities in 1959.

It became apparent in 1962 that reorganization and official recognition of these informal information exchange activities would increase their effectiveness. A charter was drafted, and when it was authenticated by the Army, Navy, Air Force, ARPA, and NASA and approved by the DoD in November of 1962, the Interagency Chemical Rocket Propulsion Group (ICRPG) was activated. One of the first acts of the ICRPG was to consolidate the SPIA and LPIA into the CPIA. In 1965, with the cancellation of the energetic propellant synthesis program, Project Principia, ARPA withdrew. The name of the ICRPG was changed to the JANNAF Interagency Propulsion Committee in November of 1969.

Although airbreathing propulsion for missile applications was being covered, it was accorded formal recognition by the formation of the Airbreathing Propulsion Working Group in 1972. The JANNAF scope was expanded to include gun propulsion in 1973, and electric propulsion was subsequently added. [back to top]

JANNAF EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

The JANNAF Executive Committee is the governing body of the JANNAF Interagency Propulsion Committee. It is responsible for the establishment, modification, and dissolution of subcommittees; the monitoring of the activities of the subcommittees; and the promulgation of guidelines for their operation.

The Executive Committee consists of eight regular members, two from each of the JANNAF agencies, with alternate members being designated as required to facilitate participation of the agencies in the JANNAF activities. Each member is a full-time employee of the federal government. The tenure of office of the members is the prerogative of the agency concerned, and is reviewed by each agency annually. The chairmanship is rotated among the agencies on a biennial basis. Designated representatives of the Deputy Director of Defense for Research and Engineering (DDR&E) and the NASA Headquarters are ex-officio members and are invited to participate in all meetings of the Executive Committee.

The JANNAF Executive Committee meets as often as necessary to manage the overall activities of the organization; set policy; consider interagency matters such as security classification and meeting attendance policy; establish cooperative programs; and establish, evaluate, regulate, modify, and disestablish subcommittees and ad hoc committees.

Ad hoc committees are established for the purpose of coordinating and exchanging information on government-funded RDT&E propulsion programs and for identifying and recommending special subjects of interest to the Executive Committee. [For more detail]
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TECHNICAL MEETINGS AND WORKSHOPS

The JANNAF Propulsion Meetings (JPMs) promote the exchange of technical information in the fields of missile, space, and gun propulsion. These meetings assemble scientists and engineers who are responsible for leading the research and engineering efforts on government-sponsored and government-performed programs in these areas for the purpose of sharing information and research results; and are part of a series of such meetings dating back to the late 1940's.

Proceedings of these JPMs are published after each meeting. To order a set of the most recent JPMs Proceedings, call 410-992-7300 or email cpiac@cpiac.jhu.edu

The JPM is usually conducted at 12 month intervals over a four-day period and typically includes 35-50 technical sessions; keynote address; specialist sessions; JANNAF subcommittee technical steering group, business, and panel meetings; and Executive Committee meetings. The main sessions cover current propulsion science and technology, propellants, and hardware relevant to government programs, comparative system performances, and technology advances which affect current and future propulsion systems. Technical sessions are conducted on solid, liquid, hybrid, and air-augmented rockets, ramjets, scramjets, combined-cycle engines, expendable turbine engines, and electric propulsion, as well as missile, space transportation, orbit transfer, satellite, and gun propulsion applications. Specialist sessions deal with specific topics of interest to the propulsion community. The papers are published in cd-rom format. Attendance varies between 400 and 600 federal government and nongovernment scientists and engineers.

The JANNAF Subcommittees hold technical meetings at approximately 18 month intervals to exchange information in their areas of interest. Workshops on specific topics of special interest are conducted periodically. Business meetings of the Technical Steering Groups and panels are held as necessary to transact business, to plan new projects, and to review progress of ongoing projects.

Attendance at JANNAF meetings is by invitation only and is limited to U.S. citizens who are employed by qualified U.S. organizations, who possess the appropriate security clearance, and who are working in the field of missile, space, or gun propulsion. [For more detail]
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About CPIAC

The Johns Hopkins University, Chemical Propulsion Information Analysis Center (CPIAC) provides technical and administrative support to the Joint Army-Navy-NASA-Air Force (JANNAF) Interagency Propulsion Committee in the fields of missile, space, and gun propulsion in accordance with the JANNAF Agreement and Charter. CPIAC assists the JANNAF Executive Committee and the twelve technical subcommittees and their associate technical panels in the planning, administration, and documentation of their technical and administrative activities and meetings; and in the maintenance of JANNAF manuals and handbooks. For more information or comments contact CPIAC. [back to top]