JPM Mission Areas

Mission Area I: Tactical Propulsion

This area encompasses all tactical propulsion systems including those applicable to air-to-air; air-to-surface, surface launched and underwater missions. Typical systems include tactical missile boosters or sustainers, kinetic energy missiles, free-flight rockets, anti-radiation, anti-ship, anti-armor, anti-personnel/ materiel missiles, ramjets, scramjets, and combined cycle propulsion. System studies that evaluate advanced propulsion concepts and demonstrations that incorporate one or more component technologies applicable to tactical propulsion are of interest. Examples of component technologies include propellants and fuels, fuel management systems, cases and combustors, inlets, nozzles, thrust vector control systems, thrust management systems, and advanced materials applications. Life cycle cost and demilitarization are also topics of interest.

Manufacturing technologies and fabrication techniques:

Papers are requested that emphasize manufacturing technologies and fabrication techniques. Papers need not be associated with a particular system but should be applicable to materials associated with such vehicles and their corresponding flight environment. Abstracts are especially sought on the following topics:

Airbreathing propulsion systems
Hybrid propulsion systems
Solid propellant rocket propulsion systems
Demilitarization
Hypersonic propulsion systems
Improved missile kinematics
Insensitive munitions (from a systems perspective)
Propulsion system product improvement
Manufacturing technologies and fabrication techniques

Airframe Structures and Materials:
Materials development and characterization, and structural concepts, design, test, and validation for Airframe applications and components exposed to extreme environments as found in atmospheric high speed or reentry conditions. Topics of interest include: TPS and hot structures, materials, structures and related technology for leading edges, exterior acreage surfaces, control surfaces, hot structures, and seals (penetrations). Further topics include hot and integrated structures; acreage thermal protection systems, including ceramic matrix composites, tiles, blankets, ablators, and metallics; fuel tanks, including cryogenic and hydrocarbon, composite and metallic; leading edges, including active, passive, and heat-pipe-cooled; design and analysis methods; and seals. Papers on structures and materials that have recently flown, or are planned for flight, on flight vehicles are encouraged.

Mission Area II: Missile Defense / Strategic Propulsion

This area includes technology applicable to ballistic missiles, trans-atmospheric operational vehicles, and ground- and sea-based missile defense. Emphasis should be on system level papers discussing propulsion technology for new vehicle systems, upgrades, modernization and sustainment; failure investigations; and economic considerations that include evolving business practices, life cycle cost estimation, and approaches that reduce development and operations costs. Papers are requested that emphasize manufacturing technologies and fabrication techniques. Papers need not be associated with a particular system but should be applicable to materials associated with such vehicles and their corresponding flight environment. Abstracts are especially sought in the areas of:

Ground-based and sea-based strategic systems
Ground-based, aircraft-based and sea-based missile defense
Anti-satellite systems
Advanced (including low or non-toxic) propellants
Advanced (including light weight and/or high temperature) materials
Insensitive munitions technologies
Energy management approaches
Dual mode systems (airbreathing/rocket)
Unconventional propulsion
Divert propulsion/attitude control propulsion
Post boost control system propulsion
Innovative propellant tank and valve technologies (including hot gas valves/pintles)
Aging and Surveillance of propulsion systems
Manufacturing technologies and fabrication techniques including the use of 3D printing for strategic and missile defense propulsion system components
US-sourced sustainable materials
Demilitarization or alternative applications of heritage propulsion systems

Mission Area III: Propulsion Systems for Space Access

This area focuses on existing or potential primary and auxiliary government, commercial or foreign propulsion systems for earth-to-orbit vehicles or in-space propulsion systems. Emphasis should be on system-level papers discussing propulsion technologies for new vehicle systems, upgrades and modernization, failure investigations, and evolving business practices that reduce development and operations costs while increasing mission reliability. Papers should address future access to space missions, future exploration missions and needs, vehicle system architectures, and the identification of critical propulsion requirements technologies that must be enabled to support these new system requirements. Manufacturing technologies and fabrication techniques: papers are requested that emphasize manufacturing technologies and fabrication techniques. Papers need not be associated with a particular system but should be applicable to materials associated with such vehicles and their corresponding flight environment. Abstracts are especially sought in the following areas:

Methods for development of design reference missions and vehicle systems architecture
Future or current Vehicle systems that use either solid or liquid or both propulsion
Description of vehicle systems analysis models and assumptions
Details of architecture studies and descriptions of promising vehicle architectures
Uncertainty evaluation of vehicle systems analysis
Results of sensitivity analysis of key parameters on vehicle dry mass fraction margin, gross take-off weight, cost, reliability, and safety, with emphasis on propulsion
Methods for identification and prioritization of critical enabling propulsion technologies
Approaches for utilizing higher fidelity propulsion analyses in the overall systems architecture model(s)
Methods to standardize model assumptions and fidelity in order to make relevant comparisons between vehicle architectures and various propulsion system options
Description of promising new propulsion systems
Description and status of the access to space propulsion system technology or development activities
Small launch vehicle mission analysis
System analysis for responsive space access
Manufacturing technologies and fabrication techniques
Testing use of 3D printing for propulsion hardware

Mission Area IV: Gun and Gun-Launched Propulsion

This area embraces technologies applicable to small-, intermediate-, or large-caliber guns, as well as gun-launched rocket propulsion, for air, sea, or ground/mobile weapons systems. Typical rocket assisted systems include kinetic energy missiles and extended range projectiles, both guided and unguided. Abstracts are especially sought in the following areas:

Conventional gun propulsion concepts to include solids and liquids
Unconventional gun propulsion concepts
System-level gun propulsion studies (gun tube wear and erosion, blast/flash mitigation, improved system survivability)
Concepts to enable rocket systems to achieve high operating pressures (gun barrel and motor case)
Assisted projectiles
Assisted guided munitions
Insensitive munitions

Mission Area V: Propulsion and Energetics Test Facilities

This area targets issues, technologies and achievements relevant to the operation and use of rocket propulsion test facilities for demonstration, development, characterization, and qualification of rocket, spacecraft, and gun propulsion systems, energetics, and materials for propulsion applications. Eligible test facilities include static test facilities for liquid rocket engines, solid rocket motors, electric and in-space propulsion systems, hypersonic test facilities, gel motors, hybrid propulsion systems, explosives, insensitive munitions, wind tunnels, altitude/vacuum chambers, and other rocket propulsion technologies; laboratory test facilities for energetics and materials science characterization; and test ranges for missiles, guns and rocket sleds. Abstracts are specifically solicited on the following topics:

Best practices and testing standards
Integrating instrumentation, controls and data acquisition systems
Static thrust measurement systems
Propellant and materials handling and safety
Accident and incident lessons learned
Test facility modeling
Abstracts on improvements in base infrastructure, updates and upgrades of test stand capabilities, new propellant inventories, or other general advertisements of capabilities or assets will not be considered for this area.

Mission Area VI: Sensors for Propulsion Measurement Applications

This area captures technologies and advancements in sensors and measurement devices for rocket and gun propulsion applications. Emphasis should be on development, application, modeling and integration of sensors for use in various propulsion applications. Abstracts are specifically sought on systems and sensors for:

Storage, tanking and cryogenic systems, including true cryogenic mass flow, cryogenic temperature measurement, mass and level measurement in micro and zero gravity, pump and turbomachinery induced pressure fluctuations, leak and tank integrity monitoring, and other propellant feed and storage measurements.
High-temperature systems and hostile environments, including: extreme high-temperature measurements, real-time nozzle erosions and fuel regression, material ablation, flame propagation, high temperature electronics, packaging, and communications, and measurement and analysis of thermal effects on pressure transducers.
In-chamber diagnostics, including development of methods to make measurements of velocity, temperature, pressure, and/or other flow quantities inside of firing combustion chambers.
Plume measurement technology, including methods to utilize plume measurements to understand chamber operating conditions and spacecraft contamination issues.
Systems health monitoring and non-destructive evaluation (NDE) and repair, including: test stand characterization and control, structure and sense line frequency characterization, micro and nanotechnologies, systems for conversion of sensor data into actionable knowledge, technologies for intelligent health management systems, integrated fiber optics, electromagnetic NDE technologies, NDE data processing and analysis, life cycle monitoring of solid rocket motors, and monitoring of aeroshells and ballutes during reentry.
Smart sensing technology, including the development of sensors capable of automatic calibration and fault detection; intelligent sensors that are calibrated in situ and provide dynamic compensation for environmental changes (temperature, humidity, etc.); fault detection also including any fault that would cause a sensor to provide inaccurate information such as sensor damage, lead wire damage or disconnection, and the disbonding or detorquing of the sensor; smart and distributed sensor system approaches, systems architectures, and applications.
Chemical sensors suitable for solid rocket motor environments and applications (sensors of interest include those for measuring the chemical state or composition of a solid, including gaseous diffusion, liquid diffusion, changes in free volume, direct measurement of changes in molecular weight or molecular weight per crosslink due to chain scission or the reaction products which result from chain scission); and development and applications of sensors that do not alter the chemical equilibrium of the solid solution are of particular interest.
Sensor modeling and simulation including modeling and simulation methods for sensor selection and data validation approaches; and recent advances in micro/nano technology, embedded sensor systems, optical diagnostics, and multiparameter measurement technologies.

Joint Army Navy NASA Air Force