Rocketdyne

Products:

Delta 4 rocket launch vehicle

Business needs:

The RS-68 program was challenged to produce a simple engine that would be cost-effective when jettisoned after a single launch. To achieve this, the RS-68 has 80% fewer parts than the multi-launch Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME).

Engineering process:

The legacy design is converted from Pro/Engineer to CATIA V5 for modification to meet a new customer’s delivery requirements.
Accuracy and model quality must be maintained to meet requirements for aerospace manufacturing processes.

Elysium Solution:

Elysium DirectTranslators converted assemblies for an entire rocket booster from Pro/Engineer to CATIA V5 with the precision required for manufacturing. Elysium DirectTranslators assure the highest possible fidelity because they employ the application programming interfaces of both Pro/Engineer and CATIA to translate solid model geometry, topology, and assembly relationships.

Results:

Rocketdyne delivered the RS-68 for the Delta IV program at a cost of $14 million each, compared to $50 million for the SSME.