Cryogenic Servo Valve, Flight Vehicle

No commercial, off-the-shelf liquid oxygen control valve could meet all of this customer's requirements for their innovative liquid-fueled rocket engines. Engineers at Caztek in conjunction with the lead engineer at XCOR Aerospace took a fresh look at the problem and developed a custom solution that met all of their precise design goals. This project required selecting suitable materials and evaluating their performance at low temperatures (90K). Dynamic sealing and atmospheric moisture icing issues were addressed and successfully mitigated. The final design controls 1500 psi liquid oxygen in millisecond speed with minimal helium consumption.