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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 19 records

Propulsion Estimates for High Energy Lunar Missions Using Future Propellants

High energy propellants for human lunar missions are analyzed, focusing on very advanced ozone and atomic hydrogen. One of the most advanced launch vehicle propulsion systems, such as the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), used hydrogen and oxygen and had a delivered specific impulse of 453 seconds. In the early days of the space program, other propellants (or so called metapropellants) were suggested, including atomic hydrogen and liquid ozone. Theoretical and experimental studies of atomic hydrogen and ozone were conducted beginning in the late 1940s. This propellant research may have provided screenwriters with the idea of an atomic hydrogen-ozone rocket engine in the 1950 movie, Rocketship X-M. This paper presents analyses showing that an atomic hydrogen-ozone rocket engine could produce a specific impulse over a wide range of specific impulse values reaching as high as 1,600 s. A series of single stage and multistage rocket vehicle analyses were conducted to find the minimum specific impulse needed to conduct high energy round trip lunar missions.

rocket propulsion

Atmospheric Mining in the Outer Solar System: Outer Planet Orbital Transfer and Lander Analyses

High energy propellants for human lunar missions are analyzed, focusing on very advanced ozone and atomic hydrogen. One of the most advanced launch vehicle propulsion systems, such as the Space Shuttle Main Engine (SSME), used hydrogen and oxygen and had a delivered specific impulse of 453 seconds. In the early days of the space program, other propellants (or so called metapropellants) were suggested, including atomic hydrogen and liquid ozone. Theoretical and experimental studies of atomic hydrogen and ozone were conducted beginning in the late 1940s. This propellant research may have provided screenwriters with the idea of an atomic hydrogen-ozone rocket engine in the 1950 movie, Rocketship X-M. This paper presents analyses showing that an atomic hydrogen-ozone rocket engine could produce a specific impulse over a wide range of specific impulse values reaching as high as 1,600 seconds. A series of single stage and multistage rocket vehicle analyses were conducted to find the minimum specific impulse needed to conduct high energy round trip lunar missions.

lunar mission design

COST-OPTIMIZING MULTISTAGE ROCKETS

Cost-optimization method for the selection of the booster system and its optimum rocket sizes, based on the economics of achieving the mission

MULTISTAGE ROCKET VEHICLE

RL10 Engine Ability to Transition from Atlas to Shuttle/Centaur Program

A key launch vehicle design feature is the ability to take advantage of new technologies while minimizing expensive and time consuming development and test programs. With successful space launch experiences and the unique features of both the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Space Transportation System (Space Shuttle) and Atlas/Centaur programs, it became attractive to leverage these capabilities. The Shuttle/Centaur Program was created to transition the existing Centaur vehicle to be launched from the Space Shuttle cargo bay. This provided the ability to launch heaver and larger payloads, and take advantage of new unique launch operational capabilities. A successful Shuttle/Centaur Program required the Centaur main propulsion system to quickly accommodate the new operating conditions for two new Shuttle/Centaur configurations and evolve to function in the human Space Shuttle environment. This paper describes the transition of the Atlas/Centaur RL10 engine to the Shuttle/Centaur configurations; shows the unique versatility and capability of the engine; and highlights the importance of ground testing. Propulsion testing outcomes emphasize the value added benefits of testing heritage hardware and the significant impact to existing and future programs.

Propulsion Testing

State Machine Modeling of the Space Launch System Solid Rocket Boosters

The Space Launch System is a Shuttle-derived heavy-lift vehicle currently in development to serve as NASA's premiere launch vehicle for space exploration. The Space Launch System is a multistage rocket with two Solid Rocket Boosters and multiple payloads, including the Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle. Planned Space Launch System destinations include near-Earth asteroids, the Moon, Mars, and Lagrange points. The Space Launch System is a complex system with many subsystems, requiring considerable systems engineering and integration. To this end, state machine analysis offers a method to support engineering and operational e orts, identify and avert undesirable or potentially hazardous system states, and evaluate system requirements. Finite State Machines model a system as a finite number of states, with transitions between states controlled by state-based and event-based logic. State machines are a useful tool for understanding complex system behaviors and evaluating "what-if" scenarios. This work contributes to a state machine model of the Space Launch System developed at NASA Ames Research Center. The Space Launch System Solid Rocket Booster avionics and ignition subsystems are modeled using MATLAB/Stateflow software. This model is integrated into a larger model of Space Launch System avionics used for verification and validation of Space Launch System operating procedures and design requirements. This includes testing both nominal and o -nominal system states and command sequences.

model-based systems engineering

NONRECOVERABLE BOOSTERS

Discussion of nonrecoverable multistage rocket boosters, and the goals of the national launch vehicle program

LAUNCH VEHICLE

Saturn s-ivb program.

Design requirements of S-IVB stage of Saturn launch vehicle including ground support equipment

ROCKET BOOSTER

The Enduring Legacy of Saturn V Launch Vehicle Flight Dynamics and Control Design Principles and Practices

It has been over 50 years since the first launch of the Saturn V launch vehicle, Apollo 4, on November 9th,1967. Developed at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC) in Huntsville, Alabama, the Saturn V was a massive multistage liquid-fuel expendable rocket used by NASA’s Apollo and Skylab programs. It safely flew 24 American astronauts to the Moon, blazing the trail for all American heavy-lift launch vehicles to follow. The Saturn V remains the only launch vehicle to carry humans beyond low Earth orbit. Nearly fifty years after the final May 1973 flight of the Saturn V, an enduring technical legacy of launch vehicle technologies still supports the United States space launch capabilities, particularly with respect to flight dynamics and control. The structured refinement of GN&C technologies during the Saturn program, leveraging the incremental advancements of the Jupiter, Redstone, and Saturn I/IB, systematically reduced risk and resulted in the most advanced and reliable launch vehicle flight control systems to have been developed before the advent of the Space Shuttle.

Jeb S Orr