A guide to Space Propulsion Techniques

Space Propulsion Techniques: 

Space Propulsion Techniques Present & Future Asim Pujapanda 04-01-2009

Propulsion History: 

Propulsion History

History contd.: 

History contd. Treaty of Versailles from WW I prohibits Germany from Long-Range Artillery World War II provided the impetus and motivation for the development of long-range suborbital rockets The most successful were the Germans, who developed the V-2 (a liquid-propellant rocket) German engineers went to the USSR,US after the war Sputnik 1, by the USSR on Oct. 4, 1957 Space Race starts..

Propulsion Fundamentals: 

Propulsion Fundamentals

Kármán line – The “Edge of space”: 

Kármán line – The “Edge of space ” Theodore von Kármán, a Hungarian-American engineer and physicist lies at an altitude of 100 km (62.1 miles) above the Earth's sea level, boundary between the Earth's atmosphere and outer space. the Earth's atmosphere becomes too thin for aeronautical purposes there is an abrupt increase in atmospheric temperature and interaction with solar radiation

Orbit Types: 

Orbit Types

Delta-V Budget: 

Delta-V Budget Current/near-term propulsion technology would allow exploration of the solar system within a “ reasonable ” time, but won ’ t work for a manned interstellar mission within a human lifetime. Mission (duration) Delta-V (km/sec) Earth surface to LEO 7.6 LEO to Earth Escape 3.2 LEO to Mars (0.7 yrs) 5.7 LEO to Neptune (29.9 yrs) 13.4 LEO to Neptune (5.0 yrs) 70 LEO to alpha-Centauri (50 yrs) 30,000

Propulsion System Requirements: 

Propulsion System Requirements Based on Conventional Propulsion Science, here’s what’s needed: ■ Stable and Continuous Thrust, F : Vehicle mass, desired acceleration rate and desired final cruising speed will determine the thrust required. Used for slowing down close to destination since gravity-assist would have opposite effect. ■ High Specific Impulse, Isp : Generally defined as the time (measured in seconds) to burn one unit mass of propellant while producing one unit force of thrust. Related to exhaust velocity, ve . The higher the Isp , the more “propellant-efficient” the engine. ■ High Thrust-to-Weigh t : A high-thrust, low-weight propulsion system yields more manageable vehicle mass and allowable payload or fuel. ■ Reliability : The engine system must be able to withstand the harsh environments and extended duty cycles required for interstellar missions.

Classification: 

Classification • Chemical Propulsion Systems • Electric Propulsion Systems • Nuclear Propulsion Systems • Launch Assist Technologies • Propellentless Propulsion

Chemical Propulsion Systems: 

Chemical Propulsion Systems F-1 Engine Saturn V 1.5 million lbs thrust (SL) LOX/Kerosene www.flickr.com Main Engine Space Shuttle 374,000 lbs thrust (SL) LOX/H 2 spaceflight.nasa.gov

Basic Working of Chemical Propulsion: 

Basic Working of Chemical Propulsion

Classification of PROPELLANT: 

Classification of PROPELLANT

Liquid propellants: 

Liquid propellants Common liquid fuel combinations in use today: LOX and kerosene (RP-1) LOX and liquid hydrogen, used in the Space Shuttle, Ariane 5, Delta IV Nitrogen tetroxide (N 2 O 4 ) and hydrazine (N 2 H 4 ). Used in military, orbital and deep space rockets, because both liquids are storable for long periods at reasonable temperatures and pressures.

Types of Liquid Propellants: 

Types of Liquid Propellants Monopropellant use only one propellant such as hydrazine (N 2 H 4 ) & Hydrogen Peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) Widely used for spacecraft attitude and orbit control

PowerPoint Presentation: 

Bipropellants use a fuel and an oxidizer such as RP-1 and H 2 O 2 Large variety available (LO2 - LH2, …)Used for launchers and spacecraft primary propulsion systems

PowerPoint Presentation: 

Hypergolic Propellants composed of a fuel and oxidizer that ignite when they come into contact with each other no need of an ignition mechanism the fuel part normally includes: Hydrazine, Mono Methyl Hydrazine- MMH, Unsymmetrical Di-Methyl Hydrazine- UMDH The oxidizer is generally Nitrogen tetroxide N 2 O 4 or Nitric acid HNO 3 easy start and restart capability used for orbital insertion as it allows the precise adjustments required

Alternative Designs of Chemical Systems: 

Alternative Designs of Chemical Systems Pulse Detonation Rocket Combustion occurs at constant volume instead of constant pressure (much higher inlet pressure) 10% higher thermodynamic efficiency Rocket Based Combined Cycle Initial mode – Ejector :Rocket works as compressor stage for jet engine Follow up - Ram jet : Rocket engine turned off at Mach 2, air pressure is high enough 

Air Breathing: 

Air Breathing Either Rocket Based Combined Cycle or pure rocket mode uses air breathing Air Breathing saves a lot of propellant the source of oxidizer is the oxygen from the atmosphere rather than stored liquid oxygen intake vents that “breathe in” oxygen as the vehicle flies

PowerPoint Presentation: 

Initially rockets are used to propel until the air breathing rockets reach twice the speed of sound (Mach-2) At this stage, atmospheric oxygen would mix with fuel to propel the vehicle 10 to 12 times the speed of sound (Mach-10 to Mach-12) Air breathing rockets are launched horizontally to capture sufficient air Air-augmented rockets can be used to launch the air breathing rockets

eLECTRIC PROPULSION SYSTEMS: 

eLECTRIC PROPULSION SYSTEMS -While electric thrusters' thrust is weaker compared to chemical thrusters by several orders of magnitude, it offers much higher specific impulse. -This is due to the significantly reduced mass flow rate

Types of Electric Propulsion: 

Types of Electric Propulsion 1. Electrothermal propulsion, wherein the propellant is heated by some electrical process, then expanded through a suitable nozzle a. Resistojets b. Arcjets c. Inductively and radiatively heated devices 2. Electrostatic propulsion, wherein the propellant is accelerated by direct application of electrostatic forces to ionized particles a. Ion Thrusters (IT) b. Field Emission Electric Propulsion (FEEP) c. Colloidal Thrusters 3. Electromagnetic propulsion, wherein the propellant is accelerated under the combined action of electric and magnetic fields a. MagnetoPlasmaDynamic (MPD) Thrusters b. Hall Thrusters (HT) c. Pulsed Plasma Thrusters (PPT) d. Inductive Thrusters

Electrothermal Propulsion: 

Electrothermal Propulsion Principle: Electro-thermal systems heat propellants, which produce gases. The gases are then sent through a supersonic nozzle to produce thrust Propellant velocity can be calculated similar to chemical propulsion systems

Arcjet: 

Arcjet

Solar / Laser / Microwave Thermal Arcjet: 

Solar / Laser / Microwave Thermal Arcjet

Artist’s Impression: 

Artist’s Impression

Electrostatic Propulsion: 

Electrostatic Propulsion This technique of propulsion utilizes electrostatic energy, i.e. energy due to electric charges on materials is used to propel rockets also called as ion propulsion technique

PowerPoint Presentation: 

The propellant used in this technique is xenon , a heavy inert gas The propellant is pumped into the ionization chamber where the propellant atoms get ionized In the ionization chamber, electric field provides velocity to ions Ionization is done by electron bombardment Two molybdenum grids with a potential of 1,300 volts then accelerate these xenon ions between them, driving the ions out the exhaust at over 30 kilometers per second The exhaust of the rocket must be neutral

Electrostatic ion thrusters: 

Electrostatic ion thrusters highly-efficient low-thrust spacecraft propulsion running on electrical power initially developed by Harold R. Kaufman at NASA in the early 1960s the NSTAR engine that was used successfully on Deep Space 1 Hughes Aircraft Company has developed the XIPS (Xenon Ion Propulsion System) for performing station keeping on geosynchronous satellites NASA is currently working on a 20-50 kW electrostatic ion thruster called HiPEP which will have higher efficiency, specific impulse

Ion Thruster (Xe): 

Ion Thruster ( Xe ) Deep Space-1 Ion Engine Images launched from Cape Canaveral on October 24, 1998 Although the engine produces just 92 millinewtons of thrust at maximum power (about a third of an ounce-force), the craft achieved high speeds because ion engines thrust continuously for long periods. The engine fired for 678 total days, a record for such engines

Field Emission Electric Propulsion: 

Field Emission Electric Propulsion FEEP is an advanced electrostatic propulsion concept uses liquid metal (usually either caesium or indium) as a propellant consists of an emitter and an accelerator electrode field extracts ions, which then are accelerated to high velocities, typically more than 100 km/s very low thrust (in the micronewton to millinewton range), primarily used for microradian , micronewton attitude control on spacecraft FEEP's unusual combination of very low thrust and very high specific - unique represent the only viable option for drag-free satellite applications, such as the LISA Pathfinder and Microscope missions, thrust range (0.1 – 150 µN) is required

Field Emission Electric Propulsion: 

Field Emission Electric Propulsion

Colloid Thruster: 

Colloid Thruster A colloid thruster is a type of thruster which uses electrostatic acceleration of charged liquid droplets for propulsion electrospray ionization low volatility ionic liquid benefits include high efficiency, thrust density, and specific impulse very low total thrust, on the order of μN – same as other ion thrusters

Key Issue of Ion Thrusters: 

Key Issue of Ion Thrusters Grid erosion due to ion bombardment limits thruster lifetime

Hall effect thruster: 

Hall effect thruster Hall thrusters trap electrons in a magnetic field and then use the electrons to ionize propellant, efficiently accelerate the ions to produce thrust, and neutralize the ions in the plume Hall thrusters are able to accelerate their exhaust to speeds of around 15–30 km/s, and can produce thrusts of about one newton In a Hall thruster the attractive negative charge is provided by an electron plasma at the open end of the thruster instead of a grid

PowerPoint Presentation: 

A radial magnetic field of a few milliteslas is used to hold the electrons in place

Hall Thruster: 

Hall Thruster

Key Problem of Hall Thrusters: 

Key Problem of Hall Thrusters Large plume divergence (~90 deg) decreases thrust and efficiency. Most importantly, it limits lifetime of the satellite – ion bombardment damages solar panel dramatically. Outgoing plasma jet may also interfere with radio-communication between the ground control and the satellite.

Current research on Hall thrusters is ongoing and focuses mainly on : 

Current research on Hall thrusters is ongoing and focuses mainly on 1. Up scaling the typically 1 kW Hall thruster to higher powers (50 to 100 kW) and lower powers (50 to 100 W) 2. Resolving the large plume divergence 3. Enabling operation at higher specific impulse and variable specific impulse 4. Flight validation 5. Extending the operational lifetimes to enable use on deep space science missions

Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket-VASIMR: 

Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket- VASIMR electro-magnetic thruster uses radio waves to ionize a propellant and magnetic fields to accelerate the resulting plasma to generate thrust •Conceived by Franklin Chang Diaz at MIT ~1980 •Aiming for Isp of 3,000 – 50,000 sec (exhaust velocities of 30 – 500 km/sec) •Efficiency improves with power

PowerPoint Presentation: 

• No electrodes or other materials in direct contact with the plasma. • Therefore, potential for very high power density, high reliability, long life. • Multiple propellants: Helium, Hydrogen, Deuterium, Nitrogen, Argon, Xenon, others… • Variable thrust/specific impulse

Applications: 

Applications not suitable to launch payloads from the surface of the Earth due to its low thrust to weight ratio drag compensation for space stations. lunar cargo transport. in-space refueling. in space resource recovery. ultra high speed transportation for deep space missions.

Nuclear Propulsion Systems: 

Nuclear Propulsion Systems • > 9 order of magnitude higher energy density than chemical • High energy density leads to very high specific impulse • Involves very small quantities of mass ⇒ low thrust (needs working fluid) • Enables manned solar system exploration

NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application): 

NERVA (Nuclear Engine for Rocket Vehicle Application) American rocket program, started in 1963, to develop a thermal nuclear propulsion system to take the graphite-based nuclear reactor built at Los Alamos Scientific Laboratory (LASL) and create a functioning rocket engine program cancelled in 1973, for a variety of reasons including environmental concerns, loss of public and political interest Program stopped after 2.4 billion US$ funding

PowerPoint Presentation: 

The NERVA program started out with the following objectives : -multi-mission capability -minimum 75,000 lb thrust -endurance of 600 minutes and up to 60 cycles -capable of 85,000 lb and 500 psi transients -incorporating adequate shielding for manned operations -storable for 5 years on the ground, 6 months on pad, and 3 years in space -transportable by land, sea, and air

PowerPoint Presentation: 

During its lifetime the NERVA program accomplished the following records : highest power: 4500 megawatts thermal power 5,500°F exhaust temperature 250,000 pounds thrust 850 sec. of specific impulse 90 min. of burn time thrust to weight ratios of 3 to 4

Nuclear thermal rocket: 

Nuclear thermal rocket

Nuclear pulse propulsion: 

Nuclear pulse propulsion

Radioisotope Nuclear Rocket: 

Radioisotope Nuclear Rocket

Launch Assist Technologies: 

Launch Assist Technologies “reach low Earth orbit and you are half way to everywhere” reaching Low Earth Orbit (LEO) is the key Present-day launch costs are very high — $10,000 to $25,000 per kilogram from Earth to LEO • Launching from an aircraft with initial velocity • Providing initial boost with chemical/electromagnetic catapult • Launching outside of the atmosphere on top of an ultra-high tower All technologies have up-scaling problems !

Aircraft Assist: 

Aircraft Assist

Pegasus: 

Pegasus Pegasus rockets are the winged space booster vehicles used in an expendable launch system The Pegasus is carried aloft below a carrier aircraft and launched at approximately 40,000 ft (12,000 m) It is capable of placing small payloads into low-Earth orbits

PowerPoint Presentation: 

Problem : high-cost and more difficult than launching directly upward

Space gun: 

Space gun launching an object into outer space using a large gun , or cannon a space gun has never been successfully used to launch an object into orbit Problems : - Large accelerations -Atmospheric drag -Getting to orbit

Practical attempts- HARP Gun: 

Practical attempts - HARP Gun

Rail Gun: 

Rail Gun A rail gun is a purely electrical gun that accelerates a conductive projectile along a pair of metal rails use two sliding or rolling contacts that permit a large electric current to pass through the projectile one million amperes of current will create a tremendous force on the projectile The inductance and resistance of the rails and power supply limit the efficiency of a railgun design

Magnetic Levitation: 

Magnetic Levitation

Propellantless Propulsion: 

Propellantless Propulsion

Space Elevator: 

Space Elevator travelling along a fixed structure instead of using rocket powered space launch structure that reaches from the surface of the Earth to geostationary orbit (GSO) Construction would be a vast project material that could endure tremendous stress while also being light-weight, cost- effective, and manufacturable in great Quantities -> Current technology not capable ->Possible usage of carbon nanotube-based materials

Beam-powered propulsion – Laser Propulsion: 

Beam-powered propulsion – Laser Propulsion use energy beamed to the spacecraft from a remote power plant Conceptual Layout-Photon rocket - Directly converts electric energy into kinetic energy via the use of a laser • Laser can heat air and create thrust • Estimated at 1 MW / kg • US Air Force is experimenting with small prototype (Lightcraft)

Solar Sail: 

Solar Sail EADS Astrium's Eurostar E3000 geostationary communications satellites use solar sail panels attached to their solar cell arrays to off-load transverse angular momentum

Magnetic Sail: 

Magnetic Sail

Current Status on PROPULSION SYSTEMS : 

Current Status on PROPULSION SYSTEMS

Indian Scenario: 

Indian Scenario

AVATAR (Aerobic Vehicle for hypersonic Aerospace TrAnspoRtation: 

AVATAR ( A erobic V ehicle for hypersonic A erospace T r A nspo R tation single-stage reusable rocketplanes – RLV a payload weighing up to 1000 kg to low earth orbit would be the cheapest way to deliver material to space at about USD 67/kg initial development budget of $5 million Team of ISRO, DRDO, 23 academic institutions

GSLV-Mk3: 

GSLV-Mk3 successor to the GSLV will use an Indian-developed cryogenic engine India will redesign Russian space capsule Soyuz to send its astronauts on the country's maiden manned space mission It will be launched atop the GSLV-Mk3

Thank You for your attention !: 

Thank You for your attention !

Extra: 

Extra

Classification & combinations of Propulsion Systems: 

Classification & combinations of Propulsion Systems

PowerPoint Presentation: 

Isp of Chemical Propulsion = 450 sec

Electric Propulsion in US and USSR: 

Electric Propulsion in US and USSR