Metallized propellants are liquid propellants with a metal additive suspended in a gelled fuel or oxidizer. Typically, aluminum (Al) particles are the metal additive. These propellants provide increase in the density and/or the specific impulse of the propulsion system. Using metallized propellant for volume-and mass-constrained upper stages can deliver modest increases in performance for low earth orbit to geosynchronous earth orbit (LEO-GEO) and other earth orbital transfer missions. Metallized propellants, however, can enable very fast planetary missions with a single-stage upper stage system. Trade studies comparing metallized propellant stage performance with non-metallized upper stages and the Inertial Upper Stage (IUS) are presented. These upper stages are both one- and two-stage vehicles that provide the added energy to send payloads to altitudes and onto trajectories that are unattainable with only the launch vehicle. The stage designs are controlled by the volume and the mass constraints of the Space Transportation System (STS) and Space Transportation System-Cargo (STS-C) launch vehicles. The influences of the density and specific impulse increases enabled by metallized propellants are examined for a variety of different stage and propellant combinations.
Advanced Launch Vehicle Upper Stages Using Liquid Propulsion and Metallized Propellants
1990
21 pages
Report
Keine Angabe
Englisch
Rocket Engines & Motors , Space Launch Vehicles & Support Equipment , Advanced launch system (Sts) , Gelled propellants , Inertial upper stage , Launch vehicles , Metal particles , Metal propellants , Propellant additives , Space missions , Spacecraft launching , Aluminum , Geosynchronous orbits , Oxidizers , Space transportation system , Specific impulse , Trajectories , Transfer orbits
ADVANCED LAUNCH VEHICLE UPPER STAGES USING LIQUID PROPULSION AND METALLIZED PROPELLANTS
British Library Conference Proceedings | 1990
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