The paper evaluates and compares the performance of earth-storable and space-storable liquid bipropellant propulsion systems in high-energy planetary mission applications, including specifically Saturn and Mercury orbiters, as well as asteroid and comet rendezvous missions. The discussion covers a brief review of the status of space-storable propulsion technology, along with an illustrative propulsion module design for a three-axis stabilized outer planet and cometary mission spacecraft of the Mariner class. The results take revised Shuttle/Upper Stage performance projections into account. It is shown that in some of the missions the performance improvement achievable in the ballistic transfer mode with space-storable spacecraft propulsion can provide a possible alternative to the use of solar-electric propulsion.
Performance comparison of earth and space storable bipropellant systems in interplanetary missions
Deutsche Gesellschaft fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt and Hermann-Oberth-Gesellschaft, Deutscher Luft- und Raumfahrtkongress
1978-09-01
Conference paper
No indication
English
Earth Storable Bipropellant Thrusters for Geostationary Spacecraft
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