NASA has begun to evaluate solid-liquid hybrid propulsion for launch vehicle booster. A three-phase program was outlined to identify, acquire, and demonstrate technology needed to approximate solid and liquid propulsion state of the art. Aerojet has completed a Phase 1 study and recommends a solid-liquid staged combustion concept in which turbopump fed LO2 is burned with fuel-rich solid propellant effluent in aft-mounted thrust chambers.These reasonably sized thrust chambers are LO2 regeneratively cooled, supplemented with fuel-rich barrier cooling. Turbopumps are driven by the resulting GO2 coolant in an expander-bleed-burnoff cycle. Turbine exhaust pressurizes the LO2 tankage directly, and the excess is bled into supersonic nozzle splitlines, where it combusts with the fuel rich boundary layer. Thrust vector control is enhanced by supersonic nozzle movement on flexseal mounts. Every hybrid solid-liquid concept examined improves booster energy management and launch propellant safety compared to current solid boosters. Solid-liquid staged combustion improves hybrid performance by improving both combustion efficiency and combustion stability, especially important for large boosters. These improvements result from careful fluid management and use of smaller combustors. The study shows NASA safety, reliability, cost, and performance criteria are best met with this concept, wherein simple hardware relies on several separate emerging technologies, all of which have been demonstrated successfully.
Solid-liquid staged combustion space boosters
1990-10-01
Conference paper
No indication
English
Solid-Liquid Staged Combustion Space Boosters
NTIS | 1990
|EVOLVING SOLID BOOSTERS FOR SPACE MISSIONS
NTRS | 1963
|Liquid rocket boosters for Space Shuttle
NTRS | 1989
|Liquid rocket boosters for Space Shuttle
AIAA | 1989
|Solid Propellant Boosters for Manned Space Flight
NTRS | 1962
|