Evaluating New Liquid Storable Bipropellants: Safety and Performance Assessments

Conventional storable bipropellants make use of hydrazine and its derivatives as fuels and nitrogen tetroxide as an oxidizer. In recent years, the toxicity character of these chemicals pushed the propulsion community towards “green” alternatives. Several candidates have been proposed among existing and newly developed chemicals, highlighting the need for a common and robust selection methodology. This paper aims at reviewing the most important selection criteria in the field of toxicity and discusses how to objectively define a green propellant, considering both the health and environmental hazards caused by the chemicals. Additionally, consistent figures of merit in the field of safety and handling operations and performance are proposed. In particular, operating temperatures, flammability and stability issues are discussed in the framework of physical hazards and storage requirements, while vacuum impulses, adiabatic flame temperature and sooting occurrence of the investigated couples are compared to the UDMH/NTO benchmark case. Hydrogen peroxide and nitrous oxide, and light hydrocarbons, alcohols and kerosene are selected from the open literature as promising green oxidizers and fuels, respectively. The identified methodology highlights merits and limitations of each chemical, as well as the fact that the identification of a universally best suited green couple is quite impractical. On the contrary, the characteristics of each propellant lead to a scenario of several “sub-optimal” couples, each of them opportunely fitting into a specific mission class

Preliminary design considerations for a commercial launch vehicle upper stage.

Masters Degree. University of KwaZulu- Natal, Durban.The African small satellite industry (micro and nano satellites in particular) continues to grow with developments in the miniaturization of satellite technology. However, the costs and delays involved with the traditional “piggy backing” satellite launch method is unsustainable for small sat developers and has thus created a niche market for dedicated small satellite launch services. Notably, there is no satellite launch capability whatsoever in Africa, meaning all of the continent’s launch requirements are serviced by foreign providers, incurring additional cost. As its primary objective, the University of KwaZulu-Natal’s (UKZN’s) Aerospace Systems Research Group (ASReG) seeks to enable the establishment of an indigenous small satellite launch capability in alignment with the South African Government’s goals. To this end, ASReG is currently developing the LOX/Kerosene SAFFIRE (South African First Integrated Rocket Engine) to propel a hypothetical two-stage orbital launch vehicle, termed Commercial Launch Vehicle 1 (CLV). The upper stage of the launch vehicle will use a vacuum-expanded variant of SAFFIRE called SAFFIRE-V. The upper stage for both cases must meet the design constraints of a 0.85 mass fraction and a 1.2 m outer diameter. CLV has been envisaged to deliver a 75kg payload to 400 km sun synchronous orbit. This thesis presents a high level analysis focusing on the upper stage of CLV, which intends to guide design decisions by comparing design options based on mass, and develop a methodology for upper stage vehicle design. One of the major design decisions is the type of propellant feed system the vehicle should use; in this regard, the analysis compares an electric pump feed system to a pressure fed system. Another is the selection of propellant tank material, given that the propellant tanks constitute most of the mass of a rocket. Stainless steel (301 and Duplex), aluminium alloy (7075), aluminium-lithium (2195), carbon fibre reinforced plastic (T700/Epoxy), as well as combinations of materials were compared. To perform the preliminary mass analysis, each of the major components/systems of the CLV upper stage were independently designed and the various design options available for each of the components/systems were compared based on mass. These systems and components include: fuel and oxidiser propellant tanks, the propellant pressurization system and the reaction control system. After the individual analyses of the variations of each component, the best suited architectures were modelled in SolidWorks CAD software. The components were then assembled, in CAD. The analysis found that, on a preliminary basis, the Lithium ion (Li-Ion) based electric pump fed upper stages did not meet the mass requirements while Lithium polymer (Li-Po) based upper stages achieved the mass requirements. An upper stage employing stainless steel propellant tanks was found to meet the mass requirements, but only for a pressure fed upper stage. Overall, pressure fed upper stages had lower masses compared to electric pump vehicles. The mass reduction of thin walled, low pressurized, propellant tanks (resulting from using electric pumps) was offset by the mass of the battery packs required to power the pumps

Remembering the Giants: Apollo Rocket Propulsion Development

Topics discussed include: Rocketdyne - F-1 Saturn V First Stage Engine; Rocketdyne - J-2 Saturn V 2nd & 3rd Stage Engine; Rocketdyne - SE-7 & SE-8 Engines; Aerojet - AJ10-137 Apollo Service Module Engine; Aerojet - Attitude Control Engines; TRW - Lunar Descent Engine; and Rocketdyne - Lunar Ascent Engine

Research and Technology, 1998

This report selectively summarizes the NASA Lewis Research Center's research and technology accomplishments for the fiscal year 1998. It comprises 134 short articles submitted by the staff scientists and engineers. The report is organized into five major sections: Aeronautics, Research and Technology, Space, Engineering and Technical Services, and Commercial Technology. A table of contents and an author index have been developed to assist readers in finding articles of special interest. This report is not intended to he a comprehensive summary of all the research and technology work done over the past fiscal year. Most of the work is reported in Lewis-published technical reports, journal articles, and presentations prepared by Lewis staff and contractors. In addition, university grants have enabled faculty members and graduate students to engage in sponsored research that is reported at technical meetings or in journal articles. For each article in this report, a Lewis contact person has been identified, and where possible, reference documents are listed so that additional information can be easily obtained. The diversity of topics attests to the breadth of research and technology being pursued and to the skill mix of the staff that makes it possible. At the time of publication, NASA Lewis was undergoing a name change to the NASA John H. Glenn Research Center at Lewis Field

Bibliography of Lewis Research Center technical publications announced in 1989

This compilation of abstracts describes and indexes the technical reporting that resulted from the scientific and engineering work performed and managed by the Lewis Research Center in 1989. All the publications were announced in the 1989 issues of STAR (Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports) and/or IAA (International Aerospace Abstracts). Included are research reports, journal articles, conference presentations, patents and patent applications, and theses

Bibliography of Lewis Research Center Technical Publications announced in 1991

This compilation of abstracts describes and indexes the technical reporting that resulted from the scientific engineering work performed and managed by the Lewis Research Center in 1991. All the publications were announced in the 1991 issues of STAR (Scientific and Technical Aerospace Reports) and/or IAA (International Aerospace Abstracts). Included are research reports, journal articles, conference presentations, patents and patent applications, and theses

Wings in Orbit: Scientific and Engineering Legacies of the Space Shuttle, 1971-2010

The Space Shuttle is an engineering marvel perhaps only exceeded by the station itself. The shuttle was based on the technology of the 1960s and early 1970s. It had to overcome significant challenges to make it reusable. Perhaps the greatest challenges were the main engines and the Thermal Protection System. The program has seen terrible tragedy in its 3 decades of operation, yet it has also seen marvelous success. One of the most notable successes is the Hubble Space Telescope, a program that would have been a failure without the shuttle's capability to rendezvous, capture, repair, as well as upgrade. Now Hubble is a shining example of success admired by people around the world. As the program comes to a close, it is important to capture the legacy of the shuttle for future generations. That is what "Wings In Orbit" does for space fans, students, engineers, and scientists. This book, written by the men and women who made the program possible, will serve as an excellent reference for building future space vehicles. We are proud to have played a small part in making it happen. Our journey to document the scientific and engineering accomplishments of this magnificent winged vehicle began with an audacious proposal: to capture the passion of those who devoted their energies to its success while answering the question "What are the most significant accomplishments?" of the longestoperating human spaceflight program in our nation s history. This is intended to be an honest, accurate, and easily understandable account of the research and innovation accomplished during the era

Energy: A continuing bibliography with indexes, issue 15

This bibliography lists 1112 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system from July 1, 1977 through September 30, 1977

Energy: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 16, January 1978

This bibliography lists 1287 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system from October 1, 1977 through December 31, 1977

FAA Center of Excellence for Alternative Jet Fuels & Environment: Annual Technical Report 2021: For the Period October 1, 2020 - September 30, 2021: Volume 2

FAA Award Number 13-C.This report covers the period October 1, 2020, through September 30, 2021. The Center was established by the authority of FAA solicitation 13-C-AJFE-Solicitation. During that time the ASCENT team launched a new website, which can be viewed at ascent.aero. The next meeting will be held April 5-7, 2022, in Alexandria, VA