Questions tagged [propulsion]
Systems for propelling a spacecraft from one place to another, such as rockets.
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Could protons in the Sun's solar wind be used to create a photonic laser thruster for a spacecraft?
I have a conceptual idea for a photonic laser thruster for a spacecraft and I am wondering if this particular idea has already been thought of and whether or not it is capable of generating enough ...
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3answers
166 views
If specific impulse is directly related to exhaust velocity, would a ion post-accelerator improve the Isp of a propulsion system?
I understand that ion- and hall thrusters resemble a particle accelerator, and that led me to wonder if a post-accelerator (particle accelerator) used to boost the velocity of the ions would improve ...
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1answer
118 views
Could a spacecraft be propelled by a 180 degree deflection of two charged particle beams?
I am wondering if the electrostatic deflection of two charged particle beams could create enough thrust, via the Lorentz Force, to propel a spacecraft.
Please reference the picture below.
This ...
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0answers
69 views
Could a Soyuz-MS deorbit after a failure of its deorbit engine?
The scenario: A Soyuz-MS spacecraft is on-orbit and ready for its deorbit burn. The crew then discover that there is a fault in the propulsion system and the deorbit engine can't fire. The craft is ...
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1answer
79 views
Can I able to use RP 1 and LOX in metal tin small size rockets? Is that possible? [closed]
I love rockets. Planning to build a tin rocket but not with water and air pressure. I would like to build a small metal tin rocket using fuel as RP 1 and oxidizer as LOX. I know this is too hazardous ...
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2answers
62 views
Calculating thrust pressure from ion thruster for rocket thrust equation
So recently i have been very interested in the possibilities of using ion thrusters as power interstellar propulsion units, however when it comes to calculating ISP it have absolutely zero idea how ...
4
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2answers
101 views
What are some notable cold gas thruster propellants, and why?
Cold gas thrusters are a very simple and reliable form of thruster that operate only by spraying a compressed gas, without any chemical reaction.
What are the most common, performant, or otherwise ...
4
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1answer
106 views
How much delta-v is lost to heat of exhaust?
It occurred to me that all of the kinetic energy not going exactly in the opposite direction of a spacecraft is wasted! Since heat is essentially kinetic "noise" in objects, I wondered how much more ...
6
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1answer
160 views
Why did the MarCO space probes use fire extinguishant as their propellant?
In many news articles, it's mentioned that the MarCO spacecraft, launched with InSight, used fire extinguishant as the propellant for its cold gas thrusters. I originally assumed that this was ...
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2answers
85 views
Propellants used for different Mars landers [till 2018]
What propellants have been used by lander to land on Mars surface?
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1answer
145 views
How much thrust can plasma produced from water have?
If water could be converted to plasma for a propellant by electricity how much thrust would water produce? What would be the byproduct?
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23 views
Converting Discharge Voltage to Temperature? Hall Effect Thruster Calculation
Trying to follow a Hall Effect Thruster design process given in this video:
Hall Effect Thruster Design Video
In 25:59, there's a calculation in which the presenter takes discharge voltage and ...
2
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1answer
82 views
What could be the proprietary propellant blend that “Apollo Fusion” claims to have developed for it's hall effect thrusters?
According to the info posted on the Apollo fusion website http://apollofusion.com/ , they claim to use a propellant blend that offers " 2-3 X more impulse per mass and volume" in comparison towards ...
4
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1answer
65 views
What's the actual oxidizer/fuel ratio in the combustion chamber of the Vulcain?
I'm working on a simple exercise on the Vulcain, but I'm having a hard time figuring out what the real O/F ratio is, in the combustion chamber. I need the mixture ratio in the chamber to calculate the ...
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2answers
1k views
How do you confirm ignition in the combustion chamber of a rocket?
Is ignition confirmed using a temperature sensor, pressure sensor or another device?
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0answers
67 views
Purging process of a rocket engine
Does spacex purge Falcon 9 engines after landing ? If so, which gas is used for purging?
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1answer
140 views
Insulation used in the plumbing line of the actual rockets
While using the pipes for plumbing of the liquid propellants at pretty low temperature because of which ice form on the line if not insulated or poorly insulated, which can lead to liquid to gas ...
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0answers
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Effect of the location of igniter in starting liquid rocket engine
What will be the effect of off axis igniter, say a Spark igniter has to be used along with a pintle? Will the igniter being off axis have any effect on engine start?
Also, will an off-center igniter ...
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0answers
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Why is SpaceShipTwo's nozzle scarfed? [duplicate]
As seen in this photo (from here) there appears to be a significant scarf to the nozzle.
I'm familiar with scarfing reaction control jet nozzles to fit fuselage contours, but this one is completely ...
5
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2answers
422 views
From the General Thrust Equation towards Tsiolkovsky, how to explain dropping these terms along the way?
The NASA Glen Research Center tutorial page Rocket Thrust Equation links to the General Thrust Equation page which starts with:
Which transcribes into MathJax as:
$ \ \ \ F = \dot{m}_\mathrm e ...
3
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1answer
162 views
What is the inner wall of the thrust chamber made of?
With advancements in additive manufacturing, the manufacture of regeneratively cooled thrust chambers is simpler nowadays.
Brooklyn based startup Launcher Space Inc. says most 3D printed engines use ...
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0answers
56 views
How to make a orbital launch tube work?
Normal rockets would not work in a pressurized tube, but could a stage be made for the diagonal launch tube to save fuel and weight? Can the bottom stage be nuclear powered?
Unlike the piston launch ...
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3answers
2k views
Will an array of multiple ion engines still be more efficient than a single chemical engine?
I was just thinking the other day and got this idea out of my head. I'm not an aerospace expert or anything even close to it, so please understand even if this turns out to be a really basic question:
...
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54 views
Is it feasible to take liquid Helium in a Pressure Fed System?
Can liquid Helium be flowed through a heat exhanger to increase its temperature and pressure which will further pressurize fuel-oxidizer tanks.
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4answers
299 views
What is the most energy efficient & inexpensive propulsion system other than chemical fuel oxidizer that could be used in rockets?
I have read ionic/plasma propulsion system don't provide enough thrust to even lift themselves in Earth's atmosphere & photonic beamed propulsion is not in application yet so there any other ...
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1answer
118 views
Are ion/plasma thrusters sufficient for propulsion from Earth? [closed]
I'm looking to make something like a jet pack and I'm looking for super cheap thrusters to carry humans than normal chemical oxidized ones that are used in spacecrafts. I read that ionic thrusters can'...
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1answer
160 views
How are the combustion chamber length and diameter decided
How are the combustion chamber length and diameter decided?
Are there any proper formulations or procedures?
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1answer
206 views
Density of propylene when used as rocket fuel, and advantages (if any) over RP-1?
Recently Vector space from USA has said that propylene is a better choice of fuel than RP-1. See Ars Technica's After a decade of testing, propylene rocket fuel may be ready for prime time
Why is ...
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0answers
51 views
Externaly delivered non-nuclear pulse propulsion?
This question asks about the feasibility of an Orion-like pulse propulsion system using chemical explosives instead of nuclear explosives as pulse unit. Unfortunately, those simply lack the energy ...
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1answer
271 views
Could electric fans lift a rocket strait up like a multi propeller drone? [closed]
Could electric fans like the ones below lift a rocket? What is the amount of electricity needed to lift a interplanetary rocket?
Could a nuclear power plant provide enough electricity?
https://en....
10
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1answer
159 views
When regenerative cooling is used, how is the nonuniform radius of the combustion chamber handled?
As the combustion chamber necks down and flares out, the 1-D cross section past which which fuel must pass as it cools the wall of the chamber will change. If there are lots of tubes, they will bunch ...
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0answers
70 views
How is supersonic rocket exhaust able to match sea-level pressures?
I understand that the diverging portion of a rocket nozzle speeds up the flow and also expands it, in order to best match ambient pressure outside. However, doesn't higher speed flow lower the ...
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2answers
247 views
Which propelling device would be the most efficient for a space elevator?
There are many types of propulsion from electric turbine engines to steam powered catapults once used on aircraft carriers. Which of the many types of propulsion would be the most efficient in getting ...
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17answers
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Why is using a space elevator cheaper than rocket power?
Why is rocket power so much less efficient? In both cases you want to lift a given weight a certain height. What does climbing a tether give you that you don't have when using rockets? Wouldn't a ...
7
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2answers
128 views
Is there an absolute limit to single stage ∆V when tank mass is a fixed faction of propellant mass?
Many space exploration fans are familiar with the rocket equation [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tsiolkovsky_rocket_equation] $$\Delta V = V_{e} \times ln\frac{M_0}{M_F}$$ where $V_e$ is the exhaust ...
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0answers
91 views
Could a laser ablation-based propulsion system really accelerate an object to 0.001 c?
Comments below this answer suggests that a laser ablation-based propulsion system, where the laser is separate from the object to be accelerated, could accelerate an object to about 1/1000 of the ...
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1answer
105 views
Hows does “Glenn Research Center's sapphire refractive secondary concentrator” work?
Clicking through NASA.spinoff.gov I came to the page for spinnoff 2001 Glenn Research Center and found this:
Glenn Research Center's sapphire refractive secondary concentrator will be used with ...
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0answers
104 views
Would a flat superconductor create surface area to increase its diamagnetic field uni or bilaterally to propel in space? [closed]
Instead of using a standard solar sail material could the sail be built of diamagnetic material and sail faster? Is there a way to make a thin flat sail that both uses the dimagnetic properties of a ...
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3answers
237 views
At what size does a bigger solar sail stop increasing your acceleration?
Is there a point where the larger solar sail would not add more thrust? What is the most thrust a solar sail can produce?
Can a solar sail be added to an ion engine and work better?
4
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1answer
180 views
Which of the orientation is preferred for static fire testing of a liquid rocket engine - vertical or horizontal?
Liquid rocket engine's hot fire testings are performed both vertically and horizontally.
Vertical orientation - Falcon heavy, Falcon 9, Rutherford engine, UCSD Engine test from 2014 , Merlin 1D, ...
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0answers
65 views
Is there a use case describing the need to perform xenon propellant offloading?
I can understand hydrazine offloading and the hazards associated, but I'm wondering if there is such a need for xenon offloading.
5
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1answer
237 views
Which is the preferred mode of liquid rocket engine cutoff - fuel lean cutoff or fuel rich cutoff?
When a bi-propellant liquid rocket engine receives a command to shut down,
will the fuel gets cut off first and then the oxidiser - a fuel lean cutoff?
Will the oxidiser gets cut off first and then ...
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0answers
73 views
Transportation on the Mars I Air
Due to the thin atmosphere generating lift on Mars is difficult at a lower speed, Flying is hard until aircraft go supersonic and then it becomes difficult to control(Ref.). The landing would not be ...
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0answers
77 views
Optimal Thruster Layout For Cubesat
I am working on a simulation of a Cubesat for rendezvous. Using the Clohessy-Wiltshire equations I calculate delta-v. Now that I know the thrust needed for operation, I would like to know how to ...
4
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1answer
316 views
Is this description of the “dipole drive” and how it would work physically correct?
Comments in chat have noted the recent post in the Centauri Dreams blog titled The Dipole Drive: A New Concept for Space Propulsion.
In contrast to the single positively charged screen employed by ...
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1answer
150 views
What kind of security while using solid propellent? [closed]
I'am going to to make a propulsion test with sugar and $\mathrm{KNO}_3$ (with large quantities).
What should I wear before to protect myself?
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1answer
176 views
Could a spacecraft be propelled by the deflection of a very high number of charged particles?
I am wondering if a spacecraft could be propelled through interplanetary space via the deflection and/or displacement of a very high number of charged particles contained within the Sun's solar wind.
...
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1answer
243 views
STS: How much thrust did the nominal post-MECO LOX dump produce?
Following up to some questions asked in comments to the answer to this question: With pressure-fed engines, is any measurable thrust generated by venting the pressurant out the engine bell after ...
0
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1answer
101 views
Could the interaction of the Sun’s solar wind and trapped plasma ions be used to propel a rocket through interplanetary space?
I have recently had a renewed interest in comets and how comet tails are formed. From studying this process, a thought occurred to me that perhaps plasma ions can be created within a long hollow ...
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72 views
thrusters, force torque, distribution matrix , orbit maneuver
I have a few questions about computing torques and forces.
I use the same configuration as in the thesis titled An Attitude Control Sysytem Design Based on the Turksat-1b Geostationary Satellite.
...
