Questions tagged [propulsion]
Systems for propelling a spacecraft from one place to another, such as rockets.
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How do I learn more about rocketry?
I've always been inclined to rocketry from a young age. I've done several projects on it and a lot of research. Now, with the help of a friend, I've also found this place of smart beings. I'm just ...
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What are the largest and smallest ion thruster proper used in 21st century spaceflight in our solar system?
We know that ion propulsion was in use elsewhere in the galaxy in the 23rd century (humor) but it started development here on Earth in the 20th.
When did ion propulsion first see some serious ...
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Where does the energy in ion propulsion come from?
Sorry if this is a stupid question, I'm currently trying to learn about electric and ion propulsion.
I understand that for chemical propulsion, the energy released from the chemical bonds during the ...
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How does a closed-cycle rocket engine keep the chamber pressure from stalling the pump turbine?
I was thinking about how a closed-cycle rocket engine works, and I have a question about how the turbine can keep running.
As I understand it, once the engine is up and running, the pressure in the ...
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CEA - What does the shock mode do?
I want to calculate properties (mainly viscosity and thermal conductivity) of a gas mixture after a normal shock.
I know that the NASAs CEA code has a shock mode but can't really find a good ...
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Were top-ranked launch propulsion technologies, TBCC and RBCC, already flight-proven in 2012 when the NASA Space Technology report was published?
The publication, "NASA Space Technology Roadmaps and Priorities: Restoring NASA's Technological Edge and Paving the Way for a New Era in Space (2012)" states that NASA's top technical ...
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How are combustion chamber baffles cooled?
Are they cooled the same way as the chamber walls, or do they somehow not require cooling?
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Is it necessary to use vacuum insulated pipe for filling LOX in the rocket tanks
Is there really need of vacuum insulated pipes on launching pad for LOX? What insulation and pipe dia are used from LOX storage to the launch tank at what flow rate and pressure, please?..
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Does the throttling profile data for any STS missions exist?
I am working on a personal project that would need the first 100 seconds of data, but I am not sure where I can find this?
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Is there any sensor inside a LOX tank of a rocket for LOX level sensing?
Can anyone advise is there any sensor used for sensing the LOX level and temperatures during filling of the tank?
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What purity of LOX is required for use in rocket engines?
Can any one suggest, is it necessary to check purity of LOX before it is used in an engine? What are the impurities which can affect its performance? What types of tests can we perform to check its ...
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Rocket Nozzle Shape and Length
How is the efficiency of a particular nozzle shape with a given length calculated?
To clarify what I'm not asking for: I understand the idea behind the de Laval nozzle, where you constrict the flow ...
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What's the theoretical dV of the SNAP-10A satellite?
SNAP-10A, launched in 1965, was the first nuclear reactor tested in orbit. It was intended to produce 500 watts of electricity for a year, but it only lasted 43 days; a voltage regulator in the ...
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Technical Question on Ignition Back Pressure
I am looking for understanding the backpressure or pressure stabilization of the injector inlet of the engines, during ignition (T-0). Are there books or papers that you suggest to check for ...
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What's the highest ISP that a chemical rocket could achieve without using propellants maintained at cryogenic temperatures?
This is related to my earlier question about capturing an asteroid. If you wanted to place an interceptor rocket in space and the purpose of that rocket is to wait for a long time, and then launch to ...
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Purging and Relighting Kero-LOX engine [closed]
Note: The question is just to gather knowledge on purging. it is in no way intended towards an actual test without safety considerations.
Going for back to back Static Test Fires, would it help to ...
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What is the maximum number of times a liquid rocket engine has detonated/ exploded during development?
My question comes from a lot of research and curiosity. Do they stop the development process at 10-20 detonations/ explosions? Or do they keep continuining solving one problem after the other. Modern ...
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Would that asteroid transport be possible?
I did the mistake of watching an episode of the Science Fiction series "For All Mankind". There they are trying to catch an asteroid in order to bring it back to Mars. I know this series is ...
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Optimal Propulsion Strategy for a Mars Mission
I am designing a mission to Mars for a class project aimed at studying Mars' space weather. The mission is constrained to use a single Vega-C launch.
I need to determine whether using a propulsion ...
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Thrust Impulse graph for specific engine type
I've seen many graphs for nuclear, chemical and airbreathing engine.
However I have not seen a good depiction of electric engines such as xenon ion engines, argon thrusters, lithium, etc.
This ...
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Can infrastructure for generating a protective artificial magnetic field around a planet also be used to propel nearby spacecraft?
This is an attempt at "...maybe you scientists whizzes can visualize what I'm talking about and explain it better." from this closed question.
If a well-established colony on the Moon or ...
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Are there any upcoming space exploration missions that will utilize solar electric propulsion systems?
Solar electric propulsion systems had been successfully used in several space exploration missions and were well-suited for deep space missions where long-duration operation and high specific impulse ...
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In a gridded-ion thruster, why are the ions accelerated away from the thruster and do not just stay close to the negatively charged grid?
Basically, if the ions are accelerated due to their attraction to a negatively charged gird at the back end of the thruster, why don't the ions just stay by the grid? How are they ejected out of the ...
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Is there any satellite that uses LOX as oxidizer?
With Liquid Oxygen being used as an Oxidizer in Starship and some other rocket engines, I was curious if LOX was also used for propelling satellites as well.
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Propellant consumption of Starship trip from NRHO to Mars
People, I am trying to estimate the amount of propellant (liquid oxygen+ liquid methane) required by Starship to reach Mars from NRHO (Near-rectilinear halo orbit).
Also the propellant consumption ...
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Would (Dual Concentric inline Powerhead) FFSC Cycle engine be possible to engineer
I,ve been wondering if it was possible engineer and how we would we work it out DUAL preburner inline FFSCC ENGINE with concentric core and individual concentric turbine inside one another and maybe ...
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RS-25 Component weight
I need to determine the weight for specific components of the RS-25 Rocket engine. Namely the combustion chamber and nozzle separate from all other engine components?
I must have found hundreds of ...
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Fueling the RS-25 Turbo pumps?
Is there any way to know the weight of Fuel / Oxidizer consumed by just the turbo pumps of the RS-25 rocket engine?
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How is the Quantum Drive performing on board the BARRY-1 cubesat?
Since 2001 there has been chatter about reactionless “quantum drives” such as the EmDrive developed by Satellite Propulsion Research Ltd. These drives supposedly produce thrust without consuming ...
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Propulsion options for orbital transfers after release from space elevator
In a recent discussion of cost estimates of hypothetical space elevators it was mentioned that a space elevator is (obviously) well suited to bring payloads to a geosynchronous orbit while reaching ...
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Is it ever normal to vent LOX from spacecraft with active engines? Isn't it a fire hazard?
This is regarding:
"SpaceX Chief Executive Elon Musk says a propellant dump caused the destruction of the Starship upper stage"
"Musk said the failure was linked to venting liquid ...
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Question on improved SSME thrust chamber construction
How do you get the closed out copper liner of the thrust chamber, which is hour glass shaped, into a jacket that is also the exact same shape like shown? I'm gonna guess it was done by diffusion ...
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Why does the Vulcan-Centaur upper stage do ullage burns after engine shutdown?
During the livestream of the recent Vulcan-Centaur launch, the animation of the upper stage shows what appear to be extensive ullage burns (at least four minutes, at least three minutes, and at least ...
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Would tidal forces be strong enough to stabilize a configuration where one satellite is being used to tow another satellite?
The scenario that I'm contemplating is one in which there is a first "depleted satellite" that has run out of propellant and a second "rescue satellite" that is designed to rescue ...
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Why is the value of the Isp of the Rocketdyne J-2 Saturn V engine in my calculation so off?
While calculating the delta V the Saturn V has on its second stage, I wanted to also calculate the Isp of the J2 rockets engines. However, the value difference between my results and the values given ...
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What kind of propulsion did/does the Raytheon EKV vehicle use?
Raytheon has developed an Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle, designed to intercept an ICBM and destroy it through a collision. Here are some related links:
Wikipedia page
YouTube video about the project, ...
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Methane vs propane as rocket fuel [duplicate]
How would propane compare with methane as rocket fuel?
Propane can also be stored as liquid under pressure.
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Combustion stability for the second stage of Sea Dragon
I was listening to a video about SHLV's (Super Heavy Launch Vehicles), and Sea Dragon's first stage engine was mentioned.
In terms of combustions stability, the suggested fix would be large combustion ...
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How often does a CubeSat leverage its ADCS?
I'm wondering how often an Earth observation-focused CubeSat (6U - 27U) would leverage its onboard Attitude Determination and Control System (ADCS).
Would it be employing its ADCS to optimize every ...
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Has a rocket engine with LOX as the oxidizer ever fired beyond the GEO belt?
Intuitive Machines' Nova-C lunar lander is scheduled to launch in mid-February of this year. Notably, the lander uses liquid methane as fuel and liquid oxygen as the oxidizer, and it will rely on this ...
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Deep space mission propellant
For an interplanetary mission that has a duration of 40 years cam we use hydrogen peroxide monopropellants? Can we use arcjets?
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Propellant choices for a Mars landing; tradeoffs between LOX/CH4 and H2O2/RP-1?
What are the tradeoffs between LOX/methane and peroxide/kerosene for a Mars landing mission?
In which ways are each better or worse than the other?
I think the second one would more attractive for ...
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How to estimate the fuel required to send 1 kg to lower mars orbit?
Imagine a rocket with a payload of 1 kg. How much liquid fuel would be required to send that 1 kg payload to lower mars orbit. (1 kg is just the payload not the whole dry mass of the rocket) I want ...
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How is stage 2 propelling the spacecraft forward? [closed]
A decent response on how the burning process works but how does this glowy burner push the spacecraft
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Why wasn't SpaceX heavy rocket tested thoroughly on ground before being sent to space?
I do not know how much testing SpaceX did before launching their heavy rocket but it to blow up 3 mins later and call is a success seems a bit misleading. I understand they gathered data but to what ...
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Closed Loop Space propulsion
While browsing for Space propulsion found this book :
https://www.knygos.lt/lt/knygos/closed-loop-space-propulsion-new-faster-approach-2e4zy/
Closed Loop Space Propulsion New Faster Approach : The ...
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Is Electromagnetic Propulsion Like Radiation Pressure propulsion?
while browsing for new propulsion methods I found the following interesting:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radiation_pressure
"Radiation pressure (also known as light pressure) is the mechanical ...
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Do full flow rocket engines still use injectors? If so, how? How exactly are the oxidizer and fuel sent into the combustion chamber?
I'm learning about rocket engines and full flow engines, and I'm a little confused about what goes on in the combustion chamber. It was my understanding that injectors were pretty much necessary to ...
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Propellantless propulsion in gravity field
I have a proposal for a following propellantless maneuver. It is propellantless in sense that no mass is lost from spacecraft.
It is not reactionless as spacecraft interacts with planet through ...
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What space applications could benefit from batteries with much higher power densities than the common Li-ion type?
This Australian company claims the development of the Graphene Aluminium-Ion Battery that is up to 70 times faster in charging and has up to 3 times more battery life than current Lithium-Ion ...
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