Non-toxic liquid propellant selection method a requirement-oriented approach
conference paper
Commercial pressure on users and suppliers of space systems is forcing industry to reduce operational time and costs on ground and to increase reliability of operations in orbit. One opportunity has been identified in the use of non-toxic alternatives to established state-of the art propellants for spacecraft and orbital vehicles. Due to the considerable variety of propellant candidates existing or being developed around the globe the need for a systematic selection method and for selection criteria is identified and is presented in this paper. This method permits down selection of the most promising propellants for the benefit of users and propulsion system developers alike. It is shown in two sample cases that the selection method applied to each mission objective and to the resulting technical requirements leads to a quantified ranking among the potential candidates. Each mission may entail its own specific propellant. Also, the time scale for reaching operative readiness of a non-toxic propulsion system and possible multiple use in the same spacecraft strongly influences the propellant choice. Although an ideal non-toxic propellant for a generic use on spacecraft and orbital propulsion is not identified, for each individual mission and program time frame the suitable propellant can be chosen by the methods proposed in this paper.
Topics
TNO Identifier
183974
Source title
41st AIAA/ASME/SAE/ASEE Joint Propulsion Conference and Exhibit, Tucson, Arizona, USA, 10-13 July 2005
Collation
11
Files
To receive the publication files, please send an e-mail request to TNO Repository.