Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology

9. Developments in Rocket Technology

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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 10. Developments in Rocket Technology

MME 4011: JET PROPULSION AND ROCKET TECHNOLOGY

 Jet Propulsion, Thrust equation, Efficiencies: Ram efficiency, thermal efficiency, propulsive efficiency,
propeller efficiency.
 Propulsive Devices: turbo jet, turbo prop engine, turbo shaft engine, Ram jet, pulse jet.
 Rocket Propulsion, Principle of rocket propulsion, thrust equation, Criteria for Rocket-Motor Performance-
specific impulse, total impulse.
 Chemical Rockets: Solid propellant rocket, types of solid propellant, burning rate, solid propellant grain
configurations.
 Liquid propellant rockets, Feed systems and injectors.
 Gaseous propellant rockets
 Developments in Rocket Technology: nuclear propulsion systems, Electrical propulsion and Hybrid rockets.

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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 10. Developments in Rocket Technology

Developments in Rocket Technology

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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 9. Developments in Rocket Technology

Developments in Rocket Technology

1. Electric Propulsion Rocket

–Ion Plasma Drives – Electrostatics, Electrothermal, Electromagnetic

–Non Ion Drives

2.Nuclear Rocket

3.Solar Thermal Rocket

4.Laser Rocket

5.Antimatter Rocket Soyuz rocket

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_v7YgDum2Sg

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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 9. Developments in Rocket Technology

Nuclear Thermal Rocket

 The heat from a nuclear reaction replaces the chemical
energy of the propellants in a chemical rocket
 A working fluid (liquid hydrogen) is heated to a high temperature in a
nuclear reactor and then expands through a rocket nozzle to create thrust
 A nuclear thermal rocket can be categorized by the type of reactor that is Solid
core, liquid core and gas core
 Although more than ten reactors of varying power output have been built
and tested, as of 2021, no nuclear thermal rocket has flown.
 An atmospheric or orbital rocket failure could result in the dispersal of
radioactive material into the environment
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=miy2mbs2zAQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xawFKfqiI4g&t=100s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zm7PNlK5Aco
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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 9. Developments in Rocket Technology

Nuclear Thermal Rocket

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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 9. Developments in Rocket Technology

Nuclear Thermal Rocket

Solid Core nuclear reactors are fueled by compounds of solid phase
uranium which undergo nuclear fission to release energy

Liquid Core nuclear engines are fueled by compounds of fissionable

elements in liquid phase

Gas Core design contains a pocket of gaseous uranium fuel in the

middle of the reactor, surrounded by hydrogen

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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 9. Developments in Rocket Technology

Nuclear Thermal Rocket

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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 9. Developments in Rocket Technology
Solar Thermal Rocket
It is a theoretical spacecraft propulsion system which uses solar
power to directly heat reaction mass
Therefore it would not require an electrical generator like most other
forms of solar-powered propulsion
The rocket would only have to carry the means of capturing solar
energy, such as concentrators and mirrors
The heated propellant would be fed through a conventional rocket
nozzle to produce thrust
Most proposed designs for solar thermal rockets use hydrogen as
their propellant due to its low molecular weight
Its engine thrust is directly related to the surface area of the solar
collector and to the local intensity of the solar radiation 9
Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 9. Developments in Rocket Technology

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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 9. Developments in Rocket Technology

Laser Rocket
• It is a form of beam-powered propulsion where the energy
source is a remote(usually ground-based) laser system and
separate from the reaction mass.
• It differs from a conventional chemical rocket where both
energy and reaction mass come from the solid or liquid
propellants carried on board the vehicle
• Laser Thermal Rocket uses the external laser beam
to heat propellant and converting it into hot gas which is
exhausted through a conventional nozzle

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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 9. Developments in Rocket Technology

Laser Rocket

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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 9. Developments in Rocket Technology
Laser Rocket - Laser launch architecture with modular ground based laser arrays

 Ground-to-orbit launch uses a ground-

based laser to directly heat an inert
propellant which is exhausted to provide
thrust to a small rocket vehicle
 The launcher can have more modules than
are needed for operation to eliminate the
system down time due to module failures

GEO = Geosynchronous Equatorial Orbit, LEO = Low Earth Orbit

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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 9. Developments in Rocket Technology
Antimatter Rocket

 Antimatter is defined as matter which is composed of the antiparticles of the

corresponding particles of ordinary matter
 A particle and its anti-particle have the same mass but opposite electric
charge (a proton has positive charge while an antiproton has negative
charge)
 A collision between any particle and its anti-particle leads to their mutual
annihilation, giving rise to various proportions of intense photons (gamma
rays), neutrinos and sometimes less-massive particle–antiparticle pairs
 The majority of the total energy of annihilation (10 billion times the energy
that of chemical energy) emerges in the form of ionizing radiation
 If surrounding matter is present, the energy content of this radiation will be
absorbed and converted into other forms of energy, such as heat or light

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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 9. Developments in Rocket Technology

Antimatter Rocket
Antimatter Rocket is a proposed class of rockets that use antimatter
as their power source
A large fraction of the rest mass of a matter/antimatter mixture may
be converted to energy
It allows antimatter rockets to have a far higher energy density and
specific impulse than any other rocket
Antiproton annihilation reactions produce charged and uncharged
pions (subatomic particle) in addition to neutrinos and gamma rays
These charged pions can be channeled by a magnetic nozzle,
producing thrust

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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 9. Developments in Rocket Technology
Antimatter Rocket
 Approximately 10 grams of antiprotons would be enough fuel to send a manned spacecraft to Mars in one month
 Today, it takes nearly a year for an unmanned spacecraft to reach Mars

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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 9. Developments in Rocket Technology

Antimatter Rocket
 The problem with developing antimatter propulsion is that there is a lack of antimatter existing
in the universe
 In 1955, researchers at the Berkeley Bevatron produced an antiproton
 Scientists at CERN created the first anti-atom, pairing together positrons and antiprotons

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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 9. Developments in Rocket Technology

Antimatter Rocket
 NASA is possibly only a few decades away from developing an antimatter spacecraft that require fraction of today’s
fuel cost

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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 9. Developments in Rocket Technology

Electric Propulsion Rocket

It uses electrical and magnetic fields, to change the velocity of a
spacecraft
Electric propulsion can achieve high speeds over long periods
and thus can work better than chemical rockets for some deep
space missions
It can be classified as:
Ion and Plasma Drives – It work by electrically expelling
propellant to generate thrust
Non Ion Drives – It expels photons and not the propellant for
thrust generation

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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 9 Developments in Rocket Technology

Electric Propulsion Rocket - Ion and Plasma Drives - Electrothermal

Resisto Jet Rocket

It provides thrust by heating a non-reactive, fluid
Heating is usually achieved by sending electricity through a
resistor consisting of a hot incandescent filament. The
expanded gas expelled through a conventional nozzle
It is usedfor orbit insertion, altitude control
and deorbit of LEO(Low Earth Orbit) satellites
It is used where propulsion efficiency needs to be
reasonably high but low thrust is acceptable
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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 9 Developments in Rocket Technology

Electric Propulsion Rocket - Ion and Plasma Drives - Electrothermal

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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 9. Developments in Rocket Technology

Electric Propulsion Rocket - Ion and Plasma Drives - Electrothermal

Microwave Thruster
It converts microwave energy into thermal or heat
energy
The propellant gas is first inputted tangentially through
the swirl flow injector which allows the plasma to form
This creates a heated propellant gas which is expanded
through the nozzle thereby creating thrust
It is used to adjust the spacecraft’s position and orbit

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Jet Propulsion and Rocket Technology 9. Developments in Rocket Technology

Electric Propulsion Rocket - Ion and Plasma Drives - Electrothermal

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