Roll No.

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Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham
Amrita School of Engineering, Coimbatore
B.Tech. First Assessment Examinations – July 2019
Seventh Semester
Aerospace Engineering
15AES430 Rocket and Spacecraft Propulsion
Time: Two hours Maximum: 50 Marks
CO Course Outcomes

CO01 Recall the operating principle of the rocket and spacecraft propulsion systems

CO02 Develop the expressions for the performance parameters such as thrust, specific
impulse, thrust coefficient, characteristic velocity, etc.,

CO03 Interpret the influence of atmospheric conditions on the performance parameters of

the rocket and spacecraft propulsion systems.

CO04 Distinguish solid rocket motor, liquid propellant rocket, and hybrid rocket motor in
terms of general characteristics, propellant properties with its relative advantages and
disadvantages.

CO05 Demonstrate the working principle with relative advantages and disadvantages of
advanced propulsion systems such as electric propulsion and nuclear propulsion
Answer all questions

Is it possible for the velocity of a rocket to be greater than the exhaust velocity of
1 [3] [CO01]
the gases it ejects? How is the rocket still able to obtain thrust by ejecting the
gases?
2 In a liquid propellant rocket, high temperature and high pressure gases at 3000 K [5] [CO03]
and 10 MPa are generated in the combustion chamber and expanded in a nozzle
to given thrust. The characteristic velocity of the propellant (C*) is 2000 m/s and
the thrust coefficient (CF) is 1.5
(a) What is the specific impulse of the rocket?
(b) What must be the throat diameter of the nozzle to give a thrust of 5 kN?
3 (i). A rocket takes off from Earth and reaches a speed of 100 m/s in 10.0 s. If the [15] [CO03]
exhaust speed is 1500 m/s and the mass of fuel burned is 100 kg, what was the
initial mass of the rocket?
(ii). Repeat the previous problem but for a rocket that takes off from a space
station, where there is no gravity other than the negligible gravity due to the
space station.

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 (iii). Calculate the mass ratio needed to escape Earth’s gravity starting from rest,
given that the escape velocity from Earth is about 11.2 x 103 m/s, and assuming
an exhaust velocity 2.1 x 103 m/s.
4 What are the importances of Characteristic Velocity & Characteristic Mach No.? [4] [CO02]

5 Obtain the expression for Thrust Coefficient from the basic principle. [10] [CO02]

6 Define Specific Impulse. What is the importance in using it as a performance [3] [CO02]
parameter for the rockets?
7 Summarize the detailed case study about GSLV MKII launcher along with the [5] [CO01]
propellants used in different stages of rockets and their specific impulse.
8 Classify the rockets used for various space and defense applications in detail. [5] [CO01]

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