* Technical Program Manager † Visiting Scholar ‡ Research Scientist § Associate Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana Copyright  2001 by Center for Simulation of Advanced Rockets. Published by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, Inc., with permission. Abstract We describe our numerical method for threedimensional simulations of s...

Recent experimentation has provided a more thorough understanding of the explosive response of class 1.3 composite propellant to severe impact. This study looked at an 88% total solids HTPB/Al/AP propellant similar to what could be used in space launch boosters. The program tested propellant charges as large as 22 inches in diameter. It includes hydrodynamic modeling for developing a basic unde...

A new planar structure of solid propellant micro -rocket for micro-spacecraft and Micro-Air-Vehicle applications is reported in this paper. We have successfully fabricated an array of micro-rockets using MEMS technology. For a lowpower consumption, the micro-igniter used here is a resistor deposited on a low tensile stress thin membrane to ensure a good heat transfer to the propellant. Experime...

The introduction of micro-spacecraft in the space industry has led to the development of various micro-propulsion techniques. Microthrusters are micropropulsion devices used in microspacecraft for precise station keeping, orbit adjustment, attitude control, drag compensation and apogee kicking. The principle of operation of a solid propellant thruster is based on the combustion of a solid energ...

The present study focuses simply on propellants which are environment friendly i.e. Green propellants. In Propulsion Systems, there are two ingredients burned together which are fuel & oxidizer and the resultant energy is used to propel the system. In composite solid rocket propellants, Ammonium perchlorate (AP) is being used extensively which has its own disadvantages i.e. HCl release during i...

The NASA Exploration Systems Architecture Study (ESAS) produced a transportation architecture for returning humans to the moon affordably and safely while using commercial services for tasks such as cargo delivery to low earth orbit (LEO). Another potential utilization of commercial services is the delivery of cryogenic propellants to LEO for use in lunar exploration activities. With in-space p...

The authors completed those propulsion system for microsatellite based on the SAFETY FIRST policy and EFFECTIVE COTS, by the beginning of 2008, which can work as both monoand bi-propellant propulsion system and attain wide-range impulse bit and total impulse by switching the monoand bi-propellant modes. We have been devoting ourselves to develop an upgraded version of the propulsion system sice...

EZ, E,^, EP Results are reported from preliminary tests to evaluate the high power microwave electrothermal thruster (MET) fr concept, which employs a free-floating plasma discharge maintained by applied continuous wave (CW) microwave Hz, H,^, HP power to heat a propellant gas flow. Stable plasmas were created and maintained in helium (He), nitrogen (N 2), and hydrogen (H2) as propellants in bo...

The ffx code was used to investigate the lifetime and propellant throughput capability of the High Power Electric Propulsion (HiPEP) thruster ion optics as part of NASA’s Project Prometheus. Erosion predictions are presented as a function of beamlet current, accel grid voltage, and propellant utilization efficiency. These predictions were then compared to the lifetime goals of the thruster, and...

A differential game guidance law for an endoatmospheric interceptor missile steered by aero fins and reaction jets is developed in this paper with bounded controls. For a low-altitude endoatmospheric interceptor, the propellant of the reaction-jet control system (RCS) is restricted by the missile configuration. Considering propellant limits, the effect of the RCS thrust on homing performance is...