 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
Aerojet Bipropellant Engine Sets New Performance Record
Sacramento CA (SPX) Dec 10, 2008 Aerojet has announced that its 150-lbf thrust high performance storable bipropellant engine demonstrated a specific impulse of 333.5 seconds at its Redmond, Wash. facility. The Advanced Materials Bipropellant Rocket (AMBR) engine was designed and tested under contract to NASA's In-Space Propulsion Technology Program (ISPT) with the goal of maximizing the performance of storable bipropellant engines. The ISPT Program, located at NASA Glenn Research Center, develops propulsion technologies to enable or benefit near and mid-term NASA space science missions by significantly reducing spacecraft cost, mass and travel times. Aerojet's AMBR engine incorporates an innovative injector and pre-combustor design with an iridium-lined rhenium combustion chamber, packaged within the envelope of existing 100-lbf thrust engines. The flight design engine uses hydrazine fuel and nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer at feed pressures and mixture ratios typical of current flight propulsion systems. The engine demonstrated acoustic and thermal stability at chamber temperatures of up to 4000 degrees F (2200 degrees C). The test series covered a wide range of mixture ratios, feed pressures and burn durations, including steady state burns lasting as long as 800 seconds. "Aerojet has achieved significant performance advancement with the AMBR engine," said Dr. Scott Miller, Aerojet's principal investigator and director of systems and technology development. "With the completion of planned environmental testing, the AMBR engine will be at Technology Readiness Level 6 and ready for final design and qualification for a specific application." This makes the engine an ideal candidate for future NASA science missions and upgrades to current civil and commercial space programs. Related Links Aerojet In-Space Propulsion Technology Program (ISPT) Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com
Cult spacecraft Part One: The Little Spaceplane That Couldn't
Honolulu HI (SPX) Dec 04, 2008It's an odd feature of aerospace history that many prototype aircraft that never went into production become "cultplanes". Some prominent examples are flying wings, Avro Arrow, B-70 Valkyrie, anything designed by the Nazis in 1945. |
|
|
| The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement |
