Design and assessment of an advanced renewable energy system with hydrogen and monomethylhydrazine production for space shuttles

Abstract

A new renewable energy-driven advanced plant is designed and developed to produce multiple useful outputs, namely electricity, heat, cooling, hydrogen, and monomethylhydrazine (as space shuttle fuel) using solar and wind energies locally available. A specific location needed for this kind of unique work is identified as the Kennedy Space Center (KSC), which is known as located on Merritt Island, in the state of Florida (USA). It is also one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968, KSC has been NASA's primary launch center of American spaceflight, research, and technology. This paper presents a comprehensive analysis of the subsystems that constitute the newly proposed system potentially for KSC and highlights their complex relationships and synergies. Leveraging renewable energy sources, such as concentrated solar power (CSP) and wind energy, coupled with the subsystem uniquely, such as the regenerative Rankine cycle, multi-stage flash (MSF) desalination unit, hydrogen production process, and Li–Br absorption chiller, the KSC's system maximizes energy conversion efficiency while minimizing environmental impact. Noteworthy outcomes include daily water production of 177.63 kg/s and hydrogen production of 169.61 kg/day, alongside annual energy contributions of 212,692,688 kWh for CSP and 66,158,552 kWh for wind turbines. More than that, it produces 23.04 kg/s MMH as fuel. Additionally, the overall energy and exergy efficiencies of the system are 30.6% and 33% respectively. Despite challenges, such as low efficiencies in certain subsystems, like mono methyl hydrazine (MMH) production, ongoing research and development efforts aim to optimize processes and enhance sustainability.