On the possibility of flight of a single-stage rocket to the planets of the Solar system

Abstract

A new concept for building a small-sized rocket engine containing a special gas ionizer in the combustion chamber to increase its conductivity to an optimal value with a corresponding improvement in the fuel combustion process is proposed. A simplified calculation for the relative velocity of gases in a conical nozzle is given when heating the supersonic flow of gases by plasma in a conical nozzle by means of a powerful, electromagnetic, high-frequency field, and the influence of some technical parameters on the efficiency of the rocket's flight is also considered. A comparison of the flight altitude of a rocket with plasma heating of the gas flow in a conical nozzle with a scale model corresponding to the well-known single-stage Zenit rocket with the same weight and geometry, taking into account air resistance for the cargo version of the rocket with one small-sized engine, is made. The result is a significant reduction in fuel consumption and an increase in the maximum flight altitude by 2 times with an increase in specific impulse by 2.7 times, other things being equal. It is established that under certain conceptual parameters, it is possible to rapidly accelerate and fly a single-stage cargo rocket with a launch weight of 17.25-20.00 tons to the planets of the solar system directly from the Earth's surface using a bunch of engines of the same type. The use of many of the same type of small-sized engines allows you to abandon the Laval nozzle in favor of a simple conical nozzle, which reduces the size of the rocket as a whole. This is determined by the need to reduce the diameter of the conical nozzle in order to achieve a greater specific heating power of the plasma compared to the specific power of the fuel burned in the combustion chamber. It is also proposed a complete rejection of the steering engines, the function of which will be performed by part of the engines located closer to the diameter of the rocket. As electric generators, it is proposed to use promising prototypes of electric generators MEG-6NS, MEG-15NS and others, the company "NaukaSoft", with good weight indicators that allow in the future to produce such a liquid rocket engine of small dimensions. The redistribution of part of the fuel used to produce electricity is compensated by a significant increase in the specific impulse of the liquid rocket engine to increase the speed and overall efficiency of the flight with an optimal ratio of the amount of fuel to the weight of the rocket before refueling.