Expendable Rocket Research Articles

Экспериментальное исследование плотности и теплоёмкости жидкого чистого гидразина

The paper presents the results of experimental investigation concerning density and thermal capacity of liquid pure hydrazine undergoing natural convection when heated to Т = 293…560 K and subjected to pressure р = 0.101 MPa. We compare the results obtained to results published previously elsewhere, revealing inaccuracies in equations used to compute density and thermal capacity. Analysing the experimental results obtained enabled us to develop new equations that ensure highly accurate computations of density and thermal capacity of liquid pure hydrazine. This submission becomes extremely important, as pure liquid hydrazine is widely used in expendable and non-expendable liquid rocket engines, especially in expendable and non-expendable low-thrust liquid rocket engines and liquid micro-rocket engines, which makes it impossible to develop and build novel promising engines without accurate equations for computing density, thermal capacity and other thermophysical properties of the fuel. Moreover, the investigation results and the innovative accurate equations derived by the authors allow us to conduct other experimental studies dedicated to increasing the density and other thermophysical properties of liquid pure hydrazine, for example, by means of introducing dry fullerenes into the hydrazine or employing electrostatic fields, which will be further described in detail in the papers to follow.

Automatic tuning strategies for model-based diagnosis methods applied to a rocket engine demonstrator

Rocket engines are complex and critical systems mostly relying on simple redlines strategies for monitoring the main functional parameters. This approach is typical on expendable rockets with non-adjustable valves because in case of failure the only possible action is to cut off the engine. Anyway years of experiments on engine firings or subsystem benches show that there is space for an update of the monitoring strategies because this would lead to a reduction of false alarm rates and to an improved exploitation of test hardware. Moreover real-time diagnosis methods will be necessary in case of design of intelligent rocket engine controllers for next generation reusable launchers. The work presented in this paper is part of a demonstration project of new diagnosis tools for rocket engines applied to the cryogenic combustion bench Mascotte. This bench developed by ONERA and CNES is used to analyze combustion and nozzle expansion characteristics of cryogenic fuels such as oxygen and hydrogen or methane. Model-based diagnosis tools have been developed for the combustion chamber and nozzle water cooling circuit. The basis was the setup of simplified expressions for modeling the functional behavior of the water circuit and then the development of predictive strategies such as parameter identification and Kalman filters. Anomalous event detection is obtained via residual analysis based on a CUSUM test. This paper presents the new automatic tuning strategies for the CUSUM threshold setting and the detection results obtained on Mascotte firing data.

2B35 Quaternion-based adaptive attitude control for a winged rocket(The 12th International Conference on Motion and Vibration Control)

Reusable Launch Vehicles (RLVs) are expected to become important transportation systems in future space exploration. RLVs are vehicles which have the ability to be launched into space, carry a payload to orbit and finally landing back on earth without using any expendable rockets. Due to this reason, RLVs are capable to reduce rocket launch operation expenses for space exploration. However, RLVs travel from earth's surface to space in uncertain environments causing the values of the parameters for the RLVs dynamic equations to be inconsistent. Therefore, various researchers have proposed several adaptive control methods to counter this problem. Quaternion is often being used in attitude control system of space vehicles such as rockets and satellites because quaternion has no singular point when the pitch angle approaches ±90[deg], which is a problem for Euler Angles. In this paper, we propose a digital adaptive feedback linearization control method using Quaternion for controlling the attitude of a winged rocket, a type of RLV. The proposed control method is implemented into the control system of a propulsion engine model. The effectiveness of the control system is demonstrated through computer simulations under the condition that the rocket's pitch angle during lift-off is in singularity of Euler angles. Simulation results show that the winged rocket is able to be launched from a vertically upward launch phase, flying into ascending phase and subsequently making a transition into a gliding phase successfully. The simulation results demonstrated the effectiveness of the proposed method in controlling a winged rocket.

Malcolm Chisholm: An Evaluation of Traditional Audio Engineering

IntroductionAt 10:57 a.m. on September 5, 1977, Titan-Centaur expendable rocket provided Chuck Berry and Chess Records with Rock & Roll's first interstellar distribution deal. Johnny B. Goode, along with twenty-six other tracks, was engraved onto gold-plated gramophone record and placed aboard Voyager 1 to serve as window onto the best of human culture.1 The record was the work of some of the greatest names in Chicago Blues and early Rock & Roll, but it would have been no more than fleeting memory if not for the steady hand of Chicago-based audio engineer named Malcolm Chisholm (1929-2003).2 The study at hand argues for Mr. Chisholm as historical figure whose significance merits recognition in the context of the twentieth-century recording industry. Not only can his impact be linked directly to the birth of Rock & Roll, but his experience allows us to confront core precepts of traditional form of audio engineering considered arcane by some modem approaches. This research demands re-evaluation of the relationship between technological advancement and product quality. To what degree does the widespread belief that newer equals better reach from consumer electronics into professional audio? To what degree are artistic concepts like authenticity and empathy under erasure by the countervailing drives toward speed and profit? The purpose of this study is not simply to argue for greater visibility for Chisholm as major contributor to what has become mainstream popular music, but to recognize larger paradigm shift through his experience. Chisholm stands within the traditional art-versus-commerce debate as an example of the post-World War II craftsman ethos marginalized by an incoming, corporate-determined paradigm.MethodologyWhat is known of Chisholm can be divided into five categories: his recordings; his resume and other personal notes; interviews of him; passing references in books and articles; and the recollections of his family, students, and colleagues.3 Given the fact that the first four of these categories comprise works that have largely been made available either as audio, digital, or print publications, this study adopts oral history as methodology that allows for access to largely untapped resource. Personal interviews of former students, colleagues, and family members provide clear view onto Chisholm's approaches, techniques, and experiences. Contextual analysis allows us to position this experience relative to historical, cultural, and technological forces acting upon the industry in which he worked. Together, these approaches allow us to recognize Chisholm's specific contribution to popular music within the larger story of the Rock & Roll era.The interviews were conducted using questionnaire organized around three topics: Chisholm's visibility; his approach and techniques; and his impact on the field.4 Respondents were offered the option of telephone interviews (that I transcribed and remitted for their approval) or filling out the questionnaire on their own via email attachment. Ten of the twelve respondents opted for the telephone interview. All interviews were conducted between August 2012 and May 2013.Biographical OverviewMr. Chisholm was Chicago native best known for his work engi- neering Blues sessions for Chess Records despite also recording some of the twentieth century's greatest Jazz and popular musicians.5 An obituary published by the Engineering and Recording Society of Chicago (EARS) reveals curious, adventuresome type, a true renaissance man who added photography, undersea diving, and extensive travel among his exploits.6 Looking at his professional career, we can discern three phases. In the first period (1948-1955) Chisholm was certified electronics technician (ET 1) and licensed radioman with the U.S. Coast Guard and United Airlines respectively. In his audio professional phase (1955-1977), Chisholm entered the recording industry under Bill Putnam (1920-1989) at Universal Recording and developed wide skill set freelancing for Chess and other Chicago area studios. …

Adaptive Control and the NASA X-15-3 Flight Revisited

In this paper, a new generation of hypersonic vehicles offers a far more effective way of launching small satellites or other vehicles into low-Earth orbit than expendable rockets. Additionally these aircraft facilitate quick response and global strike capabilities. Control of hypersonic vehicles is challenging due to the changes in the aircraft dynamics as the manuever takes the aircraft over large flight envelopes.The field of adaptive control began with the motivation that a controller that can adjust its parameters online could generate improved performance over a fixed-parameter counterpart. Subsequently, sobering lessons of tradeoffs between stability and performance directed the evolution of the field toward the design, analysis, and synthesis of stable adaptive systems. Various adaptive control methods have been developed for controlling linear and nonlinear dynamic systems with parametric and dynamic uncertainties.With the benefit of hindsight and subsequent research, the paper revisit the events of 1967 by examining "how and what if" scenarios.we analyze the X-15-3 aircraft dynamics and the Honeywell MH-96 adaptive controller in an effort to better understand how the sequence of events and the interplay between the controller and the aircraft dynamics might have led to the instability and resulting crash. It follows with a depiction of a Lyapunov-stability-based adaptive controller that incorporates gain scheduling and accommodates actuator magnitude saturation, which we denote as the gain-scheduled, magnitude-saturation-accommodating.

A guidance algorithm for launch to equatorial orbit

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to propose a new guidance algorithm for launching a satellite using an expendable rocket from an equatorial site to an equatorial low‐Earth orbit.Design/methodology/approachGuidance during endoatmospheric portion is based on a nominal trajectory computed prior to take‐off. A set of updating computations begins anew at the time instant tg of transition from endoatmosphere to exoatmosphere. The updating computations determine a guidance trajectory and an associated control law for the remainder of path by taking into account the rocket state at time tg. Thus, the overall guidance involves both initial and midcourse operations, and it has both open‐ and closed‐loop aspects.FindingsViability and performance in terms of speed, precision, and effectiveness of the proposed scheme is demonstrated through three‐dimensional simulations and comparisons to other methods.Originality/valueThe updating computations and the fashion in which they are incorporated into the entire guidance process constitute the novel features of the proposed algorithm.

Low-cost management aspects for developing, producing and operating future space transportation systems

It is believed that a potential means for further significant reduction of the recurrent launch cost, which results also in a stimulation of launch rates of small satellites, is to make the launcher reusable, to increase its reliability and to make it suitable for new markets such as mass space tourism. Therefore, not only launching small satellites with expendable rockets on non-regular flights but also with reusable rockets on regular flights should be considered for the long term. However, developing, producing and operating reusable rockets require a fundamental change in the current “business as usual” philosophy. Under current conditions, it might not be possible to develop, to produce or to operate a reusable vehicle fleet economically. The favorite philosophy is based on “smart business” processes adapted by the authors using cost engineering techniques. In the following paper, major strategies for reducing costs are discussed, which are applied for a representative program proposal.

HOTOL, an economic space transport for Europe

Thirty years ago, Sputnik I announced to the world that the Space Age had begun. The first man-made satellite weighed a mere 184 kg and carried a single radio transmitter and its power source, which lasted for 21 days. In the intervening years enormous advances have been made in the size and power of satellites placed in orbit, in manned operations in space, in rendezvous and docking in space, and in the analysis and utilisation of observations of the Earth from space. By 1985, that is, just before the tragic accident to the 'Challenger' Space Shuttle, there were about 5000 complete spacecraft in orbit. The tonnage was increasing at a rate of about 100 tonnes per year, with a predicted growth rate of 5 to 7 per cent, that is, doubling every 10 to 15 years. The one area in which no significant advance was made during this period was in the economics of space operations. Most satellites were, and still are, put into orbit by large, expensive, unreliable and expendable rockets. Even the Shuttle with its reusable Orbiter component is very expensive to operate.

HOTOL, an economic space transport for Europe

AbstractThirty years ago, Sputnik I announced to the world that the Space Age had begun. The first man-made satellite weighed a mere 184 kg and carried a single radio transmitter and its power source, which lasted for 21 days. In the intervening years enormous advances have been made in the size and power of satellites placed in orbit, in manned operations in space, in rendezvous and docking in space, and in the analysis and utilisation of observations of the Earth from space. By 1985, that is, just before the tragic accident to the 'Challenger' Space Shuttle, there were about 5000 complete spacecraft in orbit. The tonnage was increasing at a rate of about 100 tonnes per year, with a predicted growth rate of 5 to 7 per cent, that is, doubling every 10 to 15 years. The one area in which no significant advance was made during this period was in the economics of space operations. Most satellites were, and still are, put into orbit by large, expensive, unreliable and expendable rockets. Even the Shuttle with ...

Launchlog '84: NASA Embarks on Its Busiest Year

Launchlog '84: NASA Embarks on Its Busiest Year

Launchers for communication satellites

Communication satellites can be placed into geostationary orbit either by expendable rocket launchers, such as the Atlas-Centaur, Delta and Ariane, or by the manned re-usable space transportation system (STS) - the US Space Shuttle. This article provides a brief introduction to the major expendable launchers, including the Ariane, and to the delivery of communication satellites into space by the STS