SpaceX rocket engines: Difference between revisions

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Removed out of date information about the Raptor Engine which is talked about below
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| date = 2010-08-11
| date = 2010-08-11
| accessdate = 2010-08-16
| accessdate = 2010-08-16
}}{{subscription required}}</ref>
}}{{subscription required}}</ref> {{asof|2012|11}}, the project status of Merlin 2 is unclear.

{{asof|2012|11}}, the project status of Merlin 2 is unclear. Merlin 2 was to originally have been a gas-generator cycle engine, just like Merlin 1. However, the new large engine from SpaceX will be a staged-combustion design using LOX/methane, but the new engine has not yet been named.<ref name=201211merlin2Specifics>
{{cite news
| last = Todd
| first = David
| title = Musk goes for methane-burning reusable rockets as step to colonise Mars
| url = http://www.flightglobal.com/blogs/hyperbola/2012/11/musk_goes_for_methane-burning/
| accessdate = 2012-11-22
| newspaper = FlightGlobal
| date = 2012-11-20
| archiveurl = http://www.webcitation.org/6MXTcaXfE
| archivedate = 2014-01-11
| deadurl = no
}}
</ref>
One application of the new large engine is for [[Mars Colonial Transporter]] (MCT) space missions transporting [[human spaceflight|humans]] to [[Mars]], but the engine specifics for the MCT have not yet been publicly released as of early-June 2013.<ref name=forbes20130606>
{{cite news |last=Schaefer|first=Steve |title=SpaceX IPO Cleared For Launch? Elon Musk Says Hold Your Horses |url=http://www.forbes.com/sites/steveschaefer/2013/06/06/with-tesla-and-solarcity-soaring-elon-musk-talks-down-spacex-ipo-plans/ |accessdate=2013-06-10|newspaper=Forbes |date=2013-06-06}}</ref>


==Methane-based engines==
==Methane-based engines==

Revision as of 03:52, 6 February 2014

Making a SpaceX Merlin 1D engine. The shiny nozzle here has channels etched vertically in it for the fuel to run down and back up, keeping the nozzle from melting during use. 2012 photo by Steve Jurvetson.

Since the founding of SpaceX in 2002, the company has developed three families of rocket engines — Merlin, Kestrel, and Draco — and is currently developing two more rocket engines: SuperDraco and Raptor.

History

In the first ten years of SpaceX, the company has developed a variety of liquid-propellant rocket engines, with at least one more of that type under development in late 2012. As of October 2012, each of the engines developed to date—Kestrel, Merlin 1, Draco and Super Draco—have been developed for initial use in the SpaceX Falcon family of launch vehicles—Falcon 1, Falcon 9, and Falcon Heavy—or for the Dragon capsule. Each main engine to date has been Kerosene-based, using RP-1 as the fuel with liquid oxygen (LOX) as the oxidizer, while the RCS control thruster engines have used storable hypergolic propellants.

In November 2012, at a meeting of the Royal Aeronautical Society in London, United Kingdom, SpaceX announced that they plan to develop methane-based engines for their future rockets. These engines will use staged cycle combustion, for higher efficiency similar to the system used on the former Soviet Union's NK-33 engine.[1]

Kerosene-based engines

SpaceX has developed two Kerosene-based engines through 2012, the Merlin 1 and Kestrel, and has publicly discussed a much larger concept engine high-level design named Merlin 2. Merlin 1 powers the first stage of the Falcon 1 launch vehicle as well as both the first and second stages of the Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles, as well as the experimental technology-demonstrator Grasshopper VTVL rocket. The Falcon 1 second stage is powered by a Kestrel engine.

Merlin 1

Main article: Merlin (rocket engine)

Merlin 1 is a family of LOX/RP-1 rocket engines developed 2003-2012. Merlin 1A and Merlin 1B utilized an ablatively cooled carbon fiber composite nozzle. Merlin 1A produced 340 kilonewtons (76,000 lbf) of thrust and was used to power the first stage of the first two Falcon 1 flights in 2006 and 2007. Merlin 1B had somewhat more powerful turbopump and more thrust but was not flown on a flight vehicle prior to SpaceX moving on to the Merlin 1C.

The Merlin 1C uses a regeneratively cooled nozzle and combustion chamber. It was first fired with a full mission duty firing 2007,[2] first flew on the third Falcon 1 mission in August 2008,[3] powered the "first privately-developed liquid-fueled rocket to successfully reach orbit", Falcon 1 Flight 4, in September 2008,[3] and subsequently powered the first five Falcon 9 flights in 2010–2013.

The Merlin 1D, was in development in 2011-2012, also with a regeneratively cooled nozzle and combustion chamber, has a vacuum thrust of 690 kN (155,000 lbf), a vacuum specific impulse (Isp) of 310 s, an increased expansion ratio of 16 (as opposed to the previous 14.5 of the Merlin 1C) and chamber pressure of 9.7 MPa (1,410 psi). A new feature for the engine is the ability to throttle from 100% to 70%.[4] The engine's 150:1 thrust-to-weight ratio is the highest ever achieved for a rocket engine.[5][6] The first flight of the Merlin 1D engine was also the maiden Falcon 9 v1.1 flight.[7] On 29 September 2013, the Falcon 9 Flight 6 mission succesfully launched the Canadian Space Agency's CASSIOPE satellite into polar orbit, and proved that the Merlin 1D could be restarted to control the first stage's re-entry back into the atmosphere – a necessary step in making the rocket reusable.[8]

Kestrel

Main article: Kestrel (rocket engine)

Kestrel is a LOX/RP-1 pressure-fed rocket engine, and was developed by SpaceX as the Falcon 1 rocket's second stage main engine. It was built around the same pintle architecture as SpaceX's Merlin engine but does not have a turbo-pump, and is fed only by tank pressure. Its nozzle is ablatively cooled in the chamber and throat and radiatively cooled, and is fabricated from a high strength niobium alloy. Thrust vector control is provided by electro-mechanical actuators on the engine dome for pitch and yaw. Roll control – and attitude control during the coast phase – is provided by helium cold gas thrusters.[9][10]

Merlin 2 engine concept

At the AIAA Joint Propulsion conference on July 30, 2010 SpaceX McGregor rocket development facility director Tom Markusic shared some information from the initial stages of planning for a new engine. SpaceX’s Merlin 2 LOX/RP-1-fueled engine on a gas generator cycle, capable of a projected 7,600 kN (1,700,000 lbf) of thrust at sea level and 8,500 kN (1,920,000 lbf) in a vacuum and would provide the power for conceptual super-heavy-lift launch vehicles from SpaceX, which Markusic dubbed Falcon X and Falcon XX. Such a capability would result in an engine with more thrust than the F-1 engines used on the Saturn V.[4]

In 2010, the Merlin 2 concept was illustrated on a series of conceptual single-core and multi-core large launch vehicles, and it was stated that the Merlin 2 "could be qualified in three years for $1 billion".[11] By mid-August, the SpaceX CEO Elon Musk clarified that while the Merlin 2 engine architecture was a key element of any effort SpaceX would make toward their objective of "super-heavy lift" launch vehicles—and that SpaceX did indeed want to "move toward super heavy lift"—the specific potential design configurations of the particular launch vehicles shown by Markusic at the propulsion conference were merely conceptual "brainstorming ideas", just a "bunch of ideas for discussion."[12] As of November 2012, the project status of Merlin 2 is unclear.

Methane-based engines

In November 2012, SpaceX CEO Elon Musk announced a new direction for propulsion side of the company: developing methane/LOX rocket engines.[1]

Raptor

Main article: Raptor (rocket engine)

Raptor is a rocket engine under development by SpaceX and, as of 2012, the engine will be powered by methane and liquid oxygen,[1] although LH2/LOX was originally under study when the Raptor concept development work began in 2009.[13] When first mentioned by SpaceX in 2009, the term "Raptor" was applied exclusively to an upper stage engine concept.[1] SpaceX confirmed in October 2013 that they intend to build a family of methane-based Raptor rocket engines.[14] Initial component-level testing of Raptor technology is expected to begin in early 2014.[14]

The Raptor methane/LOX engine will use the more efficient staged combustion cycle,[1] a departure from the open cycle gas generator cycle system and LOX/kerosene propellants used on the current Merlin 1 engine series.[1] The initial Raptor engine is designed to produce 2.94 meganewtons (661,000 lbf) thrust in a vacuum, about four times the Merlin 1D vacuum's thrust.[14]

Large-engine developments

In October 2012, SpaceX publicly announced concept work on a rocket engine that would be "several times as powerful as the Merlin 1 series of engines, and won't use Merlin's RP-1 fuel".[15]

SpaceX has declined to provide details at present on the 1.5 million lb thrust class engine,[16] but did indicate details would be forthcoming in "one to three years". The large engine is intended for a new SpaceX rocket, using multiple of these large engines, that would notionally launch payload masses of the order of 150 to 200 tonnes (150,000 to 200,000 kg) to low-Earth orbit, exceeding the payload mass capability of the NASA Space Launch System.[15]

Hypergolic engines

Draco

Main article: Draco (rocket engine family)

Draco are hypergolic liquid-propellant rocket engines that utilize a mixture of monomethyl hydrazine fuel and nitrogen tetroxide oxidizer. Each Draco thruster generates 400 newtons (90 lbf) of thrust.[17] They are used as Reaction Control System (RCS) thrusters on both the Dragon spacecraft, and on the Falcon 9 launch vehicle second-stage.[18]

SuperDraco

SuperDraco storable-propellant hypergolic engines generate 67,000 newtons (15,000 lbf) of thrust, making the SuperDraco the second most powerful engine developed by SpaceX, more than 200 times[19] more powerful than the regular Draco RCS thruster engines. By comparison, it is more than two times as powerful as the Kestrel engine used in SpaceX's Falcon 1 launch vehicle second stage, and about 1/9 the thrust of a Merlin 1D engine. They will be used as Launch Abort System engines on the version 2 Dragon spacecraft, DragonRider, for crew transport to low-Earth orbit, as well as entry, descent and landing control of the proposed Red Dragon robotic probe to Mars.

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f Todd, David (2012-11-22). "SpaceX's Mars rocket to be methane-fuelled". FlightGlobal. UK. Archived from the original on 2014-01-10. Retrieved 2014-01-10. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  2. ^ Whitesides, Loretta Hidalgo (2007-11-12). "SpaceX Completes Development of Rocket Engine for Falcon 1 and 9". Wired. Archived from the original on 2014-01-12. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  3. ^ a b Clark, Stephen (2008-09-28). "Sweet Success at Last for Falcon 1 Rocket". Spaceflight Now. Archived from the original on 2014-01-10. Retrieved 2011-04-06. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ a b "SpaceX Unveils Plans To Be World's Top Rocket Maker". Aviation Week and Space Technology. 2011-08-11. Archived from the original on 2014-01-12. Retrieved 2012-10-11. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)(subscription required)
  5. ^ Chaikin, Andrew (January 2012). "Is SpaceX changing the rocket equation? 1 visionary + 3 launchers + 1,500 employees = ?". Air & Space Magazine. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution. Archived from the original on 2014-01-12. Retrieved 2012-11-13. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  6. ^ "Spacex's Merlin 1D Engine Achieves Full Mission Duration Firing". SpaceX. June 25, 2012.
  7. ^ Rosenberg, Zach (2012-03-16). "SpaceX readies upgraded engines". Flightglobal. Archived from the original on 2014-01-10. Retrieved 2012-03-17. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  8. ^ Wall, Mike (2013-10-17). "SpaceX Hit Huge Reusable Rocket Milestone with Falcon 9 Test Flight". Space.com. New York. Archived from the original on 2014-01-10. Retrieved 2014-01-10. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  9. ^ Zsidisin, Greg (2007-03-23). "SpaceX Confirms Stage Bump On Demoflight 2". Space Daily. Archived from the original on 2014-01-12. Retrieved 2008-09-30. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  10. ^ Wade, Mark (2014). "Kerstrel". Encyclopedia Astronautica. Archived from the original on 2014-01-12. Retrieved 2014-01-12. {{cite web}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  11. ^ SpaceX Unveils Heavy-Lift Vehicle Plan, Aviation Week, 2010-08-05, accessed 2010-08-16.
  12. ^ "Exploration Musk Clarifies SpaceX Position On Exploration]". Aviation & Space Week. 2010-08-11. Retrieved 2010-08-16.(subscription required)
  13. ^ "Long term SpaceX vehicle plans". HobbySpace.com. Retrieved 2009-07-13.
  14. ^ a b c Leone, Dan (2013-10-25). "SpaceX Could Begin Testing Methane-fueled Engine at Stennis Next Year". Space News. Archived from the original on 2014-01-10. Retrieved 2013-10-26. {{cite news}}: Unknown parameter |deadurl= ignored (|url-status= suggested) (help)
  15. ^ a b Rosenberg, Zach (2012-10-15). "SpaceX aims big with massive new rocket". Flightglobal. Retrieved 2012-10-17.
  16. ^ Cite error: The named reference 201211merlin2Specifics was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  17. ^ "SpaceX Updates — December 10, 2007". SpaceX. 2007-12-10. Retrieved 2012-12-26.
  18. ^ "Falcon 9 Launch Vehicle Payload User's Guide, 2009" (PDF). SpaceX. 2009. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  19. ^ "SpaceX Test Fires Engine Prototype for Astronaut Escape System". NASA. 2012-02-01. Retrieved 2012-02-01.

External links

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=SpaceX_rocket_engines&oldid=594149147"