Propellants are chemical substances used in pressurized gas or production of energy which are for generating propulsion of objects like projectiles and vehicles. They are commonly energetic materials consisting of fuel like oxidizer, rocket or jet fuels and gasoline. These produce gas by burning or decomposing but others are liquids that could be vaporized.
They are used by aircraft and rockets in producing exhausted material or gas being expelled through nozzle in creating thrust. This material can either be gas, plasma or liquid, and solid, gel or liquid before chemical reaction had happened. These are then cached into propellant depots in orbit around Earth letting spacecrafts refuel there when needed.
This allows launching of spacecrafts from Earth without carrying all the required fuel making more available area for hardware storage. This will potentially make completing the mission much easier because the needed items could be sent by having fewer launches. They would function like gas stations on space to refuel some journeying vehicles.
Communications satellites, defense ministries, commercial companies and space agencies are those potential users of this technology. Lifetime of satellites that consumed nearly all of their fuel for orbital maneuvering and was placed in geosynchronous orbit will be extended. The satellite would have to approach the depot or vice versa.
Depots like these are on low earth orbit with their primary functions to provide propellant to the transfer stage which are headed to moon or Mars. Smaller launch vehicles could be used to increase flight rates because their costs are lower. A depot can also be placed at the Lagrange point 1 and on orbit of Mars that reduces costs in traveling there.
Propellants take a large portion in the total mass of the rockets during the launch and some advantages are there when depots are used. Less structural mass requirement for spacecrafts because tankers can serve, if reusable, as second stage or launched unfueled. This will create a refueling market on orbit where the prices would go down because of competitions in delivering them.
Some engineering design issues for depots are there that were not tested yet in orbit servicing or space missions. These issues do include usage in reboost and attitude, requirements in reduced boiloff facilities, refrigeration equipment maturity, and settling and transfer. Transferring the fuels are difficult because these places have no gravity and liquids have a tendency in floating away from inlet.
Refilling should be done also by the operator of that particular depot by launching tanker rockets filled with new fuel. Space agencies preferred to be purchasers instead of owners so these facilities would be probably be operated by commercial companies. Chemical propulsion tugs with short range might be used in simplifying docking large vehicles and rockets.
More trials and research are being done still by agencies in properly determining if these projects are feasible or not. More commercial companies would become interested because there is a brand new market for this technology to take advantage of first. Their plans for space tourism and other commercial ventures are now more possible if these trials succeed.
They are used by aircraft and rockets in producing exhausted material or gas being expelled through nozzle in creating thrust. This material can either be gas, plasma or liquid, and solid, gel or liquid before chemical reaction had happened. These are then cached into propellant depots in orbit around Earth letting spacecrafts refuel there when needed.
This allows launching of spacecrafts from Earth without carrying all the required fuel making more available area for hardware storage. This will potentially make completing the mission much easier because the needed items could be sent by having fewer launches. They would function like gas stations on space to refuel some journeying vehicles.
Communications satellites, defense ministries, commercial companies and space agencies are those potential users of this technology. Lifetime of satellites that consumed nearly all of their fuel for orbital maneuvering and was placed in geosynchronous orbit will be extended. The satellite would have to approach the depot or vice versa.
Depots like these are on low earth orbit with their primary functions to provide propellant to the transfer stage which are headed to moon or Mars. Smaller launch vehicles could be used to increase flight rates because their costs are lower. A depot can also be placed at the Lagrange point 1 and on orbit of Mars that reduces costs in traveling there.
Propellants take a large portion in the total mass of the rockets during the launch and some advantages are there when depots are used. Less structural mass requirement for spacecrafts because tankers can serve, if reusable, as second stage or launched unfueled. This will create a refueling market on orbit where the prices would go down because of competitions in delivering them.
Some engineering design issues for depots are there that were not tested yet in orbit servicing or space missions. These issues do include usage in reboost and attitude, requirements in reduced boiloff facilities, refrigeration equipment maturity, and settling and transfer. Transferring the fuels are difficult because these places have no gravity and liquids have a tendency in floating away from inlet.
Refilling should be done also by the operator of that particular depot by launching tanker rockets filled with new fuel. Space agencies preferred to be purchasers instead of owners so these facilities would be probably be operated by commercial companies. Chemical propulsion tugs with short range might be used in simplifying docking large vehicles and rockets.
More trials and research are being done still by agencies in properly determining if these projects are feasible or not. More commercial companies would become interested because there is a brand new market for this technology to take advantage of first. Their plans for space tourism and other commercial ventures are now more possible if these trials succeed.
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