Space Travel News  
First Firing Of European Staged-Combustion Demonstration Engine

Staged-combustion demonstrator. The main combustion chamber is at the left of the image.
by Staff Writers
Lampoldshausen, Germany (ESA) Feb 28, 2008
The first hot firing test of a reduced-scale demonstration version of a staged-combustion rocket engine has recently been achieved at the Lampoldshausen (Germany) test facility of DLR. This development work is part of ESA's Future Launchers Preparatory Programme.

One of the developments that will be necessary for Europe's Next Generation Launcher (NGL) is a new design of main engine. The Vulcain engine that powers Ariane 5 is approaching the limits of its design in terms of both thrust and overall performance.

One objective of the Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP) is to enable informed decisions about NGL engine technologies to be taken later in the programme.

Choice of technology
Liquid-fuelled rocket engines can be classified as either open- or closed-cycle, according to how they derive the gases that power the turbine-driven pumps used to force the fuel and oxidant into the combustion chamber.

Europe has experience with open-cycle engines - Vulcain is an example of this type - and with closed cycle expander engines - the Vinci engine uses this design and has accumulated more than 3000 seconds of hot firing tests.

Part of the work currently being undertaken in the propulsion area of the FLPP is the development of technologies and competencies for the next step: closed-cycle, staged-combustion engines. Why staged-combustion?

The overall efficiency of a rocket engine is measured by its 'specific impulse' - the impulse (the change of momentum - or, put simply, the speed increase of the launch vehicle) that it can achieve per unit quantity of fuel. This is somewhat like the 'miles-per-gallon' or 'litres-per-100km' figures that are quoted for cars.

The specific impulse of an open-cycle gas generator engine such as Vulcain is inherently limited, while for the closed-cycle, staged-combustion design, it increases with the combustion pressure. This provides opportunities for developing engines that need less propellant to perform a given task, reducing the propellant load and, as a consequence, the size and mass of the launch vehicle.

New fuels
The energy content and storage properties of the selected fuel have a major influence on the overall 'efficiency' of a launch vehicle. Hydrogen, the fuel used in the engines mentioned above, is now in competition with hydrocarbons such as methane.

Although hydrocarbons contain less energy per kilogram than liquid hydrogen, their higher density and less demanding storage requirements (they remain liquid at much higher temperatures than hydrogen), leads to reduced tank size and mass.

Early success
The recent test at Lampoldshausen has successfully shown the ignition and ramp-up of a hydrogen powered, staged-combustion cycle demonstrator. This work is continuing and is being expanded to demonstrate the use of methane as a fuel.

ESA FLPP main stage propulsion development is being carried out by a consortium and co-contractor comprised of Snecma (France), Avio (Italy), and Astrium (Germany), supported by a team of nine other European companies and research bodies.

Related Links
the missing link Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


Iran gives details on controversial space launch
Tehran (AFP) Feb 19, 2008
Iran said on Tuesday a probe it sent into space on the back of rocket had reached an altitude of 200 kilometres (125 miles) and returned to earth after minutes, the student news agency ISNA reported.







  • First Firing Of European Staged-Combustion Demonstration Engine
  • Iran gives details on controversial space launch
  • Gearing Up For World's Largest Rocket Contest
  • Jules Verne ATV Launch Approaching

  • Russia's Proton-M To Orbit Another UAE Telecoms Satellite
  • ILS Proton To Launch S2M Satellite For Mobile TV Service In Middle East And North Africa
  • Interorbital Systems Taps Destiny Space To Book Space Tourism And Satellite Launches
  • Mitsubishi Targeting Foreign Satellite Launch Orders

  • Tunnels Of Activity Beneath The Shuttle Launch Pad
  • NASA Issues Draft Report On Environmental Issues To Wind Up Shuttle Program
  • US space shuttle Atlantis returns home
  • Shuttle Launch Postponed Due To ET Delays And Solar Energy Shortage

  • Europe Sets A Course For The ISS
  • Unique Three-Way Partnership For ATV Ground Control
  • Joint ESA And Russian Team In Moscow Ready To Support Jules Verne
  • UN says its flag to be flown to space station

  • Jules Verne ATV Atop Launcher
  • NASA adds technologies Web feature
  • Killer Electrons Surf Celestial Tsunamis
  • Space Tourism To Rocket In This Century

  • China To Launch Chang'e-2 Lunar Probe Around 2009
  • China to launch second lunar probe in 2009: report
  • Shenzhou VII Spaceship Airlock Module, Spacesuit Pass Initial Ground Tests
  • China set to launch record number of spacecraft in 2008: report

  • Killer Military Robots Pose Latest Threat To Humanity
  • Robot Plumbs Wisconsin Lake On Way To Antarctica, Jovian Moon
  • Can A Robot Draw A Map
  • Meet Blob The Robot

  • The Next-Best Thing To Being On Mars
  • How The Atmospheres Of Mars And Venus Are Affected By Carbon Monoxide
  • Unique Martian Formation Reproduced, Reveals Brief Bursts Of Water
  • Mars study shows oceans of water bubbled up from below

  • The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement