T Technology, Reliable Propulsion
Technological advances in propulsion are constantly driving down costs and improving efficiency, reliability, and safety, to meet satellite demands and retain space-based competitiveness. Several companies are developing cutting-edge technologies in nuclear, electrical, chemical, and solar propulsion, which have the potential to greatly enhance earth-centric space operations and interplanetary exploration for decades to come. New development in space-based propulsion technologies will lead to improvements in thrust levels, capacity, specific mass (or power), volume, mass of system, complexity of systems, complexity in operations, generality to other spacecraft systems, manufactureability, longevity, and, of course, cost.
The CUA New In-space Propulsion Technology being developed is the higher-thrust variant using a mixture of ethanol and hydrogen peroxide monopropellants. The proposed in-Space propulsion technology is intended to enable efficient exploration of our Solar System, and would allow mission designers to schedule missions that would fly anywhere, at any time, and achieve an array of scientific objectives, on-target, and with greater reliability and safety. Electric propulsion is generally used to maintain stations on commercial communications satellites, and is used as primary propulsion in certain science space missions, due to its higher specific impulse.
With the exception of the electrical propulsion systems used for commercial communications satellite stationkeeping and on a small number of deep-space scientific missions, nearly all of the rocket engines used today are chemical rockets; that is, they derive the power needed for generating thrust by combining reactive chemicals to produce a hot gas which expands to generate thrust. Current space launch vehicles employ chemical reactions (solid and liquid fuels) to achieve enough thrust to send artifacts and humans into space. All Department of Defense satellites and other strategic American technology platforms require a space-operated propulsion subsystem to deliver impulses needed for attitude adjustment, changing orbital altitude, and providing attitude control, stationkeeping, and deorbit burnout.
Most satellites have reliable, simple chemical (often monopropellant) or resistance-driven rockets to maintain stationkeeping orbit, while a few employ impulse wheels to provide attitude control. Now coming to more technical challenges, performance of the propulsion systems is the major obstacle that has to be overcome in the space industry (Turner et al., 2009). Any form of propulsion for space poses levels of risk, however, the technology is a safer choice due to decades of development.
Sierra Spaces proprietary Vortex(r) Engine Cooling Technology makes possible their Hypergolic. LOUISVILLE, Colo., June 7, 2021 (Sierra Space PR) -- Sierra Space, a new commercial space branch of Sierra Nevada Corporation (SNC), the worlds leading global aerospace and national security company, has successfully completed tests on its Hypergolic, or Stowable Liquid Rocket Propulsion System, used in orbital transfers, maneuvers, and Guidance Control. Advances in electrical and chemical propulsion are expected to proceed more slowly than those of nuclear propulsion, and solar sails are gradually moving into the mainstream through Japans space legacy and Planetary Society, as well as NASAs soon-to-be-launched, space-based, solar sails, based on its Solar Sail, propulsion system.
