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.
Rockets and aircraft use them to produce gas or an exhausted material which is expelled through the nuzzle for thrust. This material could either be plasma, liquid, or gas, and before the chemical reaction happened they were gel, liquid or solid. These are cached into a propellant depots around the orbit of Earth which lets spacecraft get refueled at space.
This allows spacecrafts from Earth to launch without bringing all required fuel which makes more area for hardware storage available. Doing this would potentially make the missions easier to complete because fewer launches are sent for the needed items that usual. They function similarly like gas stations but in space where journeying vehicles are refueled.
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 issues in engineering design for depots have not been tested yet in space or orbit servicing missions. These issues include refrigeration equipment maturity, usage for reboost and attitude control, settling and transfer, and requirements for reduced boiloff facilities. Transferring these fuels are difficult in places with no gravity since liquids tend to float 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.
Rockets and aircraft use them to produce gas or an exhausted material which is expelled through the nuzzle for thrust. This material could either be plasma, liquid, or gas, and before the chemical reaction happened they were gel, liquid or solid. These are cached into a propellant depots around the orbit of Earth which lets spacecraft get refueled at space.
This allows spacecrafts from Earth to launch without bringing all required fuel which makes more area for hardware storage available. Doing this would potentially make the missions easier to complete because fewer launches are sent for the needed items that usual. They function similarly like gas stations but in space where journeying vehicles are refueled.
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 issues in engineering design for depots have not been tested yet in space or orbit servicing missions. These issues include refrigeration equipment maturity, usage for reboost and attitude control, settling and transfer, and requirements for reduced boiloff facilities. Transferring these fuels are difficult in places with no gravity since liquids tend to float 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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