Power and Propulsion

Rocket engines

Stories

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Briefs: Manned Systems
Over the past year, the DoD has awarded funding to hypersonics research led by University of Central Florida Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Professor Kareem Ahmed to support the advancements he’s making in the technology. The support is a testament to the progress UCF has made in the field. Read on to learn more about these advances.
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NASA Spinoff: Manufacturing & Prototyping
The new possibility of 3D-printed aluminum engine parts will mean significant savings for NASA in terms of time, money, and, most importantly, the weight of future spacecraft. Elementum 3D Inc., a partner on the project, is now bringing the benefits of that technology to its customers.
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Articles: Sensors/Data Acquisition
Specialized measurement technology helps aerospace engineers improve combustion chambers and fuel injectors. In Switzerland, two ambitious student organizations have been using iterative pressure measurements to develop and build a significantly more efficient next generation of rocket engines. Read on to learn more.
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Briefs: Power
Engineers at NASAs Stennis Space Center have developed the HYdrocarbon Propellants Enabling Reproduction of Flows in Rocket Engines (HYPERFIRE), a sub-scale, non-reacting flow test system. HYPERFIRE uses heated ethane to enable physical simulation of rocket engines powered by a broad range of propellants in an inexpensive, accurate, and simple fashion. Read on to learn more.
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Briefs: Power
Skoltech engineers have used a 3D printer to fabricate — and investigate the mechanical characteristics of — samples of bronze-steel alloys previously unknown to materials science.
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Briefs: Materials
Inflatable and deployable beams and masts are often made of polymer composites and may be stored for one to two years in space before deployment.
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Briefs: Aerospace
Advanced analyses shed light on the mechanism of a deadly problem plaguing combustion chambers in rocket engines.
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Application Briefs: Design
HyperganicMunich, Germanywww.hyperganic.com EOSKrailling, Germanywww.eos.info/en In May 2022, Hyperganic built the world's largest 3D-printed Aerospike rocket engine. It's also the...
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Briefs: Propulsion
The engine could make rockets not only more fuel-efficient, but also more lightweight and less complicated to construct.
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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
A folded plastic bladder could store and pump the fuel.
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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
This method is a faster way to manufacture combustion chambers and nozzles for aerospace propulsion as well as heat exchangers in oil and gas applications.
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Briefs: Propulsion
These engines will allow upper stage rockets for space missions to become lighter, travel farther, and burn more cleanly.
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Briefs: Energy
Thrusters based on magnetic reconnection could complete long-distance missions in a shorter period of time.
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Briefs: Manufacturing & Prototyping
This additively manufactured alloy is tailored for high-temperature applications.
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NASA Spinoff: Test & Measurement
The technology could allow deep-space exploration without running out of propellant.
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Facility Focus: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Stennis now is testing RS-25 rocket engines for the Space Launch System (SLS) that will carry humans back to the Moon.
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Briefs: Propulsion
The miniaturized, autonomous, reconfigurable solar sail is capable of very fine maneuvering by small surface deformation.
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Briefs: Test & Measurement
This method provides a fast way to assess rocket engine performance in a variety of operating conditions.
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Facility Focus: Power
Founded on July 1, 1960, Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, AL is one of NASA’s largest field centers. Marshall engineers designed, built, tested, and helped launch the Saturn V...
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NASA Spinoff: Lighting Technology
Rocket engine testing requires a lot of light since all tests are filmed with high-speed cameras to monitor performance; however, those cameras have to adjust to the bright plume from a firing...
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Briefs: Energy
Green Electric Monopropellant (GEM)-Fueled Pulsed Plasma Thruster
NASA required a rocket thruster able to produce a number of pulses at high specific impulse at a relatively low voltage (~300 to 400V). The key problem was that existing propellants for liquid-fueled pulsed plasma thrusters (LPPTs) required high voltages to ablate and accelerate the...
Briefs: Propulsion
Interoperable Intelligent Controllers for Process Management and Control Networks
NASA Johnson Space Center developed reprogrammable and interchangeable electronic controllers that can attach to a system or subsystem wirelessly or through plug-and-play capability. Originally designed to work with rocket engines, this technology can control...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Lateral nozzle forces are known to cause severe structural damage during testing of any new rocket engine configuration under development. While three-dimensional computational fluid dynamics (CFD)...
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Briefs: Test & Measurement
The objective of this effort was to design, fabricate, integrate, and fly a nuclear thermal rocket without having to build massive ground test facilities. Furthermore, this nuclear rocket would...
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Briefs: Photonics/Optics
Large-scale liquid rocket engines with regeneratively cooled nozzles will enable reliable and reduced-cost access to space. The coolant that circulates through the internal...
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Briefs: Aerospace
Non-Catalytic Ignition System for High-Performance Advanced Monopropellant Thrusters
Anon-catalytic pyrotechnic ignition system was developed for advanced green monopropellant systems operating with hydroxylammonium nitrate (HAN)-based monopropellant AF-M315E. This technology will provide increased performance and new operating regimes for future...
Briefs: Test & Measurement
Cryogenic and Non-Cryogenic Liquid Level Instrument
NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center has developed a unique prototype for measuring the liquid level in a tank, employing a novel process. The technology can operate in a wide range of environments, including high and low temperatures and pressures, and is simpler and less expensive than other...
Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
An orifice element is commonly used in liquid rocket engine test facilities either as a flow metering device, a damper for acoustic resonance, or to provide a large reduction in pressure over a very...
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Briefs: Mechanical & Fluid Systems
Low Solidity Vaned Diffuser (LSVD) Design for Improvement of Pressure Recovery
Many pump vaned diffuser designs are based on existing airfoil designs, with little attention given to the vane leading edge. There is a need for a vaned diffuser leading edge that helps resist flow separation and the resultant poor diffuser pressure recovery. Diffusers...

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