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.
Aircraft and rockets use them in producing gas or exhausted material that is expelled through nuzzle for creating thrust. This material either could be liquid, gas, or plasma, and liquid, solid or gel before a chemical reaction has happened. These are cached inside propellant depots on orbit around Earth that lets spacecraft be refueled there.
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 such as these are low earth orbit functioning primarily as provider of propellants to transfer stage that are headed to Mars or moon. Smaller launch vehicles can be used in increasing flight rates due to their lower costs. A depot could be placed also at the orbit of Mars and Lagrange point 1 reducing costs of travel there.
Propellant takes a big portion of the total mass that rockets have during launch and using depots have some advantages over this. Less mass in structures are required in spacecrafts because they can be launched not fueled or tankers could serve the second stage if reusable. This would create also a refueling market in orbit where competitions for delivering them will result in their prices getting cheaper.
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 also be done by operators of that certain depot with launching tanker rockets that are full of new fuel. Most agencies prefer to be purchasers rather than owners so the facilities would probably be privately operated by the commercial companies. Chemical propulsion tugs that has a short range may be used to simplify docking vehicles and rockets.
Research and trials have been done more by agencies to determine properly the feasibility of projects like these. More commercial companies will become interested because this technology is a new market that can be taken advantage of. It will make their plans in having space tourism more viable within a shorter time with the success of these trials.
Aircraft and rockets use them in producing gas or exhausted material that is expelled through nuzzle for creating thrust. This material either could be liquid, gas, or plasma, and liquid, solid or gel before a chemical reaction has happened. These are cached inside propellant depots on orbit around Earth that lets spacecraft be refueled there.
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 such as these are low earth orbit functioning primarily as provider of propellants to transfer stage that are headed to Mars or moon. Smaller launch vehicles can be used in increasing flight rates due to their lower costs. A depot could be placed also at the orbit of Mars and Lagrange point 1 reducing costs of travel there.
Propellant takes a big portion of the total mass that rockets have during launch and using depots have some advantages over this. Less mass in structures are required in spacecrafts because they can be launched not fueled or tankers could serve the second stage if reusable. This would create also a refueling market in orbit where competitions for delivering them will result in their prices getting cheaper.
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 also be done by operators of that certain depot with launching tanker rockets that are full of new fuel. Most agencies prefer to be purchasers rather than owners so the facilities would probably be privately operated by the commercial companies. Chemical propulsion tugs that has a short range may be used to simplify docking vehicles and rockets.
Research and trials have been done more by agencies to determine properly the feasibility of projects like these. More commercial companies will become interested because this technology is a new market that can be taken advantage of. It will make their plans in having space tourism more viable within a shorter time with the success of these trials.
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