Here enters the concept of electric propulsion which greatly reduces relative propellant consumption while giving high exhaust velocities. So to fulfill a required mission a lot of fuel is consumed (thousands of tons). 3: Diagrammatical Image of Solid Rocket MotorĪlthough chemical propulsion systems are known for producing high quantities of thrust, they get used up pretty quickly. 2: Diagrammatical Image of Liquid Rocket Motorįig. The hybrid rocket motor is a combination of both solid and liquid system where a liquid oxidizer and a solid fuel is used.įig. The more complicated and advanced rocket propulsion system is the liquid rocket propulsion system where liquid forms of fuel and oxidizers are controlled by motors, by controlling the feed, the rate of combustion is controlled therefore giving us control of the thrust. The solid rocket motors are the most primitive system where a hollow cylinder of solid fuel is ignited to heat and expand the gas in the hollow region (similar to the rockets used in fireworks).
Chemical propulsion systems are classified in to Solid Propellant Chemical Rocket Propulsion, Liquid Propellant Chemical Rocket Propulsion and Hybrid Rocket motors. This is passed through a nozzle where all this pressure energy is converted into kinetic energy causing it to come out at extremely high velocities (up to 5000 meters/sec). At this high the pressure the mixture ignites and heats the gas to extremely high temperatures causing the gas to expand. These are fed into a combustion chamber at high pressures. In these chemical rocket propulsion systems, there are two separate tanks containing the fuel and the oxidizer.
Rocket propulsion is a sub category of jet propulsion where propulsion is achieved by ejecting a stored mass (propellant) at high velocities.Ĭonventionally rocket propulsion is achieved by chemical combustion. Acceleration can be used to move a body from rest, change the velocity of a body or overcome various drag (retarding) forces. So what exactly is the term propulsion? We immediately picture a big exhaust plume coming out from a rocket, but why do we need that thrust? The answer is, to achieve acceleration. In this article we discuss about a technology that may quite well replace the conventional chemical rocket propulsion and in what ways it is better and what it lacks from its competition. There are many reasons for such high costs like thousands of tons of fuel, state of the art electronics and control systems, precision manufacturing of large parts, non-reusability of the launch vehicles. The costs of sending a payload into space is massive and is therefore not opted as a viable front for open research.
Space exploration in the 1900s was more of a government affair, whereas the 21 st century is seeing more and more participation of private sectors as innovations rise in the aerospace sector from companies such as SpaceX, Boeing, Virgin Galactic, The Spaceship Company (TSC) etc.
The atmosphere reacts in accordance with newton’s third law to push the rocket upwards. If we consider a rocket for example, when it lifts off, chemical reactions take place in its combustion chamber producing large amounts of trapped energy which explodes out at high speeds through a nozzle and exerts force on the atmosphere. This propulsive force is known as ‘thrust’. Leaving the ground is in defiance with the gravitational pull of the earth and therefore requires a certain work needs to be done by a body to propel it. Humans can walk on land in the absence of automobiles, they can swim in the water without boats, but without planes and rockets, we cannot fly. 1: Representational Image of Electric Propulsion