. 24/7 Space News .
NASA Air-Breathing Engine Rockets On Paper

Now in development by NASA, the X-43C hypersonic flight vehicle -- shown here in this artist's rendering -- will be powered by an air-breathing rocket engine. On Friday, Dec. 21, NASA will award the design contract for the rocket engine to the Rocket Based Combined Cycle Consortium, or RBC3 , a joint industry team that includes the Rocketdyne Propulsion and Power business of the Boeing Co., of Canoga Park, Calif.; Aerojet of Sacramento, Calif.; and Pratt & Whitney of West Palm Beach, Fla. Credit: Image courtesy NASA/Media Fusion.
Huntsville - Jul 09, 2002
Initial design of a new prototype air-breathing rocket engine for NASA -- one that could revolutionize air and space travel in the next 40 years -- reached a major milestone ahead of schedule last week.

The engine's design team, the Rocket Based Combined Cycle Consortium (RBC3), completed its first major engine systems requirements review -- an exhaustive examination of the engine's design and performance parameters -- three months earlier than originally planned.

To design the radical new engine, the consortium combines the propulsion development skills of the Rocketdyne Propulsion & Power business of The Boeing Co., of Canoga Park, Calif.; the Pratt & Whitney space propulsion business unit of United Technologies Corp., of West Palm Beach, Fla.; and the Aerojet missile and space propulsion business unit of GenCorp, Inc., of Sacramento, Calif.

The flight-like ground test engine is being developed as part of NASA's Integrated System Test of an Air-breathing Rocket (ISTAR) program, which intends by the end of the decade to flight-test a self-powered vehicle to more than six times the speed of sound, demonstrating all modes of engine operation.

Dubbed "ARGO" by its design team, the engine is named for the mythological Greek ship that bore Jason and the Argonauts on their epic voyage of discovery. The team believes the name appropriate because the ship's technological marvels were surpassed only by the world-class prowess of its crew.

ARGO's unique engine design allows it to function as a rocket, ramjet and scramjet. Key among its technical advantages: the ability to use air as an oxidizer. Compared to conventionally powered rocket vehicles, this technology will significantly reduce vehicle weight by eliminating a significant amount of its required on-board oxidizer.

The ISTAR contract calls for completion of conceptual system design and subsystem testing by November 2002. Ground testing of the flight-weight, fuel-cooled engine flowpath is scheduled to begin in 2006.

"This review is a big step toward our goal four years down the road," said Consortium Program Director Mike McKeon, RBC3 program manager.

"We are now on our way to ground testing the world's first hypersonic, rocket-based, combined cycle engine -- fueled and cooled by hydrocarbon and high-test peroxide propellants."

The project is funded by NASA as part of an effort to make future space transportation safer, more reliable and significantly less expensive than today's missions.

"Air-breathing propulsion is one of the most promising concepts we've seen for reaching NASA's future-generation spaceflight goals," said Steve Cook, deputy manager of the Advanced Space Transportation Program at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. "The successful completion of this critical first milestone bears out NASA's faith in this team to lead America to a revolutionary new age in global and out-of-this-world transportation."

The innovative air-breathing rocket engine for the operational vehicle would get its initial power boost from specially designed rockets in a duct that captures air, an arrangement that improves performance about 15 percent above conventional rockets. Once the vehicle has accelerated to more than twice the speed of sound, the rockets are turned off and the engine relies solely on oxygen in the atmosphere to burn its hydrogen fuel.

When the vehicle has accelerated to more than 10 times the speed of sound, the engine converts to a conventional rocket-powered system to propel the craft into orbit.

Spacecraft powered by air-breathing -- or rocket-based, combined cycle -- rocket engines would be completely reusable, able to take off and land at airport runways, and ready to fly again within days.

Air-breathing propulsion is a concept dating to the 1960s. The Marshall Center -- which began pursuing the technology for space-based applications in 1996, and started testing air-breathing rocket engine components in 1997 -- manages the ISTAR program for NASA.

Related Links
Space Transport at NASA/MSFC
SLI NEWS
Boeing Space and Communications
SpaceDaily
Search SpaceDaily
Subscribe To SpaceDaily Express

Hyshot Blows Its Nose
Brisbane - May 24, 2001
The $1.25 million University of Queensland Hyshot project has passed its latest test by successfully blowing its nose. In multiple ground tests at UQ's Centre for Hypersonics in Brisbane, researchers made the rocket nose cone eject to expose its payload -- the fastest air-breathing engine ever built.



Thanks for being here;
We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain.

With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords.

Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year.

If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor
$5 Billed Once


credit card or paypal
SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter
$5 Billed Monthly


paypal only














The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2016 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. Privacy Statement All images and articles appearing on Space Media Network have been edited or digitally altered in some way. Any requests to remove copyright material will be acted upon in a timely and appropriate manner. Any attempt to extort money from Space Media Network will be ignored and reported to Australian Law Enforcement Agencies as a potential case of financial fraud involving the use of a telephonic carriage device or postal service.