. 24/7 Space News .
ROCKET SCIENCE
Methane-powered engine key to next generation landers
by Kim Newton for MSFC News
Huntsville AL (SPX) Oct 29, 2015


The distinct blue flame in recent tests is produced by the thruster's fuel, methane. Data gathered from testing will be used to develop optimized components that could support engine designs for NASA's next generation of exploration landers. Image courtesy NASA/MSFC/David Olive. For a larger version of this image please go here.

NASA tested components for an engine that could be used for Mars landers powered with methane, a fuel that has never before propelled a NASA spacecraft.

A spectacular blue flame erupted as a rocket engine thruster roared to life in a series of tests recently at NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The blue flame, not typical of most engine tests, was the signature of the thruster's fuel - methane.

"With the current configuration, these methane thrusters could propel a small lander," said Steve Hanna, lead for NASA's Advanced Exploration Systems at Marshall. "With the data gained from these tests, the technology is scalable for even larger applications for in-space engines and larger landers."

Methane is a promising fuel for the journey to Mars. Methane - more stable than liquid hydrogen, today's most common rocket fuel - can also be stored at more manageable temperatures. Methane may be recovered or created from local resources, using in-situ resource utilization (ISRU).

With a storage temperature similar to that of liquid oxygen - the oxidizer for methane-powered engines - methane's storage tanks will require less insulation, leading to more affordable tanks. Methane is also denser than liquid hydrogen, which allows for smaller tanks.

With the Mars 2020 mission, NASA plans to will demonstrate ISRU technologies that could enable propellant and consumable oxygen production from the Martian atmosphere. If successful, astronauts could create both the fuel and oxidizer needed to propel an ascent vehicle to Martian orbit.

The current thruster being tested, which is part of a pressure-fed design, produces 4,000 pounds of thrust. To achieve the 25,000 pounds of thrust needed for larger descent/ascent landers on Mars, and enable engines to be throttled as needed, Marshall engineers are also developing a pump-fed engine design. In the design, a turbopump will use a turbine capable of up to 95,000 revolutions per minute to deliver methane to the thruster, allowing for higher thrust levels.

Marshall engineers recently successfully conducted preliminary testing and facility checkout of a turbopump for a methane engine. Engineers plan to perform a series of tests later this year to verify the turbopump, previously tested with liquid hydrogen, can be used with either fuel, and is capable of delivering enough fuel to power a large methane engine.

Thrusters - the combination of an injector and chamber, known as thruster assemblies in larger engines - fueled by methane with a liquid oxygen oxidizer, have been under development at Marshall for the last decade. Both the thruster and the turbopump were manufactured with additive manufacturing, or 3-D printing.

Not only does 3-D printing allow for quicker production times and a reduction in the machining and brazing required with traditional fabrication processes, it also allows for the addition of thermocouple ports along the length of the chamber. These ports communicate with the chamber's coolant channels, providing discrete temperature data never before available.

"This data will help critical thermal modeling," said Sandra Greene, an engineer in Marshall's Propulsion Systems Department. "That's why the thermocouple ports are so exciting - we not only get the inlet and exit temperature of the methane, but we also get data to help us verify what is happening inside the chamber's coolant system."

This unique thermal data will be used to anchor thermal models to optimize the design of the thruster for a full regenerative engine system that uses methane as fuel.

A regenerative engine system cycles fuel through channels within the chamber to cool the chamber before and during ignition. In previous methane thruster development efforts at Marshall, chamber designs were primarily uncooled - using ablative or high-temperature refractory materials to prevent the chamber from overheating.

"To maximize performance, a regeneratively cooled chamber is desired," said Greene. "This chamber is Marshall's first attempt at such a design in a methane-powered system."

With NASA closer to sending astronauts to Mars than ever before, these tests and the technology they inspire could enable the first steps on the Martian surface to come from astronauts exiting a lander driven by a spectacular blue methane flame.

To view video of the methane-powered thruster test, click here.


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


.


Related Links
Marshall Space Flight Center
Rocket Science News at Space-Travel.Com






Comment on this article via your Facebook, Yahoo, AOL, Hotmail login.

Share this article via these popular social media networks
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit GoogleGoogle

Previous Report
ROCKET SCIENCE
NASA SLS Prime Contractor Industry Team Reaches Significant Exploration
Washington DC (SPX) Oct 26, 2015
NASA's Space Launch System program has completed its Critical Design Review, and major subsystems such as Orion's launch abort system and the SLS RS-25 engines have recently completed successful testing. These accomplishments bring America one step closer to deep space - preserving the nation's leadership in human space exploration. "The successes and milestones we are seeing are incredibl ... read more


ROCKET SCIENCE
All-female Russian crew starts Moon mission test

Russian moon mission would need 4 Angara-A5V launches

Study reveals origin of organic matter in Apollo lunar samples

Russia touts plan to land a man on the Moon by 2029

ROCKET SCIENCE
Martian skywatchers provide insight on atmosphere, protect orbiting hardware

Landing site recommended for ExoMars 2018

You too can learn to farm on Mars

The Martian Astrobiologist

ROCKET SCIENCE
Charles Elachi to retire as JPL Director

From science fiction to reality - sonic tractor beam invented

Study solves mysteries of Voyager 1's journey into interstellar space

NASA Marks Completion of Test Version of Key SLS Propulsion System

ROCKET SCIENCE
The Last Tiangong

China aims to go deeper into space

Latest Mars film bespeaks potential of China-U.S. space cooperation

Exhibition on "father of Chinese rocketry" opens in U.S.

ROCKET SCIENCE
NASA astronauts get workout in marathon spacewalk

Between the Ears: International Space Station Examines the Human Brain

High-Tech Methods Study Bacteria on the International Space Station

Astronaut Scott Kelly to break US spaceflight record

ROCKET SCIENCE
Initial launcher assembly is completed for Arianespace's Vega mission with LISA Pathfinder

Ariane 5 is delivered for Arianespace's sixth heavy-lift mission of 2015

ORBCOMM Announces Launch Window For Second OG2 Mission

10th Anniversary of the Final Titan

ROCKET SCIENCE
Spirals in dust around young stars may betray presence of massive planets

The Exoplanet Era

Scientists Predict that Rocky Planets Formed from "Pebbles"

NASA's K2 Finds Dead Star Vaporizing a Mini 'Planet'

ROCKET SCIENCE
Ants: Both solid-like and liquid-like

Coating cancels acoustic scattering from odd-shaped objects

Nanoquakes probe new 2-dimensional material

Scientists gain insight into origin of tungsten-ditelluride's magnetoresistance









The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - 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. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. 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. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.