НАСА предлагает награду за экологичное топливо для КА

[Salo]

http://www.aviationweek.com/aw/generic/story_channel.jsp?channel=space&id=news/asd/2012/02/09/03.xml&headline=NASA%20Offers%20Reward%20For%20Green%20Propellant

NASA Offers Reward For Green Propellant[/size]

Feb 9, 2012
 
By Frank Morring, Jr.

NASA's Technology Demonstration Missions Program is looking for "green" alternatives to toxic hydrazine as a storable propellant for spacecraft, offering contracts worth as much as $50 million each to researchers with promising ideas.

The agency is seeking proposals for demonstrations of systems that use storable monopropellants or bipropellants that are safer than hydrazine to generate spacecraft propulsion and power. The broad area announcement, which is available at http://go.usa.gov/Qbx , calls for complete integrated systems that include engines, tanks, valves, injectors, igniters, thrust chambers and propellant-control systems.

"High-performance green propulsion has the potential to significantly change how we travel in space," said Space Technology Program Director Michael Gazarik. "NASA's Space Technology Program seeks out these sort of cross-cutting, innovative technologies to enable our future missions while also providing benefit to the American space industry. By reducing the hazards of handling fuel, we can reduce ground processing time and lower costs for rocket launches, allowing a greater community of researchers and technologists access to the high frontier."

Proposals are due April 30, with selection of one or more tentatively set for July. The competition is open to U.S. organizations and to non-U.S. potential participants – with the exception of China – and with some other restrictions in place. NASA has been barred by Congress from funding joint space activities with China.

One possible non-U.S. company to participate is the Swedish Space Corp. subsidiary Ecaps, which has demonstrated performance in steady-state, single-pulse and pulse-mode firings on the Mango satellite – part of the Russian-launched, two-satellite Prisma technology-development mission – that is said to be 8% better on average than the monopropellant hydrazine system on the same spacecraft.

The Swedish system uses a mix of ammonium dinitramide, water, methanol and ammonia, which it has dubbed LMP-103S.

In addition to improved on-orbit performance, the green spacecraft propellant cuts fueling time by eliminating the need for airtight protective suits, according to the Swedish company.[/size]

[Salo]

http://www.parabolicarc.com/2012/02/08/nasa-seeks-green-space-fuel-alternatives/

NASA Seeks Green Space Fuel Alternatives[/size]
Posted by Doug Messier
on February 8, 2012, at 5:25 pm

WASHINGTON (NASA PR) — NASA is seeking technology demonstration proposals for green propellant alternatives to the highly toxic fuel hydrazine. As NASA works with American companies to open a new era of access to space, the agency seeks innovative and transformative fuels that are less harmful to our environment.

Hydrazine is an efficient and ubiquitous propellant that can be stored for long periods of time, but is also highly corrosive and toxic. It is used extensively on commercial and defense department satellites as well as for NASA science and exploration missions. NASA is looking for an alternative that decreases environmental hazards and pollutants, has fewer operational hazards and shortens rocket launch processing times.
"High performance green propulsion has the potential to significantly change how we travel in space," said Michael Gazarik, director of NASA's Space Technology Program at the agency's headquarters in Washington. "NASA's Space Technology Program seeks out these sort of cross-cutting, innovative technologies to enable our future missions while also providing benefit to the American space industry. By reducing the hazards of handling fuel, we can reduce ground processing time and lower costs for rocket launches, allowing a greater community of researchers and technologists access to the high frontier."

Beyond decreasing environmental hazards and pollutants, promising aspects of green propellants also include reduced systems complexity, fewer operational hazards, decreased launch processing times and increased propellant performance.

Maturing a space technology, such as green propellants, to mission readiness through relevant environment testing and demonstration is a significant challenge from a cost, schedule and risk perspective. NASA has established the Technology Demonstration Missions Program to perform this function, bridging the gap between laboratory confirmation of a technology and its initial use on an operational mission.

NASA anticipates making one or more awards in response to this solicitation, with no single award exceeding $50 million. Final awards will be made based on the strength of proposals and availability of funds. The deadline for submitting proposals is April 30.

The Technology Demonstration Missions Program is managed by NASA's Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala. To view the announcement and instructions for submissions, visit:[/size]
http://go.usa.gov/Qbx

[mefisto_x]

Вода - зеленее не бывает  

[Иван57]

Вода - зеленее не бывает  

Только холодная очень

[Salo]

http://www.nasaspaceflight.com/2012/02/aerojets-confidence-next-generation-engine-green-propellants/

The Californian-based company are involved in a number of future engine projects, not least the advanced booster for the Space Launch System (SLS), but also in the field of environmentally "green" engines.

With experience in working with Hydroxylammonium nitrate or hydroxylamine nitrate (HAN) powered engines for uncrewed spacecraft, Aerojet noted they are also working on a nitrous-ethanol bipropellant system for Human Space Flight applications.

"While Aerojet has been developing HAN-based monopropellants for a wide range of applications since 1990, Human Spaceflight is not a current focus for this effort. For HSF, our current green propulsion focus is a nitrous-ethanol bipropellant system," noted Ms Van Kleeck.

It has been publicly known that HAN is being developed as a potential propellant for launch vehicles, both in the solid form as a solid propellant oxidizer, and in the aqueous solution in monopropellant rockets.

According to technical papers – such as those associated with the US Department of Energy – it is typically bonded with glycidyl azide polymer (GAP), Hydroxyl-terminated polybutadiene (HTPB), or carboxy-terminated polybutadiene (CTPB). The catalyst is a noble metal, similar to the other monopropellants that use silver or palladium.

"For the HAN-monopropellant systems we are currently focused on robotic spacecraft and defense applications," Ms Van Kleeck continued. "Aerojet has successfully tested HAN thrusters from 0.2 lbf up to 150 lbf and has found no limitations to developing even higher thrust engines. When developing new, green propellants, one needs to consider both environmental and safety issues.

"For HSF, if green monopropellants become attractive, Aerojet believes that HAN is the leading green monopropellant candidate if you consider all of the safety and handling issues."

As aforementioned, Ms Van Kleeck noted that Aerojet place a large amount of consideration on both the environmental and safety elements of their advanced propellants, not least their impact on humans, but also for the atmosphere of Mars.

"Aerojet has developed both monopropellant and bipropellant liquid rocket engines that utilize environmentally friendly propellants. Our monopropellant efforts include HAN based engines and Nitrous Oxide based engines. In the bipropellant arena, we have developed Nitrous-Ethanol, LOX/Methane, LOX/Hydrogen and LOX/Ethanol engines," added Ms Van Kleeck.

"For interplanetary missions to Mars, NASA has chosen Aerojet's monopropellant hydrazine thrusters for both cruise and landing for all Mars landers to date for the simple reason that hydrazine (N2H4) does not contain carbon.

"For all advanced propellants, both environmental and safety considerations are very important, and our selections are based on a balance of both of these critical factors. Insofar as toxicity to humans, we have done extensive work on our selected propellants and have found that they meet our requirements.

"Just as important, extensive testing has shown that our propellants are the safest to handle and use in typical test and operational settings."[/size]

[Asgard]

можно керосин на основе биотоплива.

[Потусторонний]

метан коров и кислород воды :?

[Lamort]

Твердотопливный двигатель с топливом на основе опилок.

[Потусторонний]

предложить "Ацетам"

[mefisto_x]

Вода - зеленее не бывает  

Только холодная очень

перегретый пар 500С и 6000В и на выходе получим водород и кислород

[Дмитрий В.]

Вода - зеленее не бывает  

Только холодная очень

Добавить U235 :roll:

[G.K.]

Вода - зеленее не бывает  

Только холодная очень

Добавить U235 :roll:

Просто добавь воды (С)   Это уже реактор, неинтересно.

[SpaceR]

Ну можно и без реактора... В чём там ещё вода хорошо горит?

[SpaceR]

предложить "Ацетам"

Не-не, как раз он-то и есть "холодный очень".

А если серьёзно, то этот запрос же не просто так возник - есть уже и кандидаты на "экологичное ракетное топливо" (см. статьи выше), так что весь этот конкурс - прежде всего для дальнейшего продвижения их разработки.
А мне первый раз подобный запрос для замены гидразина и ММГ уже попадался ранее на страницах НК - многовато уже лет назад, емнип даже ещё в чёрно-белую эпоху...  :roll:

[Антикосмит]

Кислород+водород

Экологичнее некуда.

Гоните премию

[KBOB]

А в чем измеряется экологическая чистота? В каких единицах?
Перекись водорода экологически чиста? закись азота смешанная с ацетиленом?

[Salo]

NASA's Technology Demonstration Missions Program is looking for "green" alternatives to toxic hydrazine as a storable propellant for spacecraft, offering contracts worth as much as $50 million each to researchers with promising ideas.

The agency is seeking proposals for demonstrations of systems that use storable monopropellants or bipropellants that are safer than hydrazine to generate spacecraft propulsion and power.

Топливо должно быть долгохранимым. Перекись таковой не является. Смесь ацетилена с закисью азота возможна только в газообразном состоянии.

[Salo]

Кислород+водород

Экологичнее некуда.

Гоните премию

А как это хранить на КА? Гоните премию назад.

[Monoceros]

Топливо должно быть долгохранимым. Перекись таковой не является. Смесь ацетилена с закисью азота возможна только в газообразном состоянии.

Изопропилнитрат, н-пропилнитрат ? Нитрометан, возможно каким-нибудь растворенным окислителем, типа нитрата гидразина...

[KBOB]

закись азота + пропан. УИвак~ 300

подробности
http://www.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf&AD=ADA393448