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Aerospace
Special Issues
Space Propulsion: Advances and Challenges
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Space Propulsion: Advances and Challenges

A special issue of Aerospace (ISSN 2226-4310). This special issue belongs to the section "Astronautics & Space Science".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (30 June 2023) | Viewed by 8972

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Kyun Ho Lee

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Aerospace Engineering, Sejong University, Seoul 143-741, Republic of Korea
Interests: space propulsion; satellite system; thermal engineering; CFD; inverse heat transfer analysis; rarefied flow
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Prof. Dr. Chae Hoon Sohn

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Sejong University, Seoul 05006, Republic of Korea
Interests: combustion; combustion instability; acoustics; liquid propulsion; jet aviation fuels
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

A major function of space propulsion systems is to accelerate spacecraft by producing a propulsive force (thrust) or a change in velocity (delta-V) by ejecting propellant mass at a high speed into the air or space based on Newton’s laws of motion. This plays an important role in acceleration, attitude control, drag make-up, and orbit transfer maneuvers of spacecraft. The various types of space propulsion systems can be defined depending on what kind of energy source is used and how the energy is generated to provide thrust. At present, chemical and electric propulsion systems are the preferred types of systems for various spacecrafts. Applications of space propulsion can be classified into three different categories: escape propulsion (from Earth’s surface to its orbit), in-space propulsion (in Earth’s orbit), and deep space propulsion (from Earth’s orbit to outer space).

Since Goddard‘s first successful flight of a liquid propellant rocket in 1926, the roles of space propulsion have become more important and complex for the successful completion of predefined mission goals as recent demands on the function of space propulsion have diversified. Thus, various new and advanced concepts of space propulsion technologies are under investigation and development, especially for small-lift launch vehicles, reusable launch vehicles, Earth-orbiting satellites, deep space explorers, cubesats, and many other spacecraft applications.

This Special Issue invites contributions relating to recent advances and challenges for space propulsion technologies. Submissions welcome a whole range of space propulsion topics, including, but are not limited to:

  • Concept, theory, and related science and engineering;
  • Design, modeling, simulation, and analysis;
  • Mission and application;
  • Launch and flight/orbit operation;
  • Experiment, test, and verification;
  • Propellant (solid, liquid, gas, non-toxic, gelled, etc.);
  • Thrust generation method and type (chemical, electric, hybrid, solar sail, nuclear, etc.);
  • Hardware (material, part, component, equipment, assembly, and system) and software;
  • Manufacturing, integration, and facility.

Prof. Dr. Kyun Ho Lee
Prof. Dr. Chae Hoon Sohn
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Aerospace is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • space propulsion
  • chemical propulsion
  • electric propulsion
  • hybrid propulsion
  • solar sail propulsion
  • nuclear propulsion
  • spacecraft
  • rocket
  • launch vehicle
  • satellite
  • cubesat
  • deep space explorer

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

21 pages, 15263 KiB  
Article
Evaluation of Mixing Effect on Coupled Heat Release and Transfer Performance of a Novel Segregated Solid Rocket Motor
by Shuyuan Liu, Yu Zhang, Limin Wang, Zhengchun Chen and Songqi Hu
Aerospace 2024, 11(1), 72; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace11010072 - 12 Jan 2024
Viewed by 917
Abstract
The effect of mixing on coupled heat release and transfer performance of a novel segregated solid motor is numerically evaluated with a transient two-dimensional combustion model. The results show that vortex structures are formed and evolved in the combustion chamber. Quantitative calculation of [...] Read more.
The effect of mixing on coupled heat release and transfer performance of a novel segregated solid motor is numerically evaluated with a transient two-dimensional combustion model. The results show that vortex structures are formed and evolved in the combustion chamber. Quantitative calculation of the mixing effect shows the inhomogeneous distribution of oxidant and fuel species. The well-mixing area is located in a narrow belt-like coupled combustion region near the burning surface of the propellant. Heat transfer coefficient decreases greatly due to lower combustion reaction rate and enlarged flow channel area. Heat transfer coefficients near the two ends of the propellant grain are higher than other parts due to the influence of vortex mixing. Raising the inlet mass flow rate leads to enhanced mixing and heat transfer, which results in a lower temperature and regression rate of the propellant with combustion time. Temperature and oxidation rates of H2 and CO are unevenly distributed in the boundary layer of coupled combustion. Increasing the mass flux of inlet oxidizer gas leads to a higher combustion heat release rate. Therefore, the gas-phase temperature increases significantly. The heat release rate reaches the maximum near the ends of the propellant grain, where vortex mixing strengthens the coupled combustion process in the motor. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Space Propulsion: Advances and Challenges)
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17 pages, 9069 KiB  
Article
DSMC Simulation of the Effect of Needle Valve Opening Ratio on the Rarefied Gas Flows inside a Micronozzle with a Large Length-to-Diameter Ratio
by Xudong Wang, Yong Li, Yong Gao, Chenguang Gao and Weichun Fu
Aerospace 2023, 10(2), 126; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10020126 - 30 Jan 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1522
Abstract
The cold gas micro-propulsion system can provide low noise and ultra-high accuracy thrust for satellite platforms for space gravitational wave detection, high-precision earth gravity field measurement. In this study, the effect of different needle valve opening ratios on the rarefied flow characteristics of [...] Read more.
The cold gas micro-propulsion system can provide low noise and ultra-high accuracy thrust for satellite platforms for space gravitational wave detection, high-precision earth gravity field measurement. In this study, the effect of different needle valve opening ratios on the rarefied flow characteristics of a micro-nozzle in a cold gas micro-propulsion system was investigated based on DSMC method. The special feature of the currently studied micro-nozzle is that it has a section of micro-channel with a large length–diameter ratio up to 4.5. Due to the extremely small needle valve displacement of the nozzle (minimum needle valve displacement up to 1.7 μm), a finely structured mesh was used. The molecular particle and macro flow characteristics inside the micro-nozzle were calculated for the conditions of a needle valve opening ratio from 5% to 98%. The throttling effect of the throat has a significant effect on the rarefied flow in the micro-nozzle; especially under the tiny opening, this effect is more significant. The spatial distribution of continuous flow, transition flow, and free molecular flow in the micro-nozzle varies at different needle valve opening ratios. As the needle valve opening ratio increases, the continuous flow will gradually fill the microfluidic region. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Space Propulsion: Advances and Challenges)
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14 pages, 6079 KiB  
Article
Theoretical Research on Magnetic Confinement Mechanism of Applied-Field Magnetoplasmadynamic Thruster
by Yifan Du, Jinxing Zheng, Haiyang Liu, Yong Li, Cheng Zhou, Ge Wang, Zhuoyao Tang, Yudong Lu and Luoqi Wang
Aerospace 2023, 10(2), 124; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10020124 - 28 Jan 2023
Viewed by 2081
Abstract
Since the invention of rockets, mankind has been constantly trying to explore the universe. It was not until the beginning of the last century that electric propulsion technology was introduced. With the same weight of fuel consumed as chemical propulsion, electric propulsion technology [...] Read more.
Since the invention of rockets, mankind has been constantly trying to explore the universe. It was not until the beginning of the last century that electric propulsion technology was introduced. With the same weight of fuel consumed as chemical propulsion, electric propulsion technology can transport a spacecraft to a more distant universe. With its excellent performance in terms of specific impulse and thrust, the MPDT (MagnetoPlasmaDynamic Thruster) is garnering significant attention in the field of electric propulsion. Recent research has focused on improving its propulsion performance and service life. Due to the complexity of its working mechanism, there is no perfect explanation for it. Further analysis of its working mechanism may lead to a solution to the improvement of certain significant performance aspects such as thrust. An ideal magnetic fluid model of the MPDT is established based on the MHD method, and the working mechanism is analyzed and summarized according to simulations and experiments. The results of the analysis indicate that reducing the size of the cathode could significantly improve the thruster’s performance. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Space Propulsion: Advances and Challenges)
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17 pages, 5392 KiB  
Article
Ground-Based Experiment for Electric Propulsion Thruster Plume—Magnetic Field Interaction
by Andreas Neumann and Nina Sarah Mühlich
Aerospace 2023, 10(2), 117; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace10020117 - 26 Jan 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1446
Abstract
Electric space propulsion is a technology which is employed on a continuously increasing number of spacecrafts. While the current focus of their application area is on telecommunication satellites and on space exploration missions, several new ideas are now discussed that go even further [...] Read more.
Electric space propulsion is a technology which is employed on a continuously increasing number of spacecrafts. While the current focus of their application area is on telecommunication satellites and on space exploration missions, several new ideas are now discussed that go even further and apply the thruster plume particle flow for transferring momentum to targets such as space debris objects or even asteroids. In these potential scenarios, the thruster beam impacts on distant objects and subsequently generates changes in their flight path. One aspect which so far has not been systematically investigated is the interaction of the charged particles in the propulsion beam with magnetic fields which are present in space. This interaction may result in a deflection of the particle flow and consequently affect the aiming strategy. In the present article, basic considerations related to the interaction between electric propulsion thruster plumes and magnetic fields are presented. Experiments with respect to these questions were conducted in the high-vacuum plume test facility for electric thrusters (STG-ET) of the German Aerospace Center in Göttingen utilizing a gridded ion thruster, an RIT10/37, and a Helmholtz coil to generate magnetic fields of varying field strength. It was possible to detect a beam deflection on the RIT ion beam caused by a magnetic field with an Earth-like magnetic field strength. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Space Propulsion: Advances and Challenges)
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23 pages, 4484 KiB  
Article
An Effort to Use a Solid Propellant Engine Arrangement in the Moon Soft Landing Problem
by Elías Obreque and Marcos Díaz
Aerospace 2022, 9(10), 540; https://doi.org/10.3390/aerospace9100540 - 23 Sep 2022
Viewed by 1439
Abstract
This paper presents a control design strategy for the soft-landing problem on the Moon using solid propellant engines (SPEs). While SPEs have controllability issues and issues relating to the fact that they cannot be restarted, they are characterized by their reliability, simplicity, and [...] Read more.
This paper presents a control design strategy for the soft-landing problem on the Moon using solid propellant engines (SPEs). While SPEs have controllability issues and issues relating to the fact that they cannot be restarted, they are characterized by their reliability, simplicity, and cost-effectiveness. Consequently, our main contribution is to tackle this disadvantage by formulating a 1-dimensional landing optimization problem using an array of SPEs in a CubeSat platform, which is analyzed for different numbers of engines in the array and for three types of propellant grain cross-section (PGCS). The engines and control parameters are optimized by a genetic algorithm (GA) due to the non-linearity of the problem and the uncertainties of the state variables. Two design approaches for control are analyzed, where the robust design based on the uncertainties of the variables shows the best performance. The results of Monte Carlo simulations were used to demonstrate the effectiveness of the robust design, which decreases the impact velocity as the number of SPEs increases. Using an arrangement of ten SPEs, the landing was at −2.97 m/s with a standard deviation of 0.99 m/s; using sixteen SPEs, the landing was at −2.04 m/s with a standard deviation of 0.48 m/s. Both have regressive PGCS. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Space Propulsion: Advances and Challenges)
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