Propulsion System Design for a Martian Atmosphere-Breathing Supersonic Retropropulsion Engine

Design and analysis of an atmospheric-breathing propulsion system to land large-scale spacecraft (10+t) on Mars was performed. Mg-CO2 propulsion feasibility was analytically investigated by employing equilibrium combustion simulations, finite-rate kinetics simulations, and first-order propellant mass and inlet sizing. ISP values (based on total propellant usage) were determined to be on the order of 120–160 s for onboard subsystems having a 10-to-1 oxidizer compression ratio. This corresponds to an ISP of 600–800 s based on onboard fuel consumption. Although Mg-CO2 mixtures have significant ignition constraints, favorable conditions were found, yielding ignition delay times of less than 1 ms, by simultaneously employing designs exploiting both large reentry Mach numbers (M=4+) and modest compression ratios. These combinations allow for combustion to occur within moderately sized combustion chambers. The first-order sizing calculations confirmed that atmospheric-breathing supersonic retropropulsion has the...

[1]  U. I. Goldshleger,et al.  Magnesium and Carbon Dioxide - A Rocket Propellant for Mars Missions , 1993 .

[2]  S. Yuasa,et al.  Carbon dioxide breathing propulsion for a Mars airplane , 1989 .

[3]  R. Manning,et al.  Mars Exploration Entry, Descent, and Landing Challenges , 2007 .

[4]  B. Mcbride,et al.  Thermodynamic Properties to 6000K for 210 Substances Involving the First 18 Elements. NASA SP-3001 , 1963 .

[5]  Ravi Prakash,et al.  Development of Supersonic Retro-Propulsion for Future Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing Systems , 2010 .

[6]  M. Sippel,et al.  Comparative Study of Kerosene and Methane Propellant Engines for Reusable Liquid Booster Stages , 2022 .

[7]  S. Goroshin,et al.  Powdered Magnesium-Carbon Dioxide Propulsion Concepts for Mars Missions , 1999 .

[8]  A. Abbud-Madrid,et al.  Combustion of Magnesium with Carbon Dioxide and Carbon Monoxide at Low Gravity , 2001 .

[9]  R. E. Sonntag,et al.  Fundamentals of classical thermodynamics , 1973 .

[10]  G. Candler.  Computation of thermo-chemical nonequilibrium Martian atmospheric entry flows , 1990 .

[11]  J. Linnell,et al.  A Preliminary Design of a Magnesium Fueled Martian Ramjet Engine , 2002 .

[12]  S. Yuasa,et al.  An examination on some technical problems of a Co2-breathing turbojet engine in the mars atmosphere , 2000 .

[13]  J. Anderson,et al.  Fundamentals of Aerodynamics , 1984 .

[14]  Karl T. Edquist,et al.  Development of Supersonic Retropropulsion for Future Mars Entry, Descent, and Landing Systems , 2014 .

[15]  S. Hoffman,et al.  Human exploration of Mars, Design Reference Architecture 5.0 , 2010, 2010 IEEE Aerospace Conference.

[16]  Christopher D. Karlgaard,et al.  Mars Entry Atmospheric Data System Trajectory Reconstruction Algorithms and Flight Results , 2013 .

[17]  Christopher E. Cordell.  Computational fluid dynamics and analytical modeling of supersonic retropropulsion flowfield structures across a wide range of potential vehicle configurations , 2013 .

[18]  John Wickman.  In-situ Mars rocket and jet engines burning carbon dioxide , 1999 .

[19]  C. Chauveau,et al.  Ignition and Combustion of Levitated Magnesium and Aluminum Particles in Carbon Dioxide , 2001 .

[20]  Robert Zubrin,et al.  Progress in Mars ISRU technology , 2002 .

[21]  B. Mcbride,et al.  THERMODYNAMIC PROPERTIES TO 6000 K FOR 210 SUBSTANCES INVOLVING THE FIRST 18 ELEMENTS , 1963 .

[22]  R. Braun,et al.  Atmospheric Environments for Entry, Descent and Landing (EDL) , 2007 .

[23]  Woodrow Whitlow,et al.  Innovative Airbreathing Propulsion Concepts for Access to Space , 2001 .

[24]  V. N. Huff,et al.  General method and thermodynamic tables for computation of equilibrium composition and temperature of chemical reactions , 1951 .

[25]  M. King.  A simplified two-reaction zone model of magnesium combustion in carbon dioxide , 2002 .

[26]  Metal-CO2 propulsion for mars missions: Current status and opportunities , 2007 .