Air- Breathing Launch Vehicle Activities in France - The Last and the Next 20 Years

Lentsch, A.; Bec, Raymond; Deneu, F.; Novelli, P.; Rigault, M.; Conrardy, Jean-Marie

doi:10.2514/6.2003-6949

Cited by 7 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 2 publications

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“…What could be the individual impression or opinion one can have [3], it has to be noticed that a large worldwide e¨ort is still under progress for developing the high-speed air-breathing propulsion technology in USA, Japan, Australia, Russia, India, China, and also in France [410].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The microspace launcher: first step to the fully air-breathing space launcher

Falempin¹,

Bouchez²,

Calabro³

2009

Progress in Propulsion Physics

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A possible application for the high-speed air-breathing propulsion is the fully or partially reusable space launcher. Indeed, by combining the high-speed air-breathing propulsion with a conventional rocket engine (combined cycle or combined propulsion system), it should be possible to improve the average installed speci¦c impulse along the ascent trajectory and then make possible more performing launchers and, hopefully, a fully reusable one. During the last 15 years, a lot of system studies have been performed in France on that subject within the framework of di¨er-ent and consecutive programs. Nevertheless, these studies never clearly demonstrated that a space launcher could take advantage of using a combined propulsion system. During last years, the interest to air-breathing propulsion for space application has been revisited. During this review and taking into account technologies development activities already in progress in Europe, clear priorities have been identi¦ed regarding a minimum complementary research and technology program addressing speci¦c needs of space launcher application. It was also clearly identi¦ed that there is the need to restart system studies taking advantage of recent progress made regarding knowledge, tools, and technology and focusing on more innovative airframe/propulsion system concepts enabling better trade-o¨between structural e©ciency and propulsion system performance. In that ¦eld, a fully axisymmetric con¦guration has been considered for a microspace launcher (10 kg payload). The vehicle is based on a main stage powered by air-breathing propulsion, combined or not with liquid rocket mode. A ¤kick stage,¥ powered by a solid rocket engine provides the ¦nal acceleration. A preliminary design has been performed for di¨erent variants: one using a separated booster and a purely air-breathing main stage, a second one using a booster and a main stage combining air-breathing and rocket mode, a third one without separated booster, the main stage ensuring the initial acceleration in liquid rocket mode and a complementary acceleration phase in rocket mode beyond the air-breathing propulsion system operation. Finally, the liquid rocket engine of this third variant can be replaced by a continuous detonation wave rocket engine. The paper describes the main guidelines for the design of these variants and provides their main characteristics. On this basis, the achievable performance, estimated by trajectory simulation, are detailed.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%