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The next generation reusable launch vehicle of NASA's space launch program may use kerosene to fly
Kerosene used to light your heater or stove may be the same fuel used to power the country's next spacecraft. Kerosene, which is almost as common as gasoline in American life, is being considered as the candidate fuel for the two main engines of the second generation reusable launch vehicle, which is currently being developed by the space launch program.

Kerosene used to light your heater or stove may be the same fuel used to power the country's next spacecraft. Kerosene, which is almost as common as gasoline in American life, is being considered as the candidate fuel for the two main engines of the second generation reusable launch vehicle, which is currently being developed by the space launch program. This plan is a technology development project of NASA, which aims to design a complete space transportation system at a lower cost and improve safety and reliability.

 

 

It is managed by the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The U.S. Space Launch Initiative Promotion Program Office is developing kerosene fuel RS-84 prototype engine with Boeing Rocketdyne in Canoga Park, California, and TR107 prototype engine with TRW Space and Electronics in Redondo Beach, California. Two main engines of hydrogen fuel are also under development.

 

 

Kerosene rocket engine is not a new idea. Kerosene was used as the propellant for the F-1 engine of the Saturn 5 rocket that sent Apollo astronauts to the moon in the late 1960s.

 

 

The novelty lies in the design of the engine.

 

 

The second generation engine needs a more complete design, more reliable, easier to operate, less components and lower cost. The new kerosene fuel engine design will use a staged combustion cycle to drive the main combustion chamber by reusing some fuel and oxidant used in the pre-burner, thus having higher fuel efficiency than the F-1 gas generator cycle. The precombulator heats the propellant to prepare the engine's turbine pump, and then injects the propellant into the main combustion chamber, where the fuel burns to generate thrust.

 

 

Another difference is the size of the overall engine. In order to achieve a higher performance level, the propellant burns at a higher pressure, which reduces the size of the main combustion chamber. This in turn increases the thrust.

 

 

Compared with the chamber pressure of 965 psi of F-1 engine, the chamber pressure of the new kerosene engine will be about 2600 psi. This increased pressure enables the small engine to provide nearly as much thrust as the large F-1 engine: the new kerosene engine will produce 1.1 million pounds of strong force, only 0.4 million pounds lower than the F-1 engine.

 

 

The most significant difference between the F-1 engine and the second-generation kerosene engine is that it can be reused.

 

 

The F-1 engine is disposable and can only be used for one flight. Both RS-84 and TR107 engine prototypes may become the first reusable engine using kerosene and oxygen-enriched gas.

 

 

This new reusable engine will greatly reduce the maintenance cost and shorten the turnaround time between tasks. Gary Lairs, the project manager of the Marshall Center space launch program, said: "Reliable, low-maintenance, reusable engines are the key to affordable space launch." "Whether it is 50 missions or 100 missions, we will choose long-life engines to minimize operating costs."

 

 

However, kerosene also has its challenges. It is not as efficient as hydrogen fuel as a coolant. Hydrogen fuel is more commonly used as the first or second stage propellant in the US space program. Kerosene is a hydrocarbon fuel. As the temperature rises, it will become sticky and deposit a hard film on the engine parts - this process is called coking. Coking makes it difficult for rocket propellant to pass through the small coolant pipes that make up the engine combustion chamber. Kerosene combustion also deposits soot on turbine blades, which poses a major challenge to reusable rocket engines with 100 mission life.

 

 

To help offset these challenges, engineers are looking for ways to limit the temperature of kerosene when cooling the thrust chamber and limit the accumulation of kerosene in the turbine drive system.