A preliminary mission study of a reusable vehicle from staging to orbit indicates payload advantages for a dual-propulsion system consisting of separate scramjet and rocket engines. In the analysis the scramjet operated continuously and the initiation of rocket operation was varied. For a stage weight of 500,000 lb the payload was 10.4 percent of stage weight or 70 percent greater than that of a comparable all-rocket-powered stage. When compared with a reusable two-state rocket vehicle having 50,000 lb payload, the use of the dual propulsion system for the second stage resulted in significant decreases in lift-off weight and empty weight, indicating possible lower hardware costs. (Author)


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    Title :

    Upper-Stage Space Shuttle Propulsion by Means of Separate Scramjet and Rocket Engines


    Contributors:

    Publication date :

    1972


    Size :

    51 pages


    Type of media :

    Report


    Type of material :

    No indication


    Language :

    English






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