Rocket Lab sent an electric powered rocket into orbit

[cottagecheesefan]

http://money.cnn.com/2018/01/22/technology/rocket-lab-space-launch/index.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electron_(rocket)

Sent a few satellites into orbit using an electric powered rocket. I feel this is pretty awesome, both from an environmental, and through a science-fiction/fantasy book/movie enthusiast perspective.

Searched both berry and warroom for threads and didn't see anything. Still looking into it, so sorry for lack of details. Will comment further if people keep thread active.

 

[jefferz]

Looks like it's rocket fuel powered to me

 

[Boomslang]

It’s powered by liquid O2. It’s electric pump fed. It’s uses electric pumps to pressurize the fuel.

 

[jefferz]

It’s powered by liquid O2. It’s electric pump fed. It’s uses electric pumps to pressurize the fuel.

So it uses a fuel pump instead of a turbopump to deliver fuel. That's not an electric rocket. A car has an electric fuel pump, does that make it an electric car?

 

[Boomslang]

So it uses a fuel pump instead of a turbopump to deliver fuel. That's not an electric rocket. A car has an electric fuel pump, does that make it an electric car?

I was thinking something else also. We were talking about it at work and an old guy I work with told us what it really was. So I looked it up and he was right. There is probably some benefit from using it. Maybe more efficient?

 

[Dober4]

I was thinking something else also. We were talking about it at work and an old guy I work with told us what it really was. So I looked it up and he was right. There is probably some benefit from using it. Maybe more efficient?

In this design all input propellant is directly burned in the main combustion chamber, rather than some being diverted to drive the pumps.

Seems like that would make it more efficient, cool technology and it appears to be a “simple “ modification as well.

 

[cottagecheesefan]

So it uses a fuel pump instead of a turbopump to deliver fuel. That's not an electric rocket. A car has an electric fuel pump, does that make it an electric car?

Yea, I am not sure why this is considered such a big deal, which is why I wanted a thread about it. It was on wiki and google news.

 

[rj144]

It’s powered by liquid O2. It’s electric pump fed. It’s uses electric pumps to pressurize the fuel.

Just about to post this.

 

[Phr3121]

Due to recent NASA budget cuts, the agency is planning to build a giant one of these for future rocket launches.


On a more serious note. Electrical propulsion of rockets is developing potentially into the use of 3 different thrusters for future long-distance space missions that primarily involve plasma dynamics.

Link: http://www.sealane.org/writesnew/plasmapropulsion.html

1. Chemical thrust: ve ~ 1-5 km/s with T ~ 0.1 - 107 N
This is used for all launches from the Earth, where large enough acceleration to achieve a velocity increase of Δ v 11.2 km/s required to escape the gravitational field, means that m1 >> m2. Thus most of the rocket load has to be fuel.

2. Electrical thrust: ve ~ 15-80 km/s with T ~ 0.001 - 10 N
This thrust lets us achieve Δv ~ 100 km/s with far less fuel, but over a much longer time. It is useful for distance in space, but not planetary launches or assists.

 

[Shuque]

I was thinking something else also. We were talking about it at work and an old guy I work with told us what it really was. So I looked it up and he was right. There is probably some benefit from using it. Maybe more efficient?

Damn those old guys...

 

[Shuque]

In this design all input propellant is directly burned in the main combustion chamber, rather than some being diverted to drive the pumps.

Seems like that would make it more efficient, cool technology and it appears to be a “simple “ modification as well.

Soviets solved this by re-burning the exhaust from the fuel used to power the pumps. Was one of the gems of their cold war era rocket program.

 

[Phr3121]

Was one of the gems of their cold war era rocket program.

Yes, and the U.S. is now buying some of those engines. The RD-180.

Story: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...russian-rocket-engines-pentagon-idUSKCN0X600H

 

[no fat chicks]

Awesome stuff. Thanks ts.

 

[GSP_37]

One more future piece of space junk that will pose a threat to destroying some legit satellite?

 

[Phr3121]

One more future piece of space junk that will pose a threat to destroying some legit satellite?

Stage I, which includes the engine, drops back to earth. So, if the junk is not in orbit, it is on the ocean floor.

 

[Phr3121]

...waiting for this one to be built. (click on image to enlarge) Nuclear Fission Rocket - Orion/Saturn-V.

 

[GSP_37]

Stage I, which includes the engine, drops back to earth. So, if the junk is not in orbit, it is on the ocean floor.

From the news, these things end up outliving their usefulness or stop responding to commands and end up circling the Earth at high speeds if they don't end up falling back to Earth and burning up. They said there's a LOT of space junk that's tracked and poses threats to working satellites and people have to get the good satellites to dodge the space junk.