The methane-acetylene cycle Aerospace Plane - A promising candidate for earth to orbit transportation
- Martin Marietta Astronautics Group, Denver, CO (United States)
The methane-acetylene cycle Aerosapce Plane (MACASP) concept is proposed and its theoretical feasibility is shown. In this concept, methane fuel stored on-board the aircraft is run out within the wing leading edge in pipes at temperatures up to 1400 K. In the presence of catalyst, the heat provided by wing drag is used to drive the highly endothermic chemical reaction 2CH4 yields 3H2 + C2H2. The products of this reaction, hydrogen and acetylene, are then fed into a combustion chamber and burned in air. On the NASP, terminal acceleration to orbit beyond the critical Mach number of the scramjet can be enabled by rocket operation using a small on-board supply of LOx. The advantages of this concept are that the two highly energetic but difficult-to-store fuels can be used without on-board storage. It is shown that the MACASP concept offers significant promise for economical earth-to-orbit transportation. 5 refs.
- OSTI ID:
- 5530851
- Report Number(s):
- AIAA-Paper-92-0688; CONF-920157-
- Resource Relation:
- Conference: 30. American Institute of Astronautics and Aeronautics (AIAA) aerospace sciences meeting and exhibit, Reno, NV (United States), 6-9 Jan 1992
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Environmental study of the National Aerospace Plane. Final report, 1 December 1991-30 December 1992
Air liquefaction and enrichment system propulsion in reusable launch vehicles
Related Subjects
SPACE VEHICLES
PROPULSION SYSTEMS
ACETYLENE
AERODYNAMIC HEATING
CHEMICAL REACTION YIELD
CHEMICAL REACTIONS
FEASIBILITY STUDIES
HEAT SINKS
METHANE
RAMJET ENGINES
ALKANES
ALKYNES
ENGINES
HEAT ENGINES
HEATING
HYDROCARBONS
INTERNAL COMBUSTION ENGINES
ORGANIC COMPOUNDS
SINKS
VEHICLES
YIELDS
330000* - Advanced Propulsion Systems