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Topic: Aerospike engine

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	aerospike engine
		Aerospike engines are unlike conventional engines that push a vehicle aloft by hot gases escaping from bell-shaped chambers.
		Instead, aerospike engines are designed so that one end of their exhaust plume runs along a ramp while the other end remains open to the atmosphere.
		The aerospike engine can change the direction of its thrust and steer by varying the rate at which fuel flows to different parts of the engine.
	www.daviddarling.info /encyclopedia/A/aerospike_engine.html (170 words)

	Aerospike engine - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
		The aerospike engine is a type of rocket engine that maintains its efficiency across a wide range of altitudes through the use of an aerospike nozzle.
		Aerospike engines have been studied for a number of years and are the baseline engines for many single stage to orbit (SSTO) designs and were also a strong contender for the Space Shuttle Main Engine.
		Later models of these engines were based on their highly reliable J-2 engine machinery and provided the same sort of thrust levels as the conventional engines they were based on; 200,000 lbf (890 kN) in the J-2T-200k, and 250,000 lbf (1.1 MN) in the J-2T-250k (the T refers to the toroidal combustion chamber).
	en.wikipedia.org /wiki/Aerospike_engine (1149 words)

	Aerospike
		A normal rocket engine uses a large "engine bell" to direct the jet of exhaust from the engine from the surrounding airflow and maximize its acceleration – and thus the thrust.
		The "trick" to the aerospike design is that as the spacecraft climbs to higher altitudes, the air pressure holding the exhaust against the spike decreases.
		Later models of these engines were based on their highly reliable J-2[?] engine machinery and provided the same sort of thrust levels as the conventional engines they were based on; 200,000lbs in the J-2T-200k, and 250,000 in the J-2T-250k (the T refers to the toroidal combustion chamber).
	www.ebroadcast.com.au /lookup/encyclopedia/ae/Aerospike.html (627 words)

	Event Horizon Online
		The aerospike allows the smallest, lowest cost RLV to be developed because the engine fills the base, reducing base drag, and is integral to the vehicle, reducing installed weight when compared to a bell-shaped engine.
		The linear aerospike allows the smallest, lowest cost vehicle to be developed because the engine fills the base, reducing base drag, and is integral to the vehicle, reducing installed weight when compared to a bell-shaped engine.
		In additional, since the aerospike is conformal, it produces a hot gas plume which nearly fills the base area of the vehicle, thereby reducing “base drag” cause by open area at the base of the vehicle.
	library.thinkquest.org /C0121347/site/print.php?sid=46 (931 words)

	Aerospike Info - Bored Net - Boredom (Site not responding. Last check: )
		The aerospike is a type of rocket nozzle that, unlike traditional designs, maintains its efficiency across a wide range of altitudes.
		Although this was a setback for aerospike engineering, it wasn't the end of the story.
		N.B. when used with regard to engine technology the term aerospike is unrelated to the frontally mounted drag reduction aerospike as fitted to the Trident missile.
	www.borednet.com /e/n/encyclopedia/a/ae/aerospike.html (702 words)

	First Aerospike Engine Flight Successful
		The main advantage of aerospike nozzles is that, as the rocket climbs, atmospheric and airstream pressure act on the plume to keep it at an optimum setting along the entire trajectory.
		Although the advantages of the aerospike nozzles are well understood through analysis and ground test data, the lack of actual flight test data has precluded use of these nozzles in current as well as next generation space launch vehicles.
		The goals of this flight research project were to obtain aerospike rocket nozzle performance data in flight and to investigate the effects of transonic flow and transient rocket flight conditions on aerospike nozzle performance.
	www.spacearchive.info /news-2004-04-19-dfrc.htm (615 words)

	NASA - Linear Aerospike Engine fact sheet (08/00)
		With the aerospike, the ramp serves as the inner wall of the virtual bell nozzle, while atmospheric pressure serves as the "invisible" outer wall.
		However, the aerospike engine's ramp is cut short to save weight, since the amount of thrust contributed by the end of the ramp is small compared to its weight.
		In 1997, NASA and Lockheed Martin tested a 5-percent scale model of the lifting body/aerospike configuration in the supersonic wind tunnels at the Air Force's Arnold Engineering Development Center near Tullahoma, Tenn. The wind-tunnel tests were aimed at characterizing the interaction between the aerospike engine exhaust and the lifting body's aerodynamic behavior.
	www.nasa.gov /centers/marshall/news/background/facts/aerospike.html (1194 words)

	X-33 Aerospike Engine Set for Test
		NASA engineers are preparing a linear aerospike engine for a third ignition test, possibly as early as Wednesday, at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi.
		Unlike conventional rocket engines that use a bell nozzle to constrict expanding gases, the aerospike shape is an inside-out and upside-down bell.
		The aerospike’s design allows it to be efficient at all altitudes, unlike the conventional bell nozzle.
	www.space.com /businesstechnology/business/aerospike_test_991025.html (190 words)

	Press Releases @ The Beach
		Students from the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at California State University, Long Beach were among the members of a joint academic/industry team that recently conducted the first-known flight test of a liquid-propellant powered aerospike rocket engine.
		The aerospike engine was attached to CSULB's Prospector 2 (P-2) research vehicle, and the CALVEIN partners got together for a launch at the Mojave Test Area, which is owned and operated by the non-profit Reaction Research Society.
		The primary advantage of the aerospike engine, he added, is if you have a vehicle that is going to operate from sea level all the way into space, then there is a performance advantage to using the aerospike engine.
	www.ced.csulb.edu /press-release/story.cfm?hackid=44 (616 words)

	SPACE.com -- The Aerospikes are in the home stretch for certification for use in the oft-delayed X-33 spacecraft.
		An engine using a bell-shaped nozzle expands the hot gases on the inside, but the Aerospikes series of small combustion chambers shoots them down the ramp on the outside using the atmosphere on the other side to act as the engine bell.
		Another feature of the Aerospike is the ability to vector or adjust the direction of thrust without actually moving the engine or "gimbaling." The space shuttle and other craft use hydraulic systems to physically shift the direction of the engine bell to direct the thrust.
		Aerospike engines were initially developed during the Apollo era and a ring-shaped engine was considered for use on the space shuttle in the 1970s, but the thrust was somewhat less than conventional engines at the time.
	www.space.com /news/spacestation/aerospike_main_000919.html (881 words)

	Bringing launch costs down to earth
		The main difference between the linear aerospike and conventional rocket engines is the shape of the nozzle.
		As a linear aerospike shoots its exhaust gases across the central ramp, they are not enclosed by a nozzle, so the exhaust gases can expand to the ambient atmospheric pressure while reacting against the ramp.
		Aerospike technology was pioneered by Rocketdyne engineers in the 1950s, first with Air Force and then NASA funding support, Bouley said.
	www.memagazine.org /backissues/membersonly/october98/features/launch/launch.html (4137 words)

	Combustor and Nozzle Section (Site not responding. Last check: )
		The study on this engine is being carried out to develop a high-performance engine to be used for a future space transport launch vehicle.
		A round aerospike engine exists that is appropriate for a traditional cylinder-shape rocket and a rectangular aerospike engine that is appropriate for a flat vehicle with wings.
		Each is composed of a nose cone or trapezoidal aerospike nozzles at the center of the aerospike engine and tens of small combustors around it.
	www.iat.jaxa.jp /kspc/english/research/nennozle.htm (921 words)

	Aerospaceweb.org \| Aerospike Engine - Introduction
		It was not long ago when the aerospike nozzle was unknown to all but a handful of rocketry experts.
		Aside from a spate of research in the early 1970s, the concept of the plug nozzle appeared to be nothing more than a footnote in aersopace history.
		Though explored by the Germans as early as World War II for use in jet engines, it was not until the unveiling of Lockheed Martin's winning X-33 concept that this type of engine has received widespread attention.
	www.aerospaceweb.org /design/aerospike/main.shtml (161 words)

	Aerospike engine (Site not responding. Last check: )
		The aerospike is a type of rocket nozzle that unlike traditional designs maintains efficiency across a wide range of altitudes.
		A normal rocket engine uses a large bell" to direct the jet of exhaust the engine from the surrounding airflow and its acceleration – and thus the thrust.
		Later models these engines were based on their highly J-2 engine machinery and provided the same of thrust levels as the conventional engines were based on; 200 000 lbf (890 in the J-2T-200k and 250 000 lbf (1.1 MN) the J-2T-250k (the T refers to the toroidal chamber).
	www.freeglossary.com /Aerospike_engine (764 words)

	Combustor and Nozzle Section
		The study on this engine is being carried out to develop a high-performance engine to be used for a future space transport launch vehicle.
		A round aerospike engine exists that is appropriate for a traditional cylinder-shape rocket and a rectangular aerospike engine that is appropriate for a flat vehicle with wings.
		Each is composed of a nose cone or trapezoidal aerospike nozzles at the center of the aerospike engine and tens of small combustors around it.
	rocket.sfo.jaxa.jp /kspc/english/research/nennozle.htm (921 words)

	Aerospike Engine Performance tool
		For an aerospike engine, the exhaust flow field adjusts to the atmospheric pressure with a performance improvement at low altitudes when compared to a bell nozzle.
		The pressure contours on the lower side of the engine represent the hot exhaust plume at an altitude of 5000 ft. while the contour on the top half is at 50,000 ft. At the lower altitudes, the engine exhaust plume does not expand significantly which minimizes over-expansion losses.
		The aerospike engine performance tool can be used to either simulate one operation point or generate an engine table for performance across the operational envelope in POST (program to optimize simulate trajectories) format.
	mdob.larc.nasa.gov /hilites/hl.98/AerospikeTool_9.98.html (424 words)

	Aerospike - Summary
		The linear aerospike engine uses a common turbo-pump and a bank of liquid oxygen / hydrogen thrusters alligned along the top edge of a wedge shaped thrust structure.
		The key feature of the Aerospike engine is that, as the launch vehicle ascends during its trajectory, the decreasing air density allows the effective nozzle area ratio of the engine to increase.
		As a result, an aerospike engine's performance is very high along the entire trajectory and is more efficient than it's "fixed nozzle" counterparts.
	www.spaceandtech.com /spacedata/engines/aerospike_sum.shtml (141 words)

	Linear Aerospike Engine
		Rocketdyne proposed the aerospike engine for use on the Space Shuttle, but the engine was turned down because the technology was considered too immature at the time.
		The linear aerospike engine is very similar to normal rocket engines in its plumbing and accessories, utilizing similar components.
		The linear aerospike engine uses the atmosphere as part of its nozzle, with the surrounding airflow containing the rocket's exhaust plume.
	www.csulb.edu /colleges/coe/ae/engr370i/ch10/sect_3-1 (471 words)

	Aerospikes (Henry Spencer; Ben Muniz; Jeff Greason)
		Subject: Re: Aerospike (repost sci.space.policy article) From: yqq7121@rs0200.rdyne.rockwell.com (Ben Muniz (586-3578) ; /home/auspex_d0/usr2/yqq7121) Newsgroups: sci.space.tech In article , Kevin W. Ryan wrote: > In regards to the design of and difference between plug and aerospike >engines: it's been a while, but I think I can shed _some_ light on this.
		Aerospike engines (at least ones which appear to work), generally have a number of combustion chambers of more or less conventional design; it's the nozzle which is unusual, not the chambers.
		A combination of a good engineering education and a large dollop of practical experience with high-pressure plumbing and mechanical design seems to be a good foundation to start from.
	yarchive.net /space/rocket/aerospike.html (2251 words)

	Asonic aerospike engine - Patent 6648275
		A space plane, comprising: a first aerospike engine having a first tapered body and a first slanted reaction plane on the first body; a second aerospike engine having a second tapered body and a second slanted reaction plane on the second body, wherein the first and second reaction planes are of different lengths.
		In one embodiment, the aerospike engine includes a tapered body and a slanted reaction plane on the tapered body, and further comprises means for increasing propulsive pressure on the reaction plane and means for inhibiting boundary layer separation.
		The thrust vectors of the bell-shaped nozzle engine
	www.freepatentsonline.com /6648275.html (8074 words)

	Spaceflight Now \| Breaking News \| Former X-33 aerospike engine completes test series
		The engines were fired for the planned 90-seconds and reached a planned maximum power of 85 percent.
		Two shorter hot-fires of the aerospike engines were performed last month in preparation for the final test firing on Aug. 6.
		Engineers are performing engine post-test inspections, and early indications are that all test objectives have been met, Chenevert said.
	www.spaceflightnow.com /news/n0108/08aerospike (715 words)

	Frontier Status Report #126
		The project engineers suspect that a piece of metallic grit or other contamination between two high-voltage grids was knocked loose and the powered-up thruster vaporized any remaining contamination.
		Engineers think the safe mode was triggered by resets of portions of the data and control subsystems for the non-spinning portion of the spacecraft which handles communications with Earth.
		While engineers installed thermal tape, heaters, thermostats and the reworked solar array switching unit into the Stardust comet sample return spacecraft, the mission is already reaping benefits by raising public awareness and understanding of the emerging space frontier.
	www.asi.org /adb/06/09/07/1998/fs-19981127.html (2971 words)

	CSULB News and Events
		Students from the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering Department at California State University, Long Beach were among the members of a joint academic/industry team that recently conducted the first-known flight test of a liquid-propellant powered aerospike rocket engine.
		The aerospike engine was attached to CSULB's Prospector 2 (P-2) research vehicle, and the CALVEIN partners got together for a launch at the Mojave Test Area, which is owned and operated by the non-profit Reaction Research Society.
		The primary advantage of the aerospike engine, he added, is if you have a vehicle that is going to operate from sea level all the way into space, then there is a performance advantage to using the aerospike engine.
	karl.papubs.csulb.edu /news-events/story.cfm?hackid=129 (619 words)

	Aerospike Engine Post-Test Diagnostic System
		The engine version of PTDS, which was delivered in June of 1999, will support all single-engine, dual-engine, and flight firings of the aerospike engine.
		Open-loop and closed-loop system-level models of the aerospike engine are employed for model-based fault detection.
		Although domain knowledge and limits are specific to this engine, many aspects of the analysis system such as the event-detection routines, statistical characterization, and sensor validation methodology have been and are being applied to other aerospace systems as well.
	www.grc.nasa.gov /WWW/RT/RT1999/5000/5530meyer.html (574 words)

	Spacecraft propulsion - Engineering
		Burning the entire usable propellant of a spacecraft through the engines in a straight line would produce a net velocity change to the vehicle- this number is termed 'delta-v'.
		So, for it to be possible for one of the high-efficiency engines to generate a gravity of thrust, they would have to be supplied with 2.5 or 15 GW of power - equivalent to a major metropolitan generating station.
		The law of conservation of momentum states that any engine which uses no reaction mass cannot move the center of mass of a spaceship (changing orientation, on the other hand, is possible).
	engineering.wikia.com /wiki/Spacecraft_propulsion (3222 words)

	Slashdot \| Successful First Launch of Aerospike Engine
		Engineers in the 60s could have done the same easily but they knew the result without even trying and their goal was in the orbit, not one foot above the pad.
		Linear aerospike engine does this by replacing one large chamber with numerous small ones which are easier to control.
		A friend, one of the Shuttle engine designers and who was in contact with the linear aerospike group at Rocketdyne, said he heard that the aerospike delivered the expected thrust during its ground tests.
	science.slashdot.org /science/03/09/27/2233243.shtml?tid=134&tid=160 (3143 words)

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