Hydrogen Densification for Nuclear Thermal Propulsion Missions

Notardonato, Bill ; Swanger, Adam ; Tamasi, Gabor

关键词: DENSIFICATION;    HYDROGEN;    TEMPERATURE CONTROL;   

RP-ID  :  KSC-E-DAA-TN60685

学科分类：航空航天科学

美国|英语

来源: NASA Technical Reports Server

【 摘 要 】

Propellant densification is cooling the propellant below the normal boiling point; Densified propellants can either be saturated or subcooled. Propellant densification has two potential benefits; Increased density for more mass in a given volume (more propellant), Decrease temperature for thermal energy buffer (extended storage). Two primary methods for producing densified propellants; Vapor pumping for pressure control, Refrigeration for temperature control. SpaceX has been flying densified liquid oxygen for several years. NASA has developed and tested hydrogen densification systems but have never been used in an operational mission