Dual mode propulsion rocket

Dual mode propulsion systems combine the high efficiency of bipropellant rockets with the reliability and simplicity of monopropellant rockets. ^[1]

Dual mode systems are either hydrazine/nitrogen tetroxide, or monomethylhydrazine/hydrogen peroxide (the former is much more common). Typically, this system works as follows: During the initial high-impulse orbit-raising maneuvers, the system operates in a bipropellant fashion, providing high thrust at higher specific impulse; when it arrives on orbit, it closes off either the fuel or oxidizer, and conducts the remainder of its mission in a simple, predictable monopropellant fashion.

See also

• Propulsion system
• Spacecraft propulsion

References

1. L. G. Napolitano (22 October 2013). Applications of Space Developments: Selected Papers from the XXXI International Astronautical Congress, Tokyo, 21 — 28 September 1980. Elsevier Science. pp. 134–. ISBN   978-1-4831-5976-8.