Liquid rocket booster

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A liquid rocket booster (LRB) uses liquid fuel and oxidizer to give a liquid-propellant or hybrid rocket an extra boost at take-off, and/or increase the total payload that can be carried. It is attached to the side of a rocket. Unlike solid rocket boosters, LRBs can be throttled down if the engines are designed to allow it, and can be shut down safely in an emergency for additional escape options in human spaceflight.[ citation needed ]

Contents

History

By 1926, US scientist Robert Goddard had constructed and successfully tested the first rocket using liquid fuel at Auburn, Massachusetts.[ citation needed ]

Launch of Ariane 44LP two solid rocket booster (smaller) and two liquid rocket boosters (larger, with no visible plumes) Ariane4.jpg
Launch of Ariane 44LP two solid rocket booster (smaller) and two liquid rocket boosters (larger, with no visible plumes)

For the Cold War era R-7 Semyorka missile, which later evolved into the Soyuz rocket, this concept was chosen because it allowed all of its many rocket engines to be ignited and checked for function while on the launch pad.[ citation needed ]

The Soviet Energia rocket of the 1980s used four Zenit liquid fueled boosters to loft both the Buran and the experimental Polyus space battlestation in two separate launches.[ citation needed ]

Two versions of the Japanese H-IIA space rocket would have used one or two LRBs to be able to carry extra cargo to higher geostationary orbits, but it was replaced by the H-IIB.[ citation needed ]

The Ariane 4 space launch vehicle could use two or four LRBs, the 42L, 44L, and 44LP configurations. As an example of the payload increase that boosters provide, the basic Ariane 40 model without boosters could launch around 2,175 kilograms into Geostationary transfer orbit, [1] while the 44L configuration could launch 4,790 kg to the same orbit with four liquid boosters added. [2]

Various LRBs were considered early in the Space Shuttle development program and after the Challenger accident, but the Shuttle continued flying its Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster until retirement.[ citation needed ]

After the Space Shuttle retired, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and Dynetics entered the "advanced booster competition" for NASA's next human rated vehicle, the Space Launch System (SLS), with a booster design known as "Pyrios", which would use two more advanced F-1B booster engines derived from the Rocketdyne F-1 LOX/RP-1 engine that powered the first stage of the Saturn V vehicle in the Apollo program. In 2012, it was determined that if the dual-engined Pyrios booster was selected for the SLS Block 2, the payload could be 150 metric tons (t) to Low Earth Orbit, 20 t more than the congressional minimum requirement of 130 t to LEO for SLS Block 2. [3] In 2013, it was reported that in comparison to the F-1 engine, the F-1B engine was to have improved efficiency, be more cost effective and have fewer engine parts. [4] Each F-1B was to produce 1,800,000 lbf (8.0 MN) of thrust at sea level, an increase over the 1,550,000 lbf (6.9 MN) of thrust of the initial F-1 engine. [5]

Many Chinese launch vehicles have been using liquid boosters. These include China's man-rated Long March 2F which uses four liquid rocket boosters each powered by a single YF-20B hypergolic rocket engine. [6] The retired Long March 2E variant also used similar four liquid boosters. [7] as did Long March 3B [8] and Long March 3C variants. China developed semi-cryogenic boosters for the Long March 7 and Long March 5, its newest series of launch vehicles as of 2017 . [9]

Current usage

The Delta IV Heavy consists of a central Common Booster Core (CBC), with two additional CBCs as LRBs instead of the GEM-60 solid rocket motors used by the Delta IV Medium+ versions. At lift off, all three cores operate at full thrust, and 44 seconds later the center core throttles down to 55% to conserve fuel until booster separation. [10] The Angara A5V and Falcon Heavy are conceptually similar to Delta IV Heavy. [11]

The Falcon Heavy was originally designed with a unique "propellant crossfeed" capability, whereby the center core engines would be supplied with fuel and oxidizer from the two side cores until their separation. [12] Operating all engines at full thrust from launch, with fuel supplied mainly from the side boosters, would deplete the side boosters sooner, allowing their earlier separation to reduce the mass being accelerated. This would leave most of the center core propellant available after booster separation. [13] Musk stated in 2016 that crossfeed would not be implemented. [14] Instead, the center booster throttles down shortly after liftoff to conserve fuel, and resumes full thrust after the side boosters have separated. [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Energia (rocket)</span> Soviet launch vehicle

Energia was a 1980s super-heavy lift launch vehicle. It was designed by NPO Energia of the Soviet Union as part of the Buran program for a variety of payloads including the Buran spacecraft. Control system main developer enterprise was the Khartron NPO "Electropribor". The Energia used four strap-on boosters each powered by a four-chamber RD-170 engine burning kerosene/LOX, and a central core stage with four single-chamber RD-0120 (11D122) engines fueled by liquid hydrogen/LOX.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ariane 4</span> Rocket

The Ariane 4 was a European expendable launch vehicle, developed by the Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES), the French space agency, for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was manufactured by ArianeGroup and marketed by Arianespace. Since its first flight on 15 June 1988 until the final flight on 15 February 2003, it attained 113 successful launches out of 116 total launches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reusable launch vehicle</span> Vehicles that can go to space and return

A reusable launch vehicle has parts that can be recovered and reflown, while carrying payloads from the surface to outer space. Rocket stages are the most common launch vehicle parts aimed for reuse. Smaller parts such as rocket engines and boosters can also be reused, though reusable spacecraft may be launched on top of an expendable launch vehicle. Reusable launch vehicles do not need to make these parts for each launch, therefore reducing its launch cost significantly. However, these benefits are diminished by the cost of recovery and refurbishment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Multistage rocket</span> Most common type of rocket, used to launch satellites

A multistage rocket or step rocket is a launch vehicle that uses two or more rocket stages, each of which contains its own engines and propellant. A tandem or serial stage is mounted on top of another stage; a parallel stage is attached alongside another stage. The result is effectively two or more rockets stacked on top of or attached next to each other. Two-stage rockets are quite common, but rockets with as many as five separate stages have been successfully launched.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Solid rocket booster</span> Solid propellant motor used to augment the thrust of a rocket

A solid rocket booster (SRB) is a large solid propellant motor used to provide thrust in spacecraft launches from initial launch through the first ascent. Many launch vehicles, including the Atlas V, SLS and Space Shuttle, have used SRBs to give launch vehicles much of the thrust required to place the vehicle into orbit. The Space Shuttle used two Space Shuttle SRBs, which were the largest solid propellant motors ever built and the first designed for recovery and reuse. The propellant for each solid rocket motor on the Space Shuttle weighed approximately 500,000 kilograms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocketdyne F-1</span> Rocket engine used on the Saturn V rocket

The F-1 is a rocket engine developed by Rocketdyne. The engine uses a gas-generator cycle developed in the United States in the late 1950s and was used in the Saturn V rocket in the 1960s and early 1970s. Five F-1 engines were used in the S-IC first stage of each Saturn V, which served as the main launch vehicle of the Apollo program. The F-1 remains the most powerful single combustion chamber liquid-propellant rocket engine ever developed.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX Merlin</span> Rocket engine in SpaceX Falcon launch vehicles

Merlin is a family of rocket engines developed by SpaceX for use on its Falcon 1, Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy launch vehicles. Merlin engines use RP-1 and liquid oxygen as rocket propellants in a gas-generator power cycle. The Merlin engine was originally designed for sea recovery and reuse, but since 2016 the entire Falcon 9 booster is recovered for reuse by landing vertically on a landing pad using one of its nine Merlin engines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Titan IV</span> Expendable launch system used by the US Air Force

Titan IV was a family of heavy-lift space launch vehicles developed by Martin Marietta and operated by the United States Air Force from 1989 to 2005. Launches were conducted from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida and Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Atlas II</span> American rocket

Atlas II was a member of the Atlas family of launch vehicles, which evolved from the successful Atlas missile program of the 1950s. The Atlas II was a direct evolution of the Atlas I, featuring longer first-stage tanks, higher-performing engines, and the option for strap-on solid rocket boosters. It was designed to launch payloads into low Earth orbit, geosynchronous transfer orbit or geosynchronous orbit. Sixty-three launches of the Atlas II, IIA and IIAS models were carried out between 1991 and 2004; all sixty-three launches were successes, making the Atlas II a highly reliable space launch system. The Atlas line was continued by the Atlas III, used between 2000 and 2005, and the Atlas V, which is still in use as of 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Launch vehicle</span> Rocket used to carry a spacecraft into space

A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage rocket, but the term is more general and also encompasses vehicles like the Space Shuttle. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pad, supported by a launch control center and systems such as vehicle assembly and fueling. Launch vehicles are engineered with advanced aerodynamics and technologies, which contribute to high operating costs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shuttle-derived vehicle</span> Launch vehicle built from Space Shuttle components

Shuttle-derived vehicles (SDV) are space launch vehicles and spacecraft that use components, technology, and infrastructure originally developed for the Space Shuttle program.

The Earth Departure Stage (EDS) is the name given to the proposed second stage of the Block 2 Space Launch System. The EDS is intended to boost the rocket's payload into a parking orbit around the Earth and from there send the payload out of low Earth orbit to its destination in a manner similar to that of the S-IVB rocket stage used on the Saturn V rockets that propelled the Apollo spacecraft to the Moon. Its development has been put on hold until stages capable of transferring heavy payloads to Mars are required.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Modular rocket</span> Rocket with interchangeable components

A modular rocket is a kind of multistage rocket which has components that can interchanged for different missions. Several such rockets use similar concepts such as unified modules to minimize expenses on manufacturing, transportation and for optimization of support infrastructure for flight preparations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Saturn II</span> Proposed NASA heavy-lift launch vehicle

The Saturn II was a series of American expendable launch vehicles, studied by North American Aviation under a NASA contract in 1966, derived from the Saturn V rocket used for the Apollo lunar program. The intent of the study was to eliminate production of the Saturn IB, and create a lower-cost heavy launch vehicle based on Saturn V hardware. North American studied three versions with the S-IC first stage removed: the INT-17, a two-stage vehicle with a low Earth orbit payload capability of 47,000 pounds (21,000 kg); the INT-18, which added Titan UA1204 or UA1207 strap-on solid rocket boosters, with payloads ranging from 47,000 pounds (21,000 kg) to 146,400 pounds (66,400 kg); and the INT-19, using solid boosters derived from the Minuteman missile first stage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delta IV Heavy</span> Variant of the Delta IV space launch vehicle

The Delta IV Heavy was an expendable heavy-lift launch vehicle, the largest type of the Delta IV family. It was the world's third highest-capacity launch vehicle in operation at the time of its retirement in 2024, behind NASA's Space Launch System and SpaceX's Falcon Heavy and closely followed by CASC's Long March 5. It was manufactured by United Launch Alliance (ULA) and was first launched in 2004. ULA retired the Delta IV Heavy in 2024. Future ULA launches will use the new Vulcan Centaur rocket. Delta IV's final flight was on 9 April 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delta Cryogenic Second Stage</span> Japanese-American rocket stage

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rocket propellant</span> Chemical or mixture used as fuel for a rocket engine

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">SpaceX launch vehicles</span> Launch vehicles developed and operated by SpaceX

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liquid fly-back booster</span> Launch vehicle study

Liquid Fly-back Booster (LFBB) was a German Aerospace Center's (DLR's) project concept to develop a liquid rocket booster capable of reuse for Ariane 1 in order to significantly reduce the high cost of space transportation and increase environmental friendliness. lrb would replace the existing liquid rocket boosters, providing main thrust during the countdown. Once separated, two winged boosters would perform an atmospheric entry, go back autonomously to the French Guiana, and land horizontally on the airport like an aeroplane.

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References

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