Quote from: deltaV on 02/07/2012 03:34 amWhat's wrong with carbon?Can't be used for monopropellant because of carbon deposits on the catalyst pack.
What's wrong with carbon?
Good timing! NASA SEEKS PROPOSALS FOR GREEN PROPELLANT TECHNOLOGY DEMONSTRATIONS...NASA anticipates making one or more awards in response to this solicitation, with no single award exceeding $50 million. Final awards will be made based on the strength of proposals and availability of funds. The deadline for submitting proposals is April 30.
Propellants MR dp (kg/L) ve (m/s) Id (Ns/L)O2/RP–1 2.8 1.0307 3554 3663N2O/RP-1 9.2 1.1626 3099 3603N2O/C2H6O 5.7 1.1301 3042 3438HTP/RP–1 7.3 1.3059 3223 4209
Bumping as related to MSL, but also would be interested to know how Aerojet will handle the NGE competition now that their main competitor was purchased by their parent company.....
My understanding is that PWR's entry was essentially the RL-10C. It wouldn't surprise me if the RL-10C ends up being used in the near-term, with Aerojet's NGE coming online later on. The development on the former should be quick, whereas the latter offers a lot more performance for the longer term, but it's a completely novel engine cycle.
That means lots and lots of qual testing, thus expense and time?