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Journal of Undergraduate Research

Keywords

duct area, rocket area ratio, rocket expansion, ejector-rocket performance

College

Ira A. Fulton College of Engineering and Technology

Department

Mechanical Engineering

Abstract

Space is the final frontier. That has been generally believed since Sputnik went up in the 1950’s, but in spite of this optimistic belief, homesteaders have not yet begun to settle Mars, nor have businesses sponsored ventures to other planets. One of the reasons that the final frontier is so quiet is the prohibitive expense of getting there. Currently it cost about $10,000 to launch a pound of payload into low earth orbit.1 NASA, in an effort to lower the cost of launching payloads into space, has been encouraging researchers to develop alternative launch vehicles to replace the Space Shuttle. One promising new technology being investigated is the rocket based combined cycle (RBCC) engine. Through the use of RBCC engines, and other new vehicle related technologies, researchers hope to reduce launch costs by two orders of magnitude.1 The RBCC engine in its simplest form is a rocket placed inside of a duct. Figure 1 shows the schematic of a typical RBCC engine. It is potentially cheaper to operate than an equally powered rocket, because it combines the benefits of an air breathing engine with the benefits of a rocket engine to produce more thrust for less effort. By being cheaper to operate then a rocket, the RBCC engine promises to reduce the cost of launching payloads into orbit.

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