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http://dx.doi.org/10.6108/KSPE.2013.17.6.120

State of the Art in the Development of Methane/Oxygen Liquid-bipropellant Rocket Engine  

Kim, Jeong Soo (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Pukyong National University)
Jung, Hun (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School, Pukyong National University)
Kim, Jong Hyun (Department of Mechanical Engineering, Graduate School, Pukyong National University)
Publication Information
Journal of the Korean Society of Propulsion Engineers / v.17, no.6, 2013 , pp. 120-130 More about this Journal
Abstract
A study was conducted for the performance characteristics of methane taking recently the limelight in the world as a next-generation propellant, with the survey for state of the art in the development of methane/oxygen rocket engine being accompanied. Liquid methane as a rocket fuel has the favorable characteristics such as non-toxic, low cost, regenerative cooling capability, and potential for in-situ resource utilization (ISRU). The combination of liquid methane and liquid oxygen also provides the excellent performance including high specific impulse and low system mass. For these reasons, many researches have been actively carried out on the methane/oxygen engine, nevertheless, its technology readiness level is not that high enough just yet. Therefore, it is judged that it is the time to mitigate the technical gap with the space technology of advanced countries through a swift onset of the development of methane rocket engine.
Keywords
Space Vehicle; Reusable Launch Vehicle; Liquid Rocket Engine; Bipropellant; Methane/Oxygen;
Citations & Related Records
Times Cited By KSCI : 1  (Citation Analysis)
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