Staged Combustion Cycle Rocket Engine Design Trade-Offs for Future Advanced Passenger Transport

Abstract

Staged combustion cycle rocket engines with a moderate nominal 16 MPa chamber pressure have been selected as the baseline propulsion system for the visionary intercontinental passenger transport SpaceLiner. Several technical engine design trade-offs are run by numerical simulations and results are pre-sented including: • Fuel rich vs. Full-flow cycle • Useful operational domain in MR • Regenerative cooling options of thrust chamber The engine operational domain is evaluated on launcher system level. The applicability of current European experimental staged combustion technology development (e.g. SCORE-D) on the SpaceLiner propulsion development is assessed.