Investigations of the SpaceLiner Passenger Capsule and Various Abort Scenarios

Abstract

The SpaceLiner configuration, investigated within the framework of the FAST20XX project, has the aim of transporting 50 untrained passengers from Australia to Western Europe in 90 min through the use of rocket engines. In the case of an emergency, it must be assured that the passengers can be returned safely to the ground. To accomplish this, the SpaceLiner7 orbiter has been designed to contain a capsule which can be separated from the rest of the vehicle and is able to fly autonomously back to Earth. The aerodynamic performance and consequently, the abort trajectories are primarily influenced by the mass of the capsule, with the most important subsystems being the separation motors, the thermal protection system (TPS), and the structure. As a result, these three subsystems have been carefully investigated for both performance and mass. Furthermore, it can be shown that the SpaceLiner7 capsule is able to fly safely back to Earth during any perceived abort scenario. The separation motors are design to separate the capsule from the orbiter, without exceeding recommended maximum acceleration. Additionally, a structural assessment of the passenger capsule of the SpaceLiner7 is being undertaken with the objective to obtain a conceptual structural design of the passenger capsule, in particular with respect to the window design, which is considered another critical vehicle subsystem.