SpaceLiner - the concept of a suborbital hypersonic passenger spacecraft , developed since 2005 at the German Center for Aviation and Cosmonautics (German: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt DLR) [1]
| Spaceliner | |
|---|---|
 SpaceLiner 7 on take-off in the artist's view | |
| General information | |
| A country |  European Union |
| Main characteristics | |
| Number of steps | 2 |
| Length (with GP) | 83.5 m |
| Diameter | 8.6 m |
| Starting weight | 1840 t |
| Launch history | |
| condition | project |
Content
Concept
The spaceplane of a vertical take-off unconventional for passenger means is a two-stage aerospace system consisting of an unmanned (automatic) launch stage-accelerator and a passenger suborbital stage, designed for 50 passengers. In total, the power plant includes eleven liquid-propellant rocket engines (9 of them are installed on the launch stage, 2 on the suborbital stage), which operate on cryogenic fuel - liquid oxygen (LOX) and liquid hydrogen (LH2). After the rocket engines are turned off, the suborbital stage is capable of covering large intercontinental distances in the planning flight in the shortest time. Depending on the route, flight altitudes of up to 80 km and speeds corresponding to a Mach number of more than 20 can be achieved. The duration of the flight on the Australia-Europe route will be 90 minutes, and on the Europe-California route no more than 60 minutes [2] . The overloads acting in flight on passengers do not exceed 2.5 g and remain below the level of loads acting on astronauts of the Space Shuttle space shuttle. Moreover, according to the design concept, the passenger cabin is made in the form of a separate rescue capsule, which, if necessary, is separated from the suborbital stage and provides passengers with a safe return to Earth.
According to the German Center for Aviation and Cosmonautics, commissioning of the system is possible between 2040 and 2050. The main aspect of the concept is the complete reusability of the system in combination with mass production, comparable in scale to aviation. Due to these factors, a significant increase in the economic efficiency of the system is expected compared to existing aerospace systems. The main problem remains to increase the safety and reliability of key components of the system, for example, rocket engines, to such an extent that allows their daily use for the transport of passengers.
Currently, the development of the SpaceLiner concept is funded both by its own resources of the German Center for Aviation and Cosmonautics (German: Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt - DLR), as well as in the framework of such projects sponsored by the European Union as FAST20XX and CHATT. Other partners from the European aerospace sector are participating in the SpaceLiner project along with DLR.
The SpaceLiner project has a history in the form of a project from the late 20th century of an unrealized German orbital two-stage horizontally launching reusable aerospace system Zenger-2 , which was also preceded by an unrealized military project of a partially-orbital aerospace bomber Silbervogel in Nazi Germany. If implemented, SpaceLiner will become the world's first regular suborbital hypersonic passenger airliner .
History
Currently SpaceLiner is in the preliminary design stage (outline design). Work on a preliminary design is progressing on the basis of studies already completed as more and more detailed development and integration of subsystems takes place. In parallel with this, additional options are being studied that satisfy new requirements and specifications, and the results of studies of these options can also be used in the process of general development [3] .
SpaceLiner 2 is the first option, which provided for the integration of an active cooling system for structural elements subjected to particularly high thermal loads when entering dense atmospheric layers [4] .
The SpaceLiner 4 modification is a further development of the SpaceLiner 2 variant with improved aerodynamic characteristics and stability and controllability characteristics. Based on this configuration, within the framework of the EU-funded research project FAST20XX, various technologies necessary for the SpaceLiner space plan were investigated in more detail, both experimentally and using mathematical modeling [5] .
SpaceLiner 7 is the current configuration that is currently being researched in DLR. In the process of mathematical optimization, to improve aerodynamic, thermal and structural-mechanical qualities in hypersonic flight mode, the triangular wing with a kink of the leading edge was replaced by a triangular wing without a kink. To date, preliminary development and integration of such important spacecraft subsystems as a passenger cabin, cryogenic tanks, fuel supply system and thermal protection system has been completed.
A modification of the SpaceLiner space plan, designed for 100 passengers for use at short distances, is currently under consideration [6] . Possible commercial routes are classified according to the covered distance, with class 1 corresponding to the longest and class 3 the shortest flight distance. To perform a flight, depending on the required range, an elongated or shortened modification of the acceleration stage is used, which can be combined with both a 50-seat and a 100-seat modification of the suborbital passenger stage.
Specifications
| Characteristic | Suborbital passenger stage (50 passengers) | Booster stage (extended modification) | In total (Australia-Europe route) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Length: | 65.0 m | 83.5 m | |
| Wing span : | 33.0 m | 37.5 m | |
| Height: | 12.0 m | 8.6 m | 21.5 m |
| Passenger Cabin Length: | 15.3 m | - | |
| Maximum fuselage diameter: | 6.8 m | 8.6 m | |
| Dry weight: | 145 t | 170 t | 315 t |
| Takeoff weight: | 380 t | 1460 t | 1840 t |
| Fuel mass: | 215 t | 1285 t | 1,500 t |
| Mass at the time of engine shutdown: | 160 t | 180 t | |
| Max. flight height: | about 80 km | about 75 km | |
| Max. flight speed: | 7 km / s (25,200 km / h) | 3.7 km / s (13 300 km / h) | |
| Max. Mach number: | 24 | 14 | |
| Max. range of flight: | about 18,000 km | ||
| Number of engines: | 2 | 9 | eleven |
Engines
The SpaceLiner spacecraft concept uses a single type of refillable liquid-propellant rocket engine: a fully closed-cycle engine in which all fuel, including fuel used in the drive of a turbopump, passes through the combustion chamber [7] . The degree of expansion of the nozzle is selected in accordance with the different flight modes of the upper stage and suborbital stage. The use of high-energy and environmentally friendly combination of liquid hydrogen with liquid oxygen is provided as fuel components.
| Characteristic | Suborbital passenger stage | Booster stage |
|---|---|---|
| The ratio of the components: | 6.0 | |
| Combustion chamber pressure: | 16.0 MPa | |
| Secondary flow rate (per engine): | 518 kg / s | |
| Nozzle expansion ratio :: | 59.0 | 33.0 |
| Specific impulse (vacuum): | 449 sec | 437 sec |
| Specific Impulse (at sea level): | 363 sec | 389 sec |
| Engine thrust (vacuum): | 2268 kN | 2206 kN |
| Engine thrust (at sea level): | 1830 kN | 1961 kN |
Links
Literature
- ↑ Sippel M., Klevanski J., Steelant J .: Comparative study on options for high-speed intercontinental passenger transports: air-breathing- vs. rocket-propelled, IAC-05-D2.4.09 (October 2005)
- ↑ Sippel M. Promising roadmap alternatives for the SpaceLiner . Acta Astronautica, Vol. 66, Iss. 11-12 (2010).
- ↑ Schwanekamp T., Bauer C., Kopp A. Development of the SpaceLiner Concept and its Latest Progress (English) (PDF). 4th CSA-IAA Conference on Advanced Space Technology (2011).
- ↑ van Foreest A. et al. Transpiration Cooling Using Liquid Water (English) (PDF). Journal of Thermodynamics and Heat Transfer, Vol. 23, Number 4 (2007). (inaccessible link)
- ↑ van Foreest A. The Progress on the SpaceLiner Design in the Frame of the FAST 20XX Program (English) (PDF). 16th AIAA / DLR / DGLR International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference (2009). (inaccessible link)
- ↑ Schwanekamp T., Bütünley J., Sippel M. Preliminary Multidisciplinary Design Studies on an Upgraded 100 Passenger Space Liner Derivative (PDF). 18th AIAA / 3AF International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference (2012).
- ↑ Sippel M. et al. Technical Maturation of the SpaceLiner Concept (English) (PDF). 18th AIAA / 3AF International Space Planes and Hypersonic Systems and Technologies Conference (2012).