MECE 5397/6397

Rocket Propulsion
Basics
University of Houston
Mechanical Engineering Department
John W. Alred
john.w.alred@nasa.gov

Where To Start?
Rocket Thrust

Conservation of Momentum

Consider a Thruster
Nozzle
Exit

Throat

Combustion
Chamber

Nozzle

Thrust Equation

Impulse
Total Impulse It is the thrust (which can vary with time ) integrated
over the burning time t :
t

It Tdt
0

For constant thrust (ignoring the start-up and shut-down transients,

we get

It = Tt
NOTE: It is proportional to the total energy released by all the
propellant in a propulsion system.

Specific Impulse
Specific Impulse Isp is the total impulse per unit weight of
propellant. :
t

Isp

Tdt
0

dt
g0 m
0

Specific impulse is a measure of performance (analogous to miles

per gallon). Units are seconds.
NOTE: Isp characterizes fuel efficiency; i.e., how energy content of
the propellant is converted to thrust.

More Specific Impulse

For constant thrust and propellant flow

Isp = It/(mpg0);
where mp is the total propellant load. the total impulse per unit
weight of propellant.
For constant propellant mass flow and constant thrust, assuming
negligibly short start-up or shutdown transients, we get the most
common form of Isp:

Isp = T/(mg0) = T/w

Specific impulse is then the thrust per unit "weight"-flow-rate.
NOTE: The unit for Isp is seconds in all systems of units.

More Specific Impulse

This form allows an understanding of the efficiency of the
thruster.

Isp = T/(mg0) = T/w

Suppose Isp = 3 sec. Then you get 3N of thrust for every 1 kg/s
of propellant flow.
However, suppose Isp = 300 sec. Then you get 300N of thrust
for every 1 kg/s of propellant flow.
Hence, Isp is a measure of efficiency.
The higher the Isp, the more thrust per unit of propellant flow.

Specific Impulse Comparisons

Stored gas
Monopropellant hydrazine
Solid rocket motors
Hybrid rockets
Storable bipropellants
LOX/LH2

60-179 sec
185-235 sec
280-300 sec
290-340 sec
300-330 sec
450 sec
Specific impulse depends
on many factors: altitude,
nozzle expansion ratio,
mixture ratio
(bipropellants),
combustion temperature,
combustion pressure

This thruster was used on the

Viking Lander. It has a specific
impulse of about 225 seconds.

Effective Exhaust Velocity

In a rocket nozzle, the actual exhaust velocity is not uniform over the
entire thruster exit cross-section and does not represent the entire
thrust magnitude.
Hence, we define the effective exhaust velocity c as the average
equivalent velocity at which the propellant, or its combustion products,
is ejected from the vehicle. Then,

c = Ispg0 = T/m
Remembering that T = mvE + (pE pA)*AE and that T = mc, we see
that

c = vE + (pE pA)*(AE/m)
Note: c = vE when pE = pA

Characteristic Velocity
We define the characteristic velocity c* as

c* = pC At / m;
where pc is the pressure in the combustion chamber and At is the area
of the throat (more on this in upcoming lectures).
The characteristic velocity c* is used in comparing the relative
performance of different chemical rocket propulsion system designs
and propellants.
The characteristic velocity c* is easily determined from measured data
of m-dot, pC and At . Hence, it relates to the efficiency of the
combustion and is essentially independent of nozzle characteristics.

Thrust to Weight Ratio

For launch vehicles, another term is important, the Thrust-to-Weight
ratio (T/W). This affects the acceleration of the launch vehicle off the
launch pad and will be seen to be important in flight performance.
For chemical systems, T/W ~ 20-100 (very large)
For nuclear thermal systems, T/W ~ 5-20 (medium)
For electric/solar systems, T/W ~ 0.001 (very low)

Examples

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky
1857 - 1935
Deaf Russian School Teacher - fascinated with

space flight, started by writing Science Fiction

Novels
Discovered that practical space flight depended on
liquid fuel rockets in the 1890s
Famous for development of Rocket Equation in
1897
Calculated escape velocity, minimum orbital velocity,
benefit of equatorial launch, and benefit of multistage rockets
Excellent theory, Not well published, not as
important as he could have been

Conservation of Momentum
Momentum Before = Momentum After

Mv = (M-dm)(v+dv) + dm(v+dv-ve)
Mv = Mv+Mdv-vdm+vdm-vedm
Mdv = vedm
dv = vedm/M = -vedM/M
vf v0 = veln(M0/Mf) : Rocket Eqn

Rocket Equation
DV = veln(MR) = g Isp ln (Mo/Mf)
where:

DV = rocket velocity change (m/s)

ve = exhaust velocity (m/s)
MR = mass ratio (M0/Mf)
g = gravitational constant (9.81 m/s2)
Isp = rocket specific impulse (s)
Mo = initial rocket mass (kg)
Mf = final rocket mass (kg)
Equation is for ideal conditions, with no strong
gravity fields, as with near a planet. Corrections can
be made by accounting for gravity losses.

Rocket Equation Exercise

Determine the mass of propellant to send a 2500 kg
spacecraft from LEO to Mars (0.7 yr mission).
Assume the 2500 kg includes the propellant on-board at the
start of the burn.
Assume our engine has a specific impulse of 310 sec
(typical of a small bipropellant engine).
Use the rocket equation:

m
p

5 7 0 0

9.83 1 0

2500 1 e

2117

kg

Most of our spacecraft is propellant! Only 383 kg is left for

structure, etc! How could we improve this?

So far, So Good

Power
The kinetic energy of ejected matter is the form of energy useful
for propulsion.
The power of the jet Pjet is the time rate of expenditure of this
energy, and for a constant gas ejection velocity v this is a function
of Isp and T:

Pjet = mv2 = Tg0Isp

The term specific power is sometimes used as a measure of the
utilization of the mass of the propulsion system including its
power source; it is the jet power divided by the loaded propulsion
system mass, Pjet/M0.
For electrical propulsion systems which carry a heavy, relatively
inefficient energy source, the specific power can be much lower
than that of chemical rockets.

Power (concluded)
For chemical rockets the energy is created by combustion. The
maximum energy available per unit mass of chemical propellants
is the heat of the combustion reaction QR.
Hence, the power input to a chemical engine is

Pchem = mQRJ ;
where J is a conversion constant depending on the units used.
Note: A large portion of the energy of the exhaust gases is
unavailable for conversion into kinetic energy and leaves the
nozzle (Second Law of Thermodynamics)

Internal Efficiency
The internal efficiency of a rocket propulsion system is an
indication of the effectiveness of converting the system's energy
input to the propulsion device into the kinetic energy of the
ejected matter.

For a chemical unit it is the ratio of the kinetic power of the

ejected gases divided by the power input of the chemical
reaction.
The internal efficiency can be expressed as

kinetic power in jet

= available chemical power = h

Propulsive Efficiency
The propulsive efficiency determines how much of the kinetic
energy of the exhaust jet is useful for propelling a vehicle.
h =

vehicle power
/
=
;
vehicle power + residual kinetic jet power +

where v is the absolute vehicle velocity and c the effective rocket

exhaust velocity with respect to the vehicle.

The propulsive efficiency is a maximum when the forward vehicle

velocity is exactly equal to the exhaust velocity.
At that condition, the residual kinetic energy and the absolute
velocity of the jet are zero and the exhaust gases stand still in
space.

Effect of Velocity on
Propulsive Efficiency

Mass Breakdown of a Rocket

Initial mass M0:
M0 = ML (payload) + MS (structure/engines) + Mp (propellant)
o Note: MS includes all mass other than ML and Mp

Burnout mass Mb (also called final mass Mf):

Mb = ML (payload) + MS (structure/engines)
Mass ratio MR = M0/Mb = M0/(ML + MS)
Payload ratio = ML/M0 or l = (Mb - MS) / M0
o Note: Large payload ratios are desirable but large payloads
also mean lower performance (max. attainable velocity)
Structure coefficient e = MS/M0 or e = (Mb - ML) / M0
o Represents lightness of tank and support structure
Propellant coefficient z = Mp/M0 = (M0 Mb)/M0 = 1 MR
o Note: l+e+z= 1

Mission Delta-V Requirements

Mission (duration)

V (km/sec)

Earth surface to LEO

7.2-7.6

LEO to Earth Escape

3.2

LEO to Mars (0.7 yrs)

5.7

LEO to Neptune (29.9 yrs)

13.4

LEO to Neptune (5.0 yrs)

70

LEO to Alpha-Centauri (50 yrs)

30,000

LEO = Low Earth orbit (~250-500 km)

Rocket Equation
Single Stage
Assuming no other external forces (i.e. no gravity, no drag, etc.) the
change in velocity (i.e. V) imparted by a rocket propulsion system is:

DV = Ispg0ln(M0/Mb) = Ispg0ln(MR) = cln(MR)

Rearranging this equation, we get

M0/Mb = exp(DV/Ispg0)

Rocket Equation
Single Stage (concluded)
Ideal Velocity Increment
for Single Stage vs. Isp

Required Mass Ratios for

Velocity Increments vs. Isp

Multiple Stages
The index i refers to the ith stage.
M0i is the total initial mass of the ith
stage prior to firing including payload
That is, the mass of the i, i+1, i+2,
i+3, , n stages.
Mpi is the mass of propellant in the ith
stage.

Msi is the structural mass of the ith

stage (including engines, controllers,
and instrumentation as well as
residual propellant).
ML is the payload

Rocket Equation
Multi Stage
The final velocity of an n stage rocket is the sum of the velocity gains
for each stage.

DV = Dv1 + Dv2 + Dv3 + + Dvn

where (m0)1 is the initial mass at

Stage 1 ignition and (mf)n is the final
mass at last stage burnout.

Optimizing Staging

Optimizing Staging
continued

Optimizing Staging
concluded
The total payload ratio is

The total mass ratio is

MR = exp(Vn/nC)

Example : Staging
o Consider a liquid oxygen and kerosene propulsion system (specific
impulse of 360 sec and c = 3528 m/s).
o Suppose Vn is 9077 m/s to reach orbital speed.
o Let the structural coefficient e = 0.1
o Let the number of stages be n = 3.

MR = 2.3575
G = 0.047
o Hence, less that 5% of the mass of the vehicle is payload.

Why Three Stages?

Recap
Staging

Historical Multi-Stage
Satern V

Delta-V Budget

Delta-V Budget
Example
Space Shuttle (STS) Delta-V Budget (3 stages):
Stage 1 SRBs and SSMEs
Stage 2 SSMEs
Stage 3 - OMS
Desired (nominal) orbital velocity
Gravity losses
Pitch angle trajectory adjustment
Atmospheric drag losses
Final orbital insertion
Minor correction manoeuvres
Inertial assist from Earth rotation, lat. q = 28.5

7790 m/s
1220 m/s
360 m/s
118 m/s
145 m/s
62 m/s
- 408 m/s

Total required mission velocity (DV)

9347 m/s