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International Space Exploration Coordination Group Assessment of Technology Gaps for LOx/Methane Propulsion Systems for the Global Exploration RoadmapAs part of the Global Exploration Roadmap (GER), the International Space Exploration Coordination Group (ISECG) formed two technology gap assessment teams to evaluate topic discipline areas that had not been worked at an international level to date. The participating agencies were ASI, CNES, DLR, ESA, JAXA, and NASA. Accordingly, the ISECG Technology Working Group (TWG) recommended two discipline areas based on Critical Technology Needs reflected within the GER Technology Development Map (GTDM): Dust Mitigation and LOX/Methane Propulsion. LOx/Methane propulsion systems are enabling for future human missions Mars by significantly reducing the landed mass of the Mars ascent stage through the use of in-situ propellant production, for improving common fluids for life support, power and propulion thus allowing for diverse redundancy, for eliminating the corrosive and toxic propellants thereby improving surface operations and resusabilty, and for inceasing the performance of propulsion systems. The goals and objectives of the international team are to determine the gaps in technology that must be closed for LOx/Methane to be used in human exploration missions in cis-lunar, lunar, and Mars mission applications. An emphasis is placed on near term lunar lander applications with extensibility to Mars. Each agency provided a status of the substantial amount of Lox/Methane propulsion system development to date and their inputs on the gaps in the technology that are remaining. The gaps, which are now opportunities for collaboration, are then discussed.
Document ID
20160010480
Acquisition Source
Johnson Space Center
Document Type
Conference Paper
Authors
Hurlbert, Eric A.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Whitley, Ryan
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Klem, Mark D.
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Johnson, Wesley
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
Alexander, Leslie
(NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX, United States)
D'Aversa, Emanuela
(Italian Space Agency Matera, Italy)
Ruault, Jean-Marc
(Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales Paris, France)
Manfletti, Chiara
(Deutsches Zentrum fuer Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. Cologne, Germany)
Caruana, Jean-Noel
(European Space Agency Paris, France)
Ueno, Hiroshi
(Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Tokyo, Japan)
Asakawa, Hiroya
(Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency Tokyo, Japan)
Date Acquired
August 22, 2016
Publication Date
September 13, 2016
Subject Category
Propellants And Fuels
Report/Patent Number
JSC-CN-35694
Meeting Information
Meeting: AIAA Space 2016
Location: Long Beach, CA
Country: United States
Start Date: September 13, 2016
End Date: September 16, 2016
Sponsors: American Inst. of Aeronautics and Astronautics
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Public Use Permitted.
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