Aerojet Rocketdyne has entered into an agreement with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop and ground test an innovative propulsion system under the agency's Advanced Full Range Engine (AFRE) program.
"Through the AFRE program, we aim to mature the design and component technologies and bring them together to conduct a full system-level Turbine Based Combined Cycle (TBCC) ground test demonstration," said Aerojet Rocketdyne CEO and President Eileen Drake.
"Developing propulsion technologies capable of operating at subsonic, supersonic and hypersonic speeds would enable us to build future generations of high-speed military aircraft to ensure air dominance."
The primary goal of the AFRE program is to develop and ground demonstrate a reusable hydrocarbon propulsion system that can seamlessly operate in a reliable and affordable manner over the full range of speeds between takeoff and hypersonic cruise to enable responsive hypersonic aircraft for a variety of military missions.
Launch Vehicle and Missile Ascent Trajectories
Almost all launch vehicles and large missiles liftoff from the ground in the vertical direction and continue toward some objective. For a space launch system the objective is orbit, achieved by using an ascent trajectory that is usually optimized for weather and mission conditions in order to maximize performance while maintaining conservative safety margins.
The actual shape of a path to … read more
