Challenges and opportunities of green propellants and electric pump feeding for future european kick stages

Abstract

This paper analyses the synergy between two innovative technologies: green propellants and electric pump feeding, for a 500 N engine thrust range. The novel approach is then compared to the legacy configuration, i.e., an MMH/NTO pressure fed system. First, a discussion of the benefits and challenges of the different technologies is presented. Subsequently, the proposed configuration relying on green propellants and e-pumps is investigated. After selecting hydrogen peroxide as the baseline oxidiser, a comparative analysis of different fuel candidates is conducted, leading to the selection of propane as fuel. Furthermore, the second part of the paper weights the novel configuration against the standard one and confronts their propulsive performance and mass budget. Results show that the implementation of electric pump feeding can leverage the performance of the selected green propellant outpacing the conventional solution.