New European Apogee Motor -- Advanced Propulsion Technology

摘要

Apogee motors will transfer large geostationary satellites into their final orbit within the next decade. Approximately 60% of a geostationary satellite's mass is propellant, 90% of which is consumed by the apogee motor. An increase in motor performance and motor efficiency would offer significant mass savings for the satellites. Therefore, an optimum performing apogee motor is still an element of strategic importance for the competitiveness of large geostationary satellites. The need for developing a new High Performance Bi-propellant Apogee Motor is driven by customers' demands for higher performance, higher reliability, and lower prices. The benefit for customers will be strategic (independence for Europe) and commercial (greater payloads and more competitive pricing in the world market). There are two essential elements for a high performance apogee motor: injector technology and combustion chamber technology. This paper describes the development objectives for the motor's injector system and combustion chamber.