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I've been thinking a lot about the fictional space program I'm developing for Orbiter, and have a few questions about propellants and general physics:
Firstly, I had a nuclear thermal rocket engine using methane as fuel, so fuel could be siphoned from Titan's lakes (after purification), but then I learned that using methane in an NTR results in a soot buildup on the inside of the nozzle. So I decided to switch to ammonia. Now, the questions I have: Is the storability of ammonia worth the loss in efficiency when compared to hydrogen fuel? And, would methane really cause a soot buildup?
Next, Can hydrogen peroxide be used as an effective monopropellant for RCS?
And lastly, would it be worth it in terms of amount of fuel to send a ship on a hyperbolic trajectory towards saturn, aerobraking in titan's atmosphere before performing another burn to park at titan's L1 point? Otherwise, the trip could take nearly a decade, one way.
Firstly, I had a nuclear thermal rocket engine using methane as fuel, so fuel could be siphoned from Titan's lakes (after purification), but then I learned that using methane in an NTR results in a soot buildup on the inside of the nozzle. So I decided to switch to ammonia. Now, the questions I have: Is the storability of ammonia worth the loss in efficiency when compared to hydrogen fuel? And, would methane really cause a soot buildup?
Next, Can hydrogen peroxide be used as an effective monopropellant for RCS?
And lastly, would it be worth it in terms of amount of fuel to send a ship on a hyperbolic trajectory towards saturn, aerobraking in titan's atmosphere before performing another burn to park at titan's L1 point? Otherwise, the trip could take nearly a decade, one way.