Authors

Josue Vazquez

Document Type

Honors Thesis

Abstract

Space tourism is one of the fastest growing sectors of the aerospace industry. Both orbital and sub-orbital platforms are being considered to market to the public. The goal of this project is to perform a Parametric Sizing (PS) analysis for a Two-Stage-to-Sub-Orbit (TSTSO) and Single-Stage-to-Orbit (SSTO) rocket powered system. PS is the starting point from where an idea, the planned mission, and a blank slate are shaped by designers into a solution space and final design point for the vehicle. The Hypersonic Convergence (HC) method was chosen because of its integrated approach to sizing the vehicle by solving a weight budget equation and iterating vehicle geometry for a specified mission. The results show that the individual TSTSO vehicles are smaller and lighter than the SSTO. A series of studies were also performed on two SSTO systems, on being Rocket Based Combined Cycle (RBCC) and the other an all rocket SSTO. These studies include payload sensitivity, vertical versus horizontal takeoff, fuel choice, and industrial capability index.

Publication Date

5-1-2021

Language

English

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